What is the best software for creating Live USB (from ISO files)?

Question

11

Options
Considered

174

User
Recs.

38 mins

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

The Best 1 of 11 OptionsWhy?

Best software for creating Live USB (from ISO files)	Price	Platforms	Last Updated
93 Rufus	Free	Windows	Mar 28, 2020
89 Etcher	-	-	Mar 28, 2020
-- Linux Live USB Creator	-	-	Dec 25, 2019
-- YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator	Free	-	Mar 1, 2020
-- Easy2Boot	FREE	-	Feb 17, 2020

See Full List

10 Other Options Considered

Etcher

Top Pro

Cross platform

Supports Linux, Windows and Mac. See More

Top Con

Lacking in settings

Compared to its competitors, while trying to keep the software as user-friendly and clean as possible, it also lacks the ability to perform more advanced tweaking, available in something like Rufus. See More

DeterminedBieggagallis's Experience

It looks beautiful, first of all. It will automatically detect your usb and burn an ISO image lightning quick onto it. Available on Mac, Windows, and Linux, so this beats Rufus on platform availability. See More

Top Pro

Polished GUI

The gui looks great and is easy to use. See More

Top Con

Large file size

Much larger file size in comparison to something like Rufus. See More

PioneeringSuadela's Experience

done nicely supports all os and also very large files See More

Top Pro

Open source

Free to use and modify. Apache license. Repository link: https://github.com/resin-io/etcher See More

Top Con

Sends data to balena by default

It is enabled by default, hidden in the settings and you have to turn it manually off. See More

CourageousKladeos's Experience

Fast and reliable. See More

Top Pro

Relatively fast

Flashes/burns images relatively fast. See More

Holo Deck's Experience

Sends data to balena by default... See More

Top Pro

Extremely user friendly

By far, the most user friendly and straight-forward UI I've ever seen in an application like this See More

echopy's Experience

1 click away from flashing your img! See More

Ajay Kumar Rawani's Experience

Awesome ! See More

See All

Linux Live USB Creator

Top Pro

Simple, well Designed UI

Has a very intuitive UI for those who haven't used Live usb creators. See More

Top Con

Only for Windows

Not cross platform. See More

SuccessfulNuliajuk's Experience

One of the best tools I've used in windows, Pretty much universal. See More

Top Pro

Download Linux

Download Linux variations from a list if they are not currently downloaded and even has a build in DL manager that doesn't require opening a browser. See More

Top Con

Primarily centered upon Linux

Top Pro

Universally supported OS ISOs

Although it only runs on Windows the program supports several operating systems for building a live drive. See More

See All

Easy2Boot

Top Pro

Supports multiple Secure Boot UEFI by 'switching-in' different image files

Top Con

Not Open Source.

Author amalgamates his content with the content of others. It's not Open Source and may well have closed source and copyright restricted content. See More

HonestSabazios's Experience

Latest version supports UEFI booting See More

Top Pro

Easy2Boot is a multiboot USB drive

Rufus and Etcher are single-boot. See More

LoyalMictlanpachecatl's Experience

Easy to use, highly configurable, supports Secure UEFI boot of multiple OS's. See More

Top Pro

Direct UEFI-booting from ISOs, WIM files, Win Install ISOs, VHDs, .imgPTN files

Secure Boot works for most payloads. See More

See All

in Windows there is a standard utility that allows you to do this! and quite simply

Whiteleg's Experience

in Windows there is a standard utility that allows you to do this! and quite simply See More

UNetbootin

Top Con

There's a chance it will destroy your USB

Not only is the performance of the software subpar, there is a high likelihood that it will corrupt your USB in the process. See More

Top Pro

Supports most common distros for download

Although you can override this setting by selecting any ISO file of your choice, UNetbootin offers a simple interface in which you can choose to automatically download almost any mainstream operating system. This can save users the hassle of browsing through web pages in search of a download. See More

Top Con

Uninstaller Not Supported

Top Pro

Cross-platform

The fact that UNetbootin is cross platform means it can be used on any computer one has lying around, to create a bootable USB stick from a proper ISO file. It also makes it more viable as a tool since it can be recommended to anyone without having to worry about what operating system they are running. See More

Top Con

Have issues on autorun.inf when install more than one distributions

Top Pro

Automatically detects USB flash drives

UNetbootin automatically detects all the USB drives in the computer, this helps the interface be much more fluid, and protects inexperienced users from accidentally corrupting their hard drive. See More

Top Con

Might not work sometimes

For example UNetbootin has some troubles with the Hiren's Boot CD ISO file. See More

See All

MultiBootUSB

Top Con

Stuck on Windows Logo

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score 56 · Accepted Answer

Rufus

Top Pro

Automatic USB detection

Rufus finds your USB drive automatically. This minimizes the risk that you will accidentally format your hard drive. See More

Top Con

Only runs on Windows

Although it can install all flavors of imaginable distros on a key, the software itself only has one official Windows version, effectively excluding Mac and Linux users. See More

Mohammad H. Sattarian's Experience

Fast, free and easy to use. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows

Top Pro

Open source

https://github.com/pbatard/rufus See More

Top Con

Only can install 1 distro / USB

There is no way to install more than one distro on USB See More

Ahad's Experience

the best thing of Rufus is small in size and portable. See More

Top Pro

Very fast

Rufus is one of the fastest utilities in the category to complete create a bootable USB. Twice as fast as UNetbootin, Universal USB Installer and Windows 7 USB download tool. See More

Top Pro

Size

Rufus is small in size. See More

Top Pro

GPT/UEFI Support with NTFS UEFI Support

Top Pro

Simple but advanced

Has many options. See More

Top Pro

Multi-language support

Top Pro

Safe

Zero ways to screw up. See More

See All

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The Best 1 of 11 OptionsWhy?

My Recommendation for Rufus

My Recommendation for Rufus

Automatic USB detection

Only runs on Windows

Open source

Only can install 1 distro / USB

Very fast

Size

GPT/UEFI Support with NTFS UEFI Support

Simple but advanced

Multi-language support

Safe

10 Other Options Considered

My Recommendation for Etcher

My Recommendation for Etcher

Cross platform

Lacking in settings

Polished GUI

Large file size

Open source

Sends data to balena by default

Relatively fast

Extremely user friendly

My Recommendation for Linux Live USB Creator

My Recommendation for Linux Live USB Creator

Simple, well Designed UI

Only for Windows

Download Linux

Primarily centered upon Linux

Universally supported OS ISOs

My Recommendation for YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator

My Recommendation for YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator

Multi Distro supported

UEFI version

uninstaller supported

Free

Multiple ways to boot

ISO Windows

ISO images with download links

GPT/UEFI Support with FAT32 UEFI

My Recommendation for Easy2Boot

My Recommendation for Easy2Boot

Supports multiple Secure Boot UEFI by 'switching-in' different image files

Not Open Source.

Easy2Boot is a multiboot USB drive

Direct UEFI-booting from ISOs, WIM files, Win Install ISOs, VHDs, .imgPTN files

My Recommendation for Windows Media Creation Tool

My Recommendation for Windows Media Creation Tool

By far the best for creating windows 10 installation media

Runs on Windows only

Windows ISO only

My Recommendation for ROSA Image Writer

My Recommendation for ROSA Image Writer

Simple

Faster processing

Easy-to-use interface

My Recommendation for Flashboot

My Recommendation for Flashboot

Lots of options

Can be slow

Good support

Windows only

My Recommendation for in Windows there is a standard utility that allows you to do this! and quite simply

My Recommendation for in Windows there is a standard utility that allows you to do this! and quite simply

My Recommendation for UNetbootin

My Recommendation for UNetbootin

There's a chance it will destroy your USB

Supports most common distros for download

Uninstaller Not Supported

Cross-platform

Have issues on autorun.inf when install more than one distributions

Automatically detects USB flash drives

Might not work sometimes

My Recommendation for MultiBootUSB

My Recommendation for MultiBootUSB

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