Looking for free software to create a bootable USB drive for Windows 11/10? Your search ends here as we list the best free bootable USB maker software. A bootable USB drive is basically used for installing, repairing, and recovering an operating system. It contains an ISO file that can run an OS on a system. Using the listed software, you can easily convert an ISO file to a bootable USB drive. This post will be useful for you if RUFUS is not working for you.
How to make a bootable USB for free?
To create a Windows bootable USB for free, you can use the Media Creation Tool. Download and install it, and you can then make a Windows bootable USB drive. Several free software programs, like Rufus and Passcape ISO Burner, allow you to create a bootable USB drive without any effort. You can find more such software in this post below.
Best free Bootable USB Maker software for Windows 11/10
Here is a list of the best free bootable USB maker software to create bootable disks on Windows 11/10:
- Rufus
- Passcape ISO Burner
- ISO to USB
- WinToUSB
- SARDU MultiBoot Creator
- Etcher
- Universal USB Installer
- Windows USB/DVD Download Tool
- PowerISO
- ZOTAC WinUSB Maker.
1] Rufus
Rufus is a free and portable bootable USB maker software for Windows 11/10. It is a lightweight utility that enables you to easily create a bootable USB drive including USB keys/pen drives, memory sticks, and more. You can use it to create USB installation media from bootable ISOs or to update a BIOS from DOS.
Its working is also very simple and straightforward. You can download the application from its official website and then directly run the app. As it is portable, you don’t need to install it on your system. Once its interface is opened, you can choose the target USB drive, select the source ISO file, set up the partition scheme and target system, and configure formatting options. When done, press the START button to initiate the process of creating a bootable USB drive.
If you want to simple and lightweight software to create a bootable USB from an ISO image file, Rufus is one of the best options.
Read: Best free Boot Repair Tools for Windows.
2] Passcape ISO Burner
Passcape ISO Burner is another free bootable USB drive maker software on this list. It is also portable and can be used without an eventful installation.
This software is used for different purposes besides creating bootable USB drives from ISO files. It can also burn ISO image files to CD or DVD and unpack ISO images to a disk folder.
The process of creating a bootable drive is very easy in it. Open the main interface of this software by running the downloaded application file. After that, choose the Create bootable USB disk radio button and then browse and select the source ISO file by clicking the three-dot button.
Now, press the Next button and then select a Partition scheme from BIOS or UEFI CSM, NTFS MBR for BIOS-based PCs, NTFS MBR for UEFI-based PCs, etc. Next, select the target USB drive from the list of available logical and physical USB drives connected to your PC. Once done, press the CREATE button and follow the prompted instructions to complete the bootable USB creation process.
It is a great bootable USB drive creator that you can download from here.
See: Best Free Imaging, Recovery, and Backup Software for Windows.
3] ISO to USB
ISO to USB is a free bootable USB maker for Windows 11/10. It is an easy software to create bootable USB flash drives from ISO files. To use it, you can download it from here and install it on your PC, and then launch the application. After that, select the source ISO file and choose the USB drive that you want to convert into a bootable drive. Next, tick the Bootable checkbox and click on the Burn button to start the process.
Read: Ventoy2Disk lets you create bootable USB drive without formatting
4] WinToUSB
The next free USB bootable drive creator software on this list is WinToUSB. It is a great software for creating installation media or bootable drives from Windows OS.
The advantage of using this software is that it lets you clone your existing Windows OS to a USB drive. Plus, you can also select the source Windows ISO file or WinPE ISO file, choose the target USB drive, and create a bootable disk.
Another good thing about this software is that you can directly download the ISO file of Windows 11, Windows 10, or Windows 8.1, and burn it to a bootable drive. It also lets you encrypt Windows To Go with BitLocker to make sure that your data is safe.
Launch the software and select a preferred mode from Windows To Go USB, Windows Installation USB, and Bootable WinPE USB.
After that, set up the input options including ISO file, output USB drive, partition scheme, installation mode, and more. Furthermore, if you want to encrypt your Windows, select the BitLocker checkbox and enter your password. And then, press the Proceed button to start the process.
Read: Free Bootable AntiVirus Rescue Disks for Windows.
5] SARDU MultiBoot Creator
SARDU MultiBoot Creator is the next free bootable USB creator for Windows 11/10. As its name suggests, this software allows you to convert one or multiple ISO image files to a single bootable USB drive. The free version of this software can be used for private and non-commercial use only. You can get it here.
Read: How to create bootable USB media from ISO for Windows.
6] Etcher
Etcher can be your other go-to for a bootable USB drive maker for Windows 11/10. It is nice software for creating a bootable USB drive from an ISO image file or download URL or simply cloning a drive to a USB drive.
This software comes in both installer and portable versions. You can download a preferred version from etcher.balena.io. Once download, install the software or run the portable version to open its main GUI.
You can then choose a source from Flash from file (provide ISO file), Flash from URL (enter a URL), or Clone drive. Once selected, choose the target USB drive that you want to make bootable. When done, click on the Flash button to start creating a bootable USB drive from the selected ISO or URL.
Read: How to make a bootable USB Drive using CMD
7] Universal USB Installer
Universal USB Installer is another good bootable USB drive maker software for Windows 11. This software allows you to create a bootable USB drive from a Live Linux distribution, Windows OS files, Android OS, and more. It can also create bootable USB drives for antivirus scanners, disk cloning software, security and penetration testing tools, and more. You can also create a multiboot USB through this software.
To use it, download the software from here and run its executable file (it is portable). You can then choose a distribution to put on your USB, browse and select the source ISO file, select the output USB drive letter, and then press the Create button to start making a bootable USB drive.
Related: How to create bootable USB drive in Windows 11 using Rufus
8] Windows USB/DVD Download Tool
Windows USB/DVD Download Tool (now deprecated) is also a really simple tool to create a bootable USB Drive. All you need to have a pen drive and an ISO file. First, select the ISO file, check the destination drive and all the other booting settings. Now after you pass through all the four steps by clicking next, you have your bootable pen drive ready.
9] PowerISO
It is fast, multipurpose, and feature-rich. You can create various images from archives or folders and bootable USB drives at a great speed. Plus, it is portable and requires fewer system resources. If you want to read more about it, head here to its official website.
10] ZOTAC WinUSB Maker
ZOTAC WinUSB Maker has been my most reliable companion every time I have intended to create one. We all know ZOTAC as a company that manufactures Graphics Cards, Mini PCs, digital boards, and hardware like SSDs.
As listed on its official website, here is what ZOTAC says about their product:
Easily create a bootable Windows flash drive for your ZBOX mini-PC with the ZOTAC WinUSB Maker utility. The drag-and-drop utility makes creating bootable flash drives quick and painless – just drag the destination and source into the ZOTAC WinUSB Maker, and click start. ZOTAC WinUSB Maker supports Windows image files and DVD discs as sources for compatibility with all major operating systems supported by ZBOX mini-PCs. USB flash drive and SD card destinations are supported for simple OS installations on ZOTAC ZBOX mini-PCs.
This tool’s main highlighting features are its compatibility with Windows 7 and higher with .NET Framework 4.0 installed, Smooth and simple GUI-based operation, Quick operations, x64 and x86 support, and UEFI Support. You can download a copy for FREE from zotac.com.
What is better than Rufus?
If you are looking for a better alternative to Rufus, try WinToUSB. It is great free software for creating Windows To Go or burning ISO image files to a bootable USB drive. Other software that you can use in place of Rufus includes Etcher, PowerISO, Media Creation Tool, MultiBootUSB, Flashboot, and more.
Now read: Best Free ISO Burners for Windows PC.
