Rufus
- Android app
- Not listed
- Free plan
- Yes
- Runs on
- Windows
Summary
Rufus is a free Windows utility for formatting drives and creating bootable USB flash drives. It can make boot media from Windows, Linux and other bootable ISO images, as well as disk images, and format USB drives, flash cards and virtual drives using formats including FAT32, NTFS, exFAT and ext3. For Windows 11 installation media, it offers options for PCs without TPM or Secure Boot and can set out-of-box setup choices such as a local account and privacy settings. Additional capabilities include Windows To Go drives, persistent Linux partitions, bad-block checks, image checksums and downloading official Microsoft Windows ISOs. Rufus is portable and requires no installation, and its interface supports 38 languages. It is free software under GPL v3, with published source available for users who want to compile it. The project describes security measures including digitally signed executables and verified GitHub commits. Rufus runs on Windows; its FAQ says Windows XP, Vista and 7 are no longer supported, and there are no plans for Linux or macOS ports.
Who it is for
Rufus suits Windows users who need to format drives or create installation and other bootable media. It also has options for Windows 11 setup and persistent Linux partitions.
What is good
- Free software released under GPL v3.
- Creates boot drives from Windows and Linux images.
- Offers Windows 11 setup options.
- Portable and requires no installation.
- Interface supports 38 languages.
What to know first
- Windows XP, Vista and 7 are no longer supported.
- No Linux or macOS port is planned.
- No multiboot support is listed.
Verdict
Rufus provides a broad set of drive-formatting and boot-media options at no cost for Windows users. Its main limitation is platform support: it is not available as a Linux or macOS app.
Rufus plans and pricing
All plansCompared on bootable USB software
Facts
- Purpose
- Rufus formats drives and creates bootable USB flash drives.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Boot media
- It creates bootable drives from Windows, Linux, and other bootable ISO images, as well as disk images.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Drive formats
- It can format USB drives, flash cards, and virtual drives to FAT, FAT32, NTFS, UDF, exFAT, ReFS, ext2, or ext3.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Windows installation
- It can create Windows 11 installation drives with options for PCs without TPM or Secure Boot, and can set OOBE options such as a local account and privacy settings.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Other features
- It supports Windows To Go drives, persistent Linux partitions, bad-block checks, image checksums, and downloading official Microsoft Windows ISOs.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Portable
- The project describes Rufus as portable, small, and requiring no installation.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Languages
- The interface natively supports 38 languages.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- License
- Rufus is free software released under GPL v3, and the project says users may compile it from its published source.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Security
- The project describes measures including digitally signed executables, verified GitHub commits, hardware-based two-factor authentication, and static analysis.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Support
- The project directs users to its GitHub issue tracker to report problems or suggest features.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Windows support limit
- The FAQ says Windows XP, Vista, and 7 are no longer supported; versions 2.18 and 3.22 are the last listed for XP and Windows 7, respectively.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
- Other platforms
- The FAQ says there are no plans to port Rufus to Linux or macOS, and says an Android app using the Rufus name is unofficial.github.com · 30 Sept 2026
Best Rufus alternatives
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Where it ranks on Everything Xiaomi
- Best Bootable USB Software in 2026#11 of 39
Is Rufus yours?
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Sources
- github.com/pbatard/rufus· checked 30 Sept 2026
- github.com/pbatard/rufus/wiki/Security· checked 30 Sept 2026
- github.com/pbatard/rufus/wiki/FAQ/b4a29654786a5c89· checked 30 Sept 2026
- github.com/pbatard/rufus/wiki/FAQ/d47e2b3036117f1d· checked 30 Sept 2026