Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Rufus VS mkusb

Compare Rufus VS mkusb and see what are their differences

Rufus logo Rufus

Rufus is a piece of software that allows you to transform a portable drive, like a flash drive or other USB drives, into a bootable drive that can be used for a variety of purposes. Read more about Rufus.

mkusb logo mkusb

(Straight up rufus for Linux users ) The mkusb tool was developed to make it simpler and safer to create boot drives with the method to flash or clone an iso image or a compressed image file. It is using dd under the hood.
  • Rufus Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-20
  • mkusb Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-20

Rufus features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Rufus is a very lightweight application, usually requiring no significant system resources, making it swift and efficient.
  • Inexpensive
    Rufus is a free and open-source application, which makes it accessible for everyone without any financial burden.
  • User-friendly
    The interface is straightforward and easy to use, which makes the process of creating bootable USB drives simple even for less experienced users.
  • Versatile
    Rufus supports a wide range of ISO files and multiple file system options, making it suitable for different types of bootable media.
  • Portable
    It does not require installation and can be run directly from a USB drive, allowing for flexibility and mobility.
  • Speed
    Rufus is known for its speed, often outperforming other similar tools in terms of creating bootable media quickly.

Possible disadvantages of Rufus

  • Windows-only
    Rufus is only available for Windows, which means users on macOS or Linux need to use alternative tools.
  • Limited UI Customization
    While the interface is user-friendly, it offers limited customization options for advanced users looking for more control.
  • No Cloud Support
    Rufus does not support cloud storage or network drives directly, which could be a limitation for some workflows.
  • Lack of Integrated Help
    The application does not provide comprehensive integrated help or guided steps, which might require users to seek external tutorials or documentation.
  • Potential Risk of Data Loss
    As with any tool that formats drives, there is a risk of data loss if the wrong drive is selected by mistake.

mkusb features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    mkusb provides an easy-to-understand graphical user interface, making it accessible for users who may not be comfortable with command-line tools.
  • Versatility
    The tool supports a wide range of Linux distributions, offering users the ability to create bootable USB drives for various purposes, such as installing an OS or creating a live boot environment.
  • Persistence Feature
    mkusb allows users to set up persistent storage on the USB drive, which means that changes and files can be saved across reboots.
  • Safety Mechanisms
    The tool implements safety checks to prevent accidental data loss by ensuring users have the opportunity to confirm their actions before any changes to the drive are made.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    mkusb is compatible with various operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux, which makes it a versatile tool for users regardless of their primary OS.

Possible disadvantages of mkusb

  • Limited Advanced Features
    While mkusb offers all the necessary features for average users, it may lack some advanced features that more experienced users might require.
  • Performance
    The speed of creating bootable USB drives with mkusb may not be as fast as some other dedicated command-line tools, potentially making it a less efficient choice for users who need to create multiple drives quickly.
  • Dependency on External Libraries
    mkusb relies on certain external libraries and tools, which may cause compatibility issues or require additional installations on some systems.
  • Resource Intensive
    The graphical nature of mkusb can make it slightly more resource-intensive compared to command-line only alternatives, which might be a consideration for users with older hardware.
  • Less Frequent Updates
    The tool might not receive updates as frequently as some other more community-active projects, potentially leading to slower integration of new features or bug fixes.

Analysis of Rufus

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Rufus is a highly regarded tool for creating bootable USB drives.

Why this product is good

  • Rufus is efficient, lightweight, and easy to use. It consistently receives positive reviews for its speed and reliability. It's compatible with a wide range of ISO files and supports both BIOS and UEFI boot modes.

Recommended for

  • Installing operating systems via USB
  • Creating bootable USB drives from ISO images
  • IT professionals needing a reliable bootable USB creator
  • Users who need to flash firmware or low-level utilities

Rufus videos

RUFUS Create USB Drive BOOTABLE the easy way

More videos:

  • Review - Okeechobee Music Festival 2020 Lineup Reaction & Review | Bassnectar, Tipper, Rufus du Sol
  • Review - Seven Spheres by Rufus Opus - Esoteric Book Review
  • Tutorial - How to create bootable vicidial disk using rufus

mkusb videos

Make a persistent Linux usb drive with mkusb

More videos:

  • Tutorial - mkusb, a tutorial on how to burn isos to usbs in less than 5
  • Tutorial - How to install mkusb on Linux Mint 20.2

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Rufus and mkusb)
Utilities
94 94%
6% 6
Bootable USB
89 89%
11% 11
Boot Disk Utilities
100 100%
0% 0
CD/DVD Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Rufus and mkusb

Rufus Reviews

7 Best Rufus Alternatives To Create Bootable USB In 2022
One of the first steps of trying out an operating system is installing the image of the same on a USB drive. Rufus is one of the most widely used tools to create bootable USBs, but you might not like it due to its UI or slow on your computer. Hence, in this article, let’s look at some of the best Rufus alternatives to create bootable USBs.
Source: fossbytes.com
10 Best Rufus Alternatives in 2022 (USB Bootable Tools)
So, to make things a little bit easy, you can always use the best Rufus Alternatives. This article will share some of the best Rufus alternatives that can be used to create a bootable media drive. So, let’s explore the list of best Rufus Alternatives for Windows 10 computers.
Source: techviral.net
14 Rufus alternatives for Linux, Mac, and windows
As you now know, there are a lot of Rufus alternatives out there. Some may work as well as Rufus. Others may break or even fail to create a bootable USB drive. Some applications also provide features that Rufus does not have. Omit, your choice of application should depend on what you are trying to achieve. All the boot tools listed above are free with paid editions in some....
Rufus Alternatives – 8 Best USB Bootable Software For Linux
Rufus is a popular app to create a USB Bootable flash drive for Windows but unfortunately, it doesn’t exist for Linux. So, I had to go through tons of GitHub repositories and Reddit pages to find the ideal Rufus Alternative. And turn out, you can make a bootable USB drive with the command line, or even use a third-party tool which offers extra features such boot multiple...
Source: techwiser.com
8 Free USB Bootable Software For Windows
When it comes to creating bootable USB drives in Windows, Rufus is the best, free, open-source, and easy-to-use software. Rufus not only lets you create bootable USB for different kinds of operating systems but you can also use it to flash BIOS, firmware, and run low-level utilities. Add to that, Rufus is much faster than the other apps when it comes to creating bootable...
Source: techwiser.com

mkusb Reviews

We have no reviews of mkusb yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Rufus should be more popular than mkusb. It has been mentiond 6 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Rufus mentions (6)

  • Truly Wiping an HDD for resell?
    For HDDs, you'll want to use a program called DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) to wipe it. It's included in the Ultimate Boot CD, and you can make that a bootable USB instead by using Rufus. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Both usb drives are not working even tho they're formatted in Fat32
    Someone below commented to use rufus. That tool is meant for flashing OS install images, but just using the format section should work fine. I use GParted's livecd, although that might be a bit overkill for a quick format. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Windows 11 Installation Assistant vs ISO file
    I would just download the ISO by itself. You don't really need the "assistant". Just mount the ISO with Rufus. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Uninstalling Windows for Linux
    Maybe download the installers for Fedora & Tumbleweed and boot to the USB Drive you install the .iso file on to 'try' a distro first instead of destroying you current setup for the totally unknown world of linux. Use Rufus to create the bootable USB drive and HashTab to check the .iso files checksum. https://rufus.akeo.ie/. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Data sanitization - DBAN, Powershell or other?
    For HDDs, you'll want to use a program called DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) to wipe it. It's included in the Ultimate Boot CD, and you can make that a bootable USB instead by using Rufus. Source: about 4 years ago
View more

mkusb mentions (1)

  • Ubuntu's version of mksub on Arch?
    Hello everyone, I have previously used mkusb and mkusb-dus on Ubuntu to make live USB sticks for various distros. However, I can't find that version available for Arch. I've found the githubversion on the AUR, but the github version clearly states that it is NOT related to Ubuntu's version. Does anyone know if I can somehow get Ubuntu's version "do USB stuff" on Arch? Source: about 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Rufus and mkusb, you can also consider the following products

Balena Etcher - Flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives, safely and easily.

Mac Linux USB Loader - A linux live USB maker for Mac OS X

YUMI - YUMI (Your USB Multiboot Installer), is a tool that allows you to boot multiple ISO files from one USB drive.

KDE ISO Image Writer - KDE ISO Image Writer is a tool to write a .iso file to a USB disk.

UNetbootin - UNetbootin is a utility for creating live bootable USB drives. The name of the software is short for Universal Netboot Installer, and its most prevalent use has been to create bootable versions of Linux distributions on a USB drive.

Tuxboot - Tuxboot helps you to create a bootable Live USB drive for Clonezilla live, DRBL live, GParted live...