Ventoy vs Rufus vs balenaEtcher: Which USB Tool for Which Job

Short answer: Use Ventoy if you want one USB drive that boots many ISO files: install it once, then copy ISOs onto the drive. Use Rufus on Windows when you need one carefully built drive, especially Windows install media, or when a Linux ISO needs raw “DD” writing. Use balenaEtcher when you want the simplest tool on Windows, macOS or Linux, including for SD cards, and want the write checked afterwards. All three are free and open source. Current versions on September 26, 2026: Ventoy 1.1.17, Rufus 4.15 and balenaEtcher 2.1.7.

The three tools side by side

Ventoy: many ISOs on one drive

Ventoy’s site describes it as “an open source tool to create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files.” Its main idea: “you don’t need to format the disk over and over, just drag-and-drop files to the USB drive and boot them directly.” Put several ISO files on the drive and Ventoy shows a menu at boot.

• Setup wipes the drive once. Ventoy’s documentation says “the USB drive will be formatted and all the data will be lost after install.” After that, you just copy files. Upgrading Ventoy later leaves the files on the first partition untouched.
• Wide boot support. x86 Legacy BIOS, IA32 UEFI, x86_64 UEFI, ARM64 UEFI and MIPS64EL UEFI. Ventoy says it supports Secure Boot on IA32 and x86_64 UEFI, with notes.
• Testing. Ventoy says “1400+ image files are tested” and more than 90% of distributions on distrowatch.com are supported.
• Normal storage. You can keep ordinary files on the same drive.
• Installers for Windows and Linux. On Windows you run Ventoy2Disk.exe. On Linux there’s Ventoy2Disk.sh plus GUI and web UI versions. The getting-started page lists no macOS installer.

Ventoy’s approach means it boots ISOs it doesn’t need to understand in advance, but a particular ISO can still fail. When that happens, a single-image tool is the fallback. We looked at Ventoy’s trust questions in is Ventoy safe?

Rufus: precise single drives on Windows

Rufus “helps format and create bootable USB flash drives,” according to its site, which lists “USB installation media from bootable ISOs (Windows, Linux, UEFI, etc.)” among its uses. It’s Windows-only. The site lists “Windows 8 or later” and offers x64, x86, ARM64 and portable builds.

• Windows install media. Rufus has Windows-specific options. Version 4.15’s changelog, for example, fixes its “silent” Windows installation option. For Windows 11 media, see our Rufus vs Flyoobe vs Media Creation Tool comparison.
• ISO mode or DD mode. Some Linux-based installers need a raw write. Proxmox’s installation guide says Rufus works with the Proxmox VE ISO only in DD mode, after you decline Rufus’s offer to download a different GRUB version.
• One image per drive. Each run reformats the drive.

balenaEtcher: simple, cross-platform, validated

balenaEtcher’s site describes it as a way to “Flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives, safely and easily.”

• Validated flashing. The site says “Etcher confirms that your flash has completed,” so you know the card or drive isn’t corrupted.
• Protects your system disk. Etcher “hides your system drives by default to avoid accidentally wiping your entire hard-drive.”
• Every desktop OS. Its FAQ says it works on Windows 10 and later, most Linux distributions, and macOS 10.10 and later. Release 2.1.7 includes Windows, Intel and Apple Silicon Mac, .deb and .rpm builds.
• Raw writes only. Etcher copies the image as is. It has no Windows-specific options like Rufus.

Proxmox’s documentation says “Etcher works out of the box” for its installer ISO.

Which tool for which job

For Raspberry Pi boards, Raspberry Pi’s own Raspberry Pi Imager (version 2.0.11.1, August 17, 2026) is made for the job.

What none of them do

• None of them will make a USB drive boot on a PC whose firmware won’t boot from USB. Enable USB boot in firmware settings.
• None of them fixes a bad ISO. Check the ISO’s hash against the publisher’s value before writing it.
• Ventoy doesn’t guarantee every ISO boots. Rufus and Etcher don’t put more than one image on a drive.
• All three erase the target drive when you set it up. Back up anything on it first.

Where to download each one and how to check it

Our app pages list the current files and hashes: Ventoy, Rufus and balenaEtcher. Lookalike download sites for these tools are common, so start from the addresses above.

Questions

Is Ventoy better than Rufus?

For carrying many ISOs on one drive, yes. For a single Windows install drive, or an ISO that needs DD mode, Rufus is the more precise tool.

Does Rufus work on Mac or Linux?

No. Rufus runs on Windows 8 or later only.

Does Ventoy work on macOS?

Ventoy’s installer tools are for Windows and Linux. Its getting-started page lists no macOS installer.

Does balenaEtcher erase my USB drive?

Yes. Writing an image replaces everything on the target drive. Etcher hides system drives by default to prevent mistakes.

Can Ventoy boot Windows ISOs?

Yes. Ventoy lists Windows among supported systems and supports Windows auto-installation.

Which tool should I use for Proxmox VE?

balenaEtcher, or Rufus in DD mode. Both are in Proxmox’s own instructions. Proxmox says not to use UNetbootin.

Are these tools free?

Yes. All three are free and open source.

Does Ventoy delete my files when I update it?

No. Ventoy’s documentation says an upgrade leaves files on the first partition unchanged. The first install does erase the drive.

Which is best for SD cards?

balenaEtcher, which validates the write. For Raspberry Pi boards, Raspberry Pi Imager.

Sources

• Ventoy main page, ventoy.net
• Ventoy: Get started, ventoy.net
• Ventoy 1.1.17, GitHub (July 24, 2026)
• Rufus (system requirements, license, changelog), rufus.ie
• Rufus 4.15, GitHub (June 30, 2026)
• balenaEtcher (features and FAQ), balena
• balenaEtcher 2.1.7, GitHub (September 18, 2026)
• Prepare Installation Media, Proxmox VE Wiki
• Raspberry Pi Imager releases, GitHub