You could also use the Startup Manager to select your boot drive when you start macOS. You can find full instructions on how to format an external hard drive on a Mac here.Your Mac will reboot from the USB instead of your default startup disk. Just go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility to launch it and choose Erase and then select OS X Extended (Journaled) to format it (if you’re going to create a macOS boot disk). You’ll need to format your USB drive to use as a boot disk by using Disk Utility in macOS.ĭisk Utility is a free tool in macOS which allows you to perform a number of diagnostic tests on your hard drive including creating a USB boot disk. There are a few other alternatives such as Deepin Boot Maker and ROSA Image Writer but they aren’t updated frequently for macOS and are mainly designed for creating bootable Linux distros.

These are by far your 3 best ways to create a bootable USB drive on a Mac. However, for anyone looking for a Rufus alternative that works on all versions of macOS including Mojave and Catalina DiskMaker X is all you need. Unfortunately, due to changes in macOS Big Sur, DiskMaker X does not work on Big Sur and the developer has no plans to upgrade it in the future. It will also detect any USB drives plugged into your Mac and automatically flash the system image. Simply launch DiskMaker X and it will automatically find the installation file using Spotlight. Not compatible with macOS Monterey & Big SurĭiskMaker X (formerly Lion DiskMaker) is designed specifically for macOS and is one of the most popular USB boot tools on Mac.UNetbootin is extremely fast and is a great Rufus alternative for flashing macOS, Windows, Ubuntu or any other Linux distro It’s designed mainly to create Linux-based bootable USB drives from any machine but works perfectly on macOS. UNetbootin works on Mac, Ubuntu and other Linux distributions. Can’t choose between GBT and MBR partition styles.

Works on the latest versions of macOS Monterey & Big Sur.This prevents wasted time writing images on corrupt USB drives and isn’t something you usually find is boot utilities. That’s all there is to it.Įtcher is very fast at flashing images and also includes Image Validation which verifies the system image and removable drive before flashing. Simply select an ISO image, USB stick and click on Flash. EtcherĮtcher works on all platforms including Mac and is very easy to use.

With this in mind, here are the best equivalents to Rufus on Mac to create a bootable USB drive. How To Install Windows Without Boot Camp.Best Rufus For Mac Alternatives To Create a Bootable USB Drive The only way to run Rufus on a Mac is to install Windows on your Mac and then install Rufus in Windows.Īll of these alternatives to Rufus work on Intel Macs and Apple Silicon M1/M2 Macs thanks to Rosetta. Rufus only works on 32 bit 64 bit versions of Windows XP/7/8/10 only. Best Rufus For Mac Alternatives To Create a Bootable USB Drive.

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