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Raspberry Pi Imager vs Rufus: catalog facts
Raspberry Pi Imager	Rufus
Free Free from Raspberry Pi.	Free Free and open source under GPLv3; no bundled software in the installer.
Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows
Official tool maintained by Raspberry Pi Writes to both SD cards and USB drives	Creates Windows 11 installation drives for PCs without TPM or Secure Boot Sets up out-of-box experience options automatically, including a local account and privacy choices
Built mainly around Raspberry Pi use rather than general disk imaging	Windows only One image per drive, unlike a multiboot tool
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-3.0
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 20, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.