We already know what you’re thinking: what’s up with an article about the best DVD burning software? I mean, who even uses DVDs in the current year, right? You know, we’re living in the best possible universe, i.e. in the digital age, AI is everywhere, SSDs (not to mention thumb drives) are ridiculously cheap and after all’s said and done, the truth is that DVDs are an ancient technology, something from another era, pre Interwebz and all that millennial palaver.
There’s some truth in the sarcastic rant above, but DVDs are not as bad as you may think. The main advantage of storing data on a DVD instead of using a magnetic medium such as a hard disk drive/SSD or a thumb drive is that DVDs are much safer in regard to data integrity, as in data stored on a DVD has a much longer shelf life compared to the alternative. Basically, you can write an archive of sorts (encrypted, of course) on a DVD, put the respective DVD in a closet and forget about it until 2050.
After thirty years (and change) have come to pass (yes, big LOTR fan here), provided you don’t have rats or dogs, it’s very probable that your precious data will still be available, that if the world doesn’t end by 2050, and you’re able to find anything in your closet. On the other hand, SSDs, HDDs and other magnetic storage solutions suffer from what’s called data perishability; that’s why SSDs and HDDs cannot be used (and are not used) for archival purposes. The data on a DVD or CD is laser printed (think paper archives and ancient libraries) on a tiny sheet of metal, i.e. the information could last for hundreds of years if stored properly.
Now, if you’re already sold on storing your cat pictures on DVDs for posterity, here comes the meat of the article, i.e. the best DVD burning software money can buy. Don’t worry, most of today’s article is about freeware, so wipe the dust off your DVD player and let’s begin our journey.
Best DVD Burning Software
BurnAware
The Best DVD Burning Software for Windows 10
As its name suggest, BurnAware is a fully-featured disc burning software for fashion-conscious DVD lovers. Joke aside, BurnAware is pretty cool in our book, as it comes with tons of options and, best of all, it’s absolutely free. Don’t worry though: if you’re the demanding type, this piece of DVD burning software comes in three versions or editions, including a commercial one that features extra-tools.
To make a long story short, BurnAware is excellent for both home users and “professionals” alike, provided burning DVDs for profit is still a thing, and it will help you in any type of endeavor that involves DVDs and CDs, ranging from burning tasks such as image creation, backup, basic disc burning, erasing, copying and audio track extraction to data recovery. Basically, you’ll get all your basis covered with this baby, and, on top of that, if you’re also using video editing software for YouTube, you’ll find BurnAware to be pretty awesome due to its audio track extraction feature.
- the free version comes with comprehensive features for home users
- supports almost all optical disk types, i.e. DVD, CD, Blu-ray, Double Layer, M-Disc
- excellent for daily burning tasks and more
- comes in 3 editions, including a commercial one for business owners
- easy to use
- reasonably fast
- can burn bootable or multisession discs
- works on Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/Server 2008/7/8/10
- lacks disc-to-disc copying feature
- dull interface, but we’re being picky
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Nero Burning ROM
Old School
Nero Burning ROM is the granddaddy of disc burning software, as it’s been around since like, forever. Needless to say, Nero is arguably the world’s most popular and also number-one burning software, and if you don’t believe us, just go ask your dad. Joke aside, as far as DVD burning software goes, Nero is probably one of the best (at least best known, just kidding) and despite its old age, there’s some life left in its latest version, i.e. it’s still kicking.
However, there’s a small caveat to this success story: Nero isn’t free and that’s most probably due to its amazingly advanced features. Despite lacking a free version, Nero is pretty good especially for not-so-savvy-tech-users, as it comes with an intuitive interface and supports a wide range of disc types, if not all of them. Moreover, Nero offers tons of options, like a myriad of settings to control all aspects of the burning process. Also, you can burn as many compilations as you want in the same time, while file selection is performed via drag-and-drop.
Speaking of ease of use and intuitive interface, Nero is still king. For security freaks, Nero offers a SecureDisk feature, password/digital signature protected, and also works with 3rd party software for boosting security even more (Check Point Endpoint Security Media Encryption). Finally, Nero has a special DiscSpan feature, which allows for spreading oversized file content onto more than 1 disc.
- comes with all the features in the world
- familiar interface
- very fast in regard to burning stuff
- effective and powerful
- fully customizable
- OpSec friendly via SecurDisc 4.0 technology
- incredibly easy to use
- tech support is great via LiveChat around the clock
- fully integrated with Nero Multimedia Suite
- great for professional use
- supports all disc types, literally
- allows for copying CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray Discs
- doesn’t come cheap, nor free
- takes a while to learn all its features and tools
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WinX DVD Author
No Nonsense DVD Authoring Software
Next in line we have WinX DVD Author, which is one of the best DVD authoring software for Windows, as it allows you to burn MP4, MKV, AVI, VOB, FLV, MOV, ISO formats on DVD discs with ease, offering tons of practical features which transform your video files into professional-looking DVDs. We know, that sounds wonderful, and the best thing about WinX DVD Author is that it’s free.
To make a long and boring story short and sweet, WinX DVD Author is the perfect solution for home users looking for an easy fix to their DVD burning problems, and even if it comes with a number of quirks (it’s not a bug, but a feature of freeware), it makes for more than decent free DVD creation software, provided you’re not the demanding type.
- absolutely free of charge
- handles well both NTSC and PAL
- allows YouTube video downloading
- friendly user interface
- fast built-in encoder
- supports DVD5 and DVD9
- minimal functionality, but at least it’s free
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Ashampoo Burning Studio Free
Great Freeware
We can’t be sure why the developers named their software Ashampoo, but truth be told, as far as freeware goes, this one is a piece of work, and we mean that in the good sense of the word. Ashampoo (what’s in a name, right?) Burning Studio will allow you to burn, copy, rip and pillage literally anything you can lay your hands on, making for a hassle-free and pretty fast DVD burning software if it ever was one.
Even if we’re talking freeware, Ashampoo really has it where it counts, i.e. it’s dependable, feature-rich and easy to use, being designed to make burning/backing up data a child’s play. Everything’s possible with Ashampoo: ripping music discs, burning existing videos/movies on DVDs, creating audio discs, burning MP4s and photos to Blu-rays, copying/burning movies and so on and so forth, the sky is the limit.
- excellent DVD burning freeware
- easy to use, clean, simple and slick interface
- lots of extra tools
- great user experience even for total “noobs”
- allows copying of CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays
- you can create password-protected discs
- supports disc spanning
- allows copying data to CF/micro cards
- ad-free (no banners/annoying ads to ruin your experience)
- no disc compression feature
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CDBurnerXP
Jack of All Trades
The best things in life are free, and the same philosophy applies to CDBurnerXP. If you’re looking for a no-nonsense application to burn DVDs and CDs, look no further, as you’ve just met your match. Since we’re in “the current year”, it’s pretty obvious that CDBurnerXP works just as well with Blu-ray discs and HD-DVDs, and, on top of that, it allows you to burn and create ISOs.
And yes, everything is absolutely free of charge, even for commercial use, not to mention the fact that you won’t require a PhD in IT to use it. It’s true that CDBurnerXP is not as feature-rich as other software bundles, but after all’s said and done, we’re talking about freeware. However, this baby comes with all the bells and whistles you’ll ever need to create DVDs/all types of discs for all kinds of uses, so stop complaining, alright?
- free for both home users and companies
- enough functions to get the job done
- easy to use due to comprehensive instructions available online (online Help)
- supports all important formats/discs
- supports disc spanning
- excellent for manual data-backup
- allows bootable-disc creation
- multi-language interface
- can burn/create ISO files
- works on Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista/2008 Server/Win7/Win8/2012 Server/Win10 (x86 / x64)
- dated user interface, but we’re being picky
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Wondershare DVD Creator
The Best DVD Burning Software for Mac
Our next contender for the best free DVD burning software is Wondershare DVD Creator, which makes for a powerful and easy to use DVD toolbox, aimed at helping you mitigate all your DVD related issues. Interestingly enough, you can use Wondershare DVD Creator for free, as there’s a free-download version available on the official website, or as a paid-for kind of deal. Another interesting feature for Apple users is that you can order your special DVD toolbox for Mac, which is kind of cool.
So, what’s up with Wondershare? The most important feature of this DvD creator is that it supports a huge list of formats, and by huge we mean over 150 formats. The huge selection of available formats allows you to do all sorts of things, like DVD, DVD folder, Blu-ray DVD folder, ISO, Blu-ray disc, as well as MP4 to DVD, MKV to DVD, AVI to DVD and many, many more. DVD types supported include DVD-9, DVD-5, DVD-R/RW, and on top of that, you get BD-R, BD-RE, BD-25, BD-25, BD-50, and BD-100.
The user interface is intuitive and well designed, and you can burn a DVD with just one click. There’s also a built-in video editor, and you can even create photo slideshows and make DVD menus, if one so inclined.
- free version available
- the built-in video editor is a nice touch
- easy to use
- supports virtually all disc types in the known universe and any format known to man
- feature-rich
- easy to use
- works really well for home video projects
- decent customer service
- kind of slow
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DVD MovieFactory Pro
Another Software Aimed for Professionals
Now at its seventh generation, Corel’s DVD MovieFactory Pro is as serious as it sounds. Corel is a big name in the software industry, and their latest-gen MovieFactory Pro makes for professional-grade (read not free) all-in-one HD disc authoring and DVD burning software. And no, it doesn’t come cheap either, though you’ll get a lot of bang for the proverbial buck, provided you can afford it and put it to good use.
And speaking of that, DVD MovieFactory Pro is the ideal tool for transforming your home videos and photos into professional-quality DVDs, Blu-Ray discs or AVCHD. Since we’re talking professional-grade software, you’ll be able to design amazing Hollywood style motion menus and cutting-edge effects courtesy of Corel’s professionally designed templates. We know, it sounds complicated and expensive, because it is, but if you’re looking for the ultimate DVD burning software and then some, well, it’s not getting much better than this baby.
Oh, by the way, there’s a free trial available, but if you’re serious about making professional DVDs, just go for the paid option and thank us later.
- arguably the best burning & authoring software on the market today
- can grab videos and photos from virtually anywhere
- has all the features/effects in the world
- allows for movie creation and slideshow discs
- burns any type of disc
- can import high definition video from Blu-ray, HDV, AVCHD or camcorders
- can export video on old-school tape, hard drive, disc or memory cards
- state of the art technology
- allows pro-quality DVD production
- expensive and the learning curve it’s a long process
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AnyBurn
The Best Free DVD Burning Software
Speaking of inspired branding/marketing, AnyBurn comes to mind, and as its name suggests, AnyBurn makes for a lightweight free-solution for DVD/CD/Blu-ray burning and imaging. Despite being light on resources and absolutely free to use, AnyBurn has a lot to offer, including some professional features which are hard to find in freeware.
What can you do with AnyBurn? The short answer is: anything you need, i.e. you can burn files and folders to any kind of disc, burn image files on discs, burn Audio CDs from digital sources like MP3, APE, FLAC, WAV or WMA, or create image file from disc, clean a rewritable disc, copy a disc, create image file from folders/files, convert image files, or view disc/drive information with a single click.
- freeware at its best
- fully-featured
- easy to use
- intuitive user interface
- supports basically all disc types and formats
- fast and gets the job done with no drama
- light on resources
- none really
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DVDStyler
For Linux Lovers
DVDStyler is another interesting DVD burning software toolbox, which can be defined as a cross-platform DVD authoring app; the best thing about DVDStyler is that is completely free to use and it’s aimed at video enthusiasts looking to make their own professional-looking DVDs for their movie collection or whatever.
On top of being free, DVDStyler is also open-source, as it’s distributed under the GNU General Public License, i.e. if you’re worried about privacy and security issues, DVDStyler is one of the best solutions out there.
- open-source freeware Linux-based
- easy to use application for creating custom DVDs
- accepts any format in the known universe
- everything is basically a drag-and-drop job
- lots of customization options for DVDs
- light on resources
- fast
- not as feature-rich as others
- not the best choice for non-tech-savvy people
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ImgBurn
Burn Baby Burn
Speaking of simplicity, ImgBurn comes to mind, and that’s because its beauty is its simplicity, like a Swiss watch of sorts. Since this is the last (but not least) DVD burning software on our list, it comes as no surprise that ImgBurn is one of the simplest to use, and it allows you to perform virtually any basic burning task you can think of without drama and lightning-quick.
ImgBurn works on virtually all Windows versions and supports almost any image format known to man, including BIN, CCD, CDI, CUE, DI, DVD, GI, IMG, ISO, MDS, NRG and PDI. Audio support is also stellar, as you can burn audio CDs from virtually any source: AAC, APE, FLAC, M4A, MP3, MP4, MPC, OGG, PCM, WAV, WMA and WV. Obviously, Blu-ray discs and HD DVDs are also supported, as you can use them to build your custom made DVD. Basically, ImgBurn has all your bases covered, and don’t forget: it’s 100 percent free.
- no-nonsense freeware
- burns everything in an instant!
- supports all discs and all formats in the world
- supports Unicode filenames/folders
- none
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