The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of available bootloaders.

General information

NameDeveloper / PublisherCurrent versionInitial release dateLatest release dateLicenseCostWebsite / documentation
Acronis OS SelectorAcronis International GmbH???Proprietary$49.95 (personal use) $79.99 (commercial, per seat) $299.99 (server)
BareboxSascha Hauer the barebox community???GPL-2.0-onlyNo cost
BootManager????MITNo cost?
BootX (Apple)Apple Inc.???Proprietarybundled with macOS?
BootX (Linux)Benjamin Herrenschmidt???ProprietaryNo cost?
Clover (fork of rEFIt)Multi Contributors]5157October 3, 201329 June 2024GPLv2/BSD-2-ClauseNo cost
Das U-BootDENX Software Engineering2026.015 January 2026GPL-2.0-or-laterNo cost
GRUB LegacyGNU Project8 May 2005GPL-2.0-or-laterNo cost
GNU GRUBGNU Project2.14199514 January 2026GPL-3.0-or-laterNo cost
Grub2WinDrummerdp2.4.2.42010April 2, 2025GPLv3No cost
GRUB4DOS31 March 2009GPL-2.0-only
iBootApple Inc.iBoot-11881.62.2~1June 29, 2007December 9, 2024Proprietary
LILOBSD-3-Clause
Liminemintsuki11.3.1April 6, 20209 April 2026BSD-2-ClauseNo cost
loadlinGPL-2.0-or-later
NTLDRMicrosoftJuly 27, 1993 (Windows NT 3.1)Proprietarybundled with Windows
RedBootGPL-2.0-or-later (eCos license)
rEFInd (fork of rEFIt)Roderick W. Smith0.14.4.2March 14, 20126 April 2024GPL-3.0-or-later/BSD-3-ClauseNo cost
rEFItChristoph Pfisterer0.14March 2, 20067 March 2010GPL-2.0-or-later/BSD-3-ClauseNo cost
SYSLINUX6 October 2014GPL-2.0-or-later
systemd-boot / GummibootLGPL-2.1-or-later
TianoCore EDK IIBSD-2-Clause
Windows Boot ManagerMicrosoftJanuary 30, 2007 (Windows Vista)Proprietarybundled with Windows
wolfBootwolfSSLDecember 14, 2015August 2, 2025LGPL-3.0-or-later
XOSL20 August 2002GPL-2.0-only

Technical information

Note: The column MBR (Master Boot Record) refers to whether or not the boot loader can be stored in the first sector of a mass storage device. The column VBR (Volume Boot Record) refers to the ability of the boot loader to be stored in the first sector of any partition on a mass storage device.

Storage medium support

NameCan reside inCan boot from
ESP (UEFI)MBRVBRFloppyHard diskSecond hard diskLogical partitionsCD-ROMFloppyUSBZipLAN
Acronis OS Selector???YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes?
BareboxYesYesNo?YesYesYesYesYesYesNoYes
BootKey?NoNoYesNoNoNoYesYesYesNoNo
BootManager?YesNoNoYes??????No
BootX (Apple)YesNoNoNoYesNoNoYesNoYesYesYes
BootX (Linux)NoNoNoYesYesYesNoYesYesYesYesYes
Das U-BootYesYes??YesYesYesYesYesYesNoYes
GRUB LegacyNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
GNU GRUBYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
GRUB4DOS?NoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
iBootYes???Yes??No????
LILOYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes?
LimineYesYesNoNoYesYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
loadlin?NoNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
NTLDR?NoYesYesYes?NoNoYesYes??
RedBoot?NoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
rEFIndYesNoNoNoYesYes?Yes?Yes?Yes
rEFIt (not maintained)YesNoNoNoYesYes?No?Yes?No
SPFdisk?YesYesYesYesYes??Yes???
SYSLINUXNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
systemd-boot / GummibootYesNoNoNoYesYesYes??Yes??
Windows Boot ManagerYesNoYesNoYesYes?YesYesYesYes?
wolfBootNoYesNoNoYesYesYesNoNoYesNoNo
XOSL?NoNoYesYesYesYesYes?No?No
NameCan reside inCan boot from
ESP (UEFI)MBRVBRFloppyHard diskSecond Hard diskLogical partitionsCD-ROMFloppyUSBZipLAN

Operating system support

NameCan boot
MS-DOSWindows 9x/MeWindows NT series before VistaWindows Vista/7/8/10LinuxReactOSMenuetOS*BSDmacOS
Acronis OS SelectorYesYesYesYesYes??YesYes
Barebox????Yes????
BootKeyYesYesYesYesYes????
BootManagerYesYesCalls NTLDRCalls Windows Boot ManagerCalls GRUB or LILO????
BootX (Apple)????????Yes
BootX (Linux)????Yes????
Das U-Boot????Yes??Yes (FreeBSD)?
GRUB Legacy and GRUB4DOSYesYesCalls NTLDRCalls Windows Boot ManagerYesCalls FreeLoaderYesCalls bootloader for some kernelsYes
GNU GRUBYesYesCalls NTLDRCalls Windows Boot ManagerYesCalls FreeLoaderYesYesYes
iBoot????????Yes
LILO?YesCalls NTLDRYesYes??Calls biosboot (FreeBSD, PC-BSD, ...)?
loadlinwith MEMDISKNoNoNoYesNoNo??
LimineCalls bootloaderCalls bootloaderCalls bootloaderCalls bootloaderYesCalls bootloaderCalls bootloaderCalls bootloaderCalls bootloader
NTLDRYesYesYesNoCalls GRUB4DOS???Calls Darwin bootloader
RedBootYesYesCalls NTLDRCalls Windows Boot ManagerYesCalls FreeLoaderYesYesYes
rEFInd (fork of rEFIt)??YesYesYes??YesYes
rEFIt (not maintained)??YesYesYes??YesYes
SPFdiskYesYes???????
SYSLINUXYesYesCalls NTLDRCalls Windows Boot ManagerYes?Yesvia mboot.c32 module?
systemd-boot / GummibootNoNoWindows Server 2013 64bits with UEFI onlyCalls Windows Boot ManagerYes??UEFI onlyYes
Windows Boot Manager?YesCalls NTLDRYesCalls GRUB or LILO????
wolfBootYesYesYesYesYesYes?Yes?
XOSLYesYesYesYesYes????
NameCan boot
MS-DOSWindows 9x/MeWindows NT series before VistaWindows Vista/7/8/10LinuxReactOSMenuetOS*BSDmacOS

File-system support

Non-journaled

NameFATMinixext2HFSAFFSF2FSYAFFS
FAT12FAT16FAT32exFATYAFFS1YAFFS2
Acronis OS Selector???????????
BareboxYesYesYes?NoYesNoNoNo??
BootX (Apple)???????????
BootX (Linux)???????????
Das U-BootYesYesYes??Yes?????
FreeLoader (ReactOS)YesYesYes??Yes?????
GNU GRUB 2YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes??
GRUB LegacyYesYesYesNoYesYesNoNoNo??
Grub2Win???????????
GRUB4DOSYesYesYesNoYesYesNoNoNo??
iBoot???????????
LILO???????????
LimineYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
loader (FreeBSD)YesYesYes??Yes?????
loadlinYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
NTLDR?YesYes??NoNoNoNo??
RedBoot???????????
rEFIndYes??Yes?????
rEFIt???????????
SyslinuxYesYesYesNoNoYesNoNoNo??
systemd-boot / Gummiboot???????????
Windows Boot Manager??YesYes??No????
XOSL???????????
yaboot?????YesYes????

Journaled

NameNTFSext3ext4ReiserFSReiser4JFSXFSUFSUDFHFS+BeFSAFSSFSUBIFSJFFS2
Acronis OS Selector???????????????
Barebox?YesYes??????????YesYes
BootManager???????????????
BootX (Apple)???????????????
BootX (Linux)???????????????
Das U-Boot?YesYesYes???Yes?????YesYes
FreeLoader (ReactOS)Yes??????????????
GNU GRUB 2YesYesYesYesNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes??
GRUB LegacyNoYespatchYesNoYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Grub2Win???????????????
GRUB4DOSYesYesYesYesNoYesYesYes???????
iBoot???????????????
LILO???????????????
LimineNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
loader (FreeBSD)???????????????
loadlinYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
NTLDRYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
RedBoot??????????????Yes
rEFIndPartialYesYes??????Yes?????
rEFIt???????????????
SyslinuxYesYesPartialNoNoNoYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
systemd-boot / Gummiboot???????????????
Windows Boot ManagerYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNo?NoNoNoNoNoNo
XOSL???????????????
yaboot?YesYes????????????

Copy-on-write

NamebtrfsAPFSZFSNILFSReFS
Acronis OS Selector????No
BareboxNoNoNoNoNo
BootManager????No
BootX (Apple)????No
BootX (Linux)????No
Das U-Boot??Yes?No
FreeLoader (ReactOS)Yes???No
GNU GRUB 2YesNoYesYesNo
GRUB LegacyNoNoNoNoNo
Grub2Win????No
GRUB4DOSNoNoNoNoNo
iBoot????No
LILO????No
LimineNoNoNoNoNo
loader (FreeBSD)??Yes?No
loadlinNoNoNoNoNo
NTLDRNoNoNoNoNo
RedBoot????No
rEFIndYes???No
rEFIt????No
SyslinuxYesNoNoNoNo
systemd-boot / Gummiboot????No
Windows Boot Manager?No??No
XOSL????No
yaboot????No

Read-only

NamecpiotarISO 9660romfsSquashFScramfs
Acronis OS Selector??????
Barebox????YesYes
BootManager??????
BootX (Apple)??????
BootX (Linux)??????
Das U-Boot????YesYes
FreeLoader (ReactOS)??????
GNU GRUB 2YesYesYesYesYes?
GRUB Legacy??Yes???
Grub2Win??????
GRUB4DOS??Yes???
iBoot??????
LILO??????
LimineNoNoYesNoNoNo
loader (FreeBSD)??????
loadlinNoNoYes???
NTLDR??????
RedBoot??????
rEFInd??Yes???
rEFIt??????
Syslinux??Yes???
systemd-boot / Gummiboot??????
Windows Boot ManagerNoNoYesNoNoNo
XOSL??????
yaboot??????

Other features

NameAdvanced commandScriptableSupported architectureSupported executableSupported protocolSupported decompressionOthers
GRUB LegacyYesNox86 (PC)Multiboot 1, Linux zImage, Linux bzImage and othersTFTPgzip
GRUB 2YesYesx86 (PC, EFI, UEFI, coreboot, OLPC), IA-64, ARM (U-Boot, UEFI), PowerPC (OpenFirmware), MIPS, SPARC (OpenFirmware)Multiboot and othersTFTP, HTTPgzip, xz
LILONoNox86 (PC)Linux zImage, Linux bzImage?bzip2, gzip
loader (FreeBSD)YesYesx86 (PC, EFI, UEFI, coreboot, OLPC), ARM (U-Boot, UEFI), MIPS, PowerPC (OpenFirmware), SPARC v9 (OpenFirmware)FreeBSD ELF kernel image, Multiboot (incomplete, for Xen image only)TFTP, NFSgzip, bzip2
kexec (Linux)Depending on user spaceDepending on user spacex86, ARM, ARM64, PowerPC, PowerPC 64, IA-64, IBM Z, RISC-VLinux bzImage, Multiboot, other ELF imageDepending on configuration and user space—N/aThe kexec system call can start another kernel, replacing the current running Linux, thus turning a Linux-based operating system into a fancy bootloader.
loadlinNoNox86 (PC)Linux zImage, Linux bzImage?gzip
SYSLINUXvia cmd.c32 modulevia lua.c32 modulex86 (PC)Linux zImage, Linux bzImage, Multiboot, MBR imageTFTPgzip, bzip2, lzo, zip, lzma, ?
YabootNoNoPowerPC (Open Firmware)Linux ELF imageTFTPNo
RedBootYesyes (boot only)ARM, ColdFire, H8300, x86, Freescale/Motorola 68000, MIPS, PowerPC, SH, SPARC, SPARCLiteELFTFTP, serial (X-modem)gzip
Das U-BootYesYesPowerPC, ARM, AVR32, Blackfin, ColdFire, IXP, Leon2, m68k, MicroBlaze, MIPS, NIOS, NIOS2, PXA, x86, RISC-V, StrongARM, SH2, SH3, SH4, ...EFI, ELF, U-Boot image format, Linux zImage, rawTFTP, NFS, serial (S-Record, Y-Modem, Kermit binary protocol)bzip2, gzip, lzma
BareboxYesYesARM, Blackfin, NIOS2, MIPS, x86, PowerPCELF, U-Boot image formatTFTP, NFS, serial (S-Record, Y-Modem, Kermit binary protocol)bzip2, gzip, lz4, xz, lzo
NTLDRNoNox86 (PC)Windows NT kernel image (PE), MBR image??default bootloader on Windows NT
Windows Boot ManagerNoNox86 (PC), ARM (only on Windows Mobile remake)Portable Executable??Successor of NTLDR; used on Vista and up.
wolfBoot??ARM Cortex-M, ARM Cortex-R, ARM Cortex-A, Intel x86, RISC-V RV32, PowerPC, Renesas RH, TriCoreRaw binary, ELF, UEFITPM 2.0, PKCS#11. SPI, I²C, UARTCustom delta-update based on Bentley-Mcilroy compression algorithm
FreeLoader (ReactOS)NoNox86 (PC), ARM, PowerPC???clone of NTLDR
LimineYesNox86 (PC, UEFI), ARM, RISC-V, LoongArchMultiboot 1 and 2, Limine boot protocol, Linux zImage and bzImageTFTPgzip

Notes