Best Free SSD Cloning Software for Windows 11/10 (2025) | Full Guide

Before the Start: Choose the Right SSD for Your Computer

Compared to traditional HDDs you get an excellent user experience when running Windows or gaming on solid-state drives (SSDs). Then, how to choose an SSD for your computer? There are three practical suggestions for you:

• Check your computer motherboard. Ensure the SSD fits your device's interface (SATA or NVMe) and form factor (2.5", M.2, etc.). 
• 500GB to 1TB capacity. Don't buy an SSD smaller than 256GB, and 500GB offers a good balance between price and capacity. Or, at least choose the storage size that fits your needs for applications and files.
• Faster transfer speed. SATA is cheaper but slower. Opt for higher read and write speeds, and consider NVMe for faster data transfer. 
• Reliability. Pick well-known brands with good reputations for durability, such as Samsung (EVO and PRO series), Crucial (MX series), Western Digital (WD Blue and WD Black series), Kingston (known for value and reliability), SanDisk (Extreme series is notable), Intel (660p and 670p), etc.

SSD Cloning Software Free: Top 5 Choices

After getting a new SSD, the next step is to transfer all data from the old disk to SSD. Specialist disk clone software can save your time by copying everything from the old drive to the new one, whether it is SSD or HDD.

Is there free SSD migration software? The answer is YES. In this part, I'll show you 5 best free SSD cloning software - AOMEI Backupper Standard, Samsung Data Migration, Clonezilla, Macrium Reflect Free and DiskGenius. Please get details below.

Quick Comparision of The 5 SSD Cloning Software

Software	Key Features	Supported SSD	Best For	Limitations
AOMEI Backupper	Disk/partition cloning; SSD alignment; Intelligent sector copy; VSS background cloning	All brands (Samsung, WD, etc.)	Users needing flexible cloning options	Free version cannot clone system disks
Samsung Data Migration	OS + app migration; Excludes data for smaller drives; Simple UI	Samsung SSDs only	Samsung SSD owners	No support for other brands or data disks
Clonezilla	Open-source; Cross-platform (Linux/Mac/Windows); Bare-metal recovery	All brands	Tech-savvy users/IT pros	No GUI; Cannot clone to smaller drives
Macrium Reflect Free	Disk imaging + cloning; Bootable media creation; Rapid Delta Restore	All brands	Advanced users needing backups	No longer free (as of 2024); Complex UI
DiskGenius	Partition management; Secure data wipe; File recovery	All brands	Users needing multi-tool functionality	Slow scanning; Windows-only; May crash

Key Takeaways:

1. For Beginners: AOMEI Backupper (user-friendly, all brands), and Samsung Data Migration (if using Samsung SSDs).

2. For Advanced Users: Clonezilla (Linux/Windows, open-source), and Macrium Reflect (disk imaging + cloning).

3. For Multi-Tool Needs: DiskGenius (partition + recovery features).

✍️Note: AOMEI Backupper is the only tool supporting 4K alignment and intelligent sector copying (critical for SSD performance). It could be the best SSD migration tool for Windows 11.

1. AOMEI Backupper Standard

AOMEI Backupper Standard free edition, developed for Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, is the best SSD cloning software for free. With many professional functions, it is perfect for transferring data from one disk to another.

• Disk Clone: it allows you to clone the entire hard drive including all the volumes on it. With it, you can easily migrate HDDs to smaller SSDs or clone SSDs to larger ones.
• Partition Clone: it enables you to copy a selected partition, such as clone NTFS drive.
• Intelligent clone: by default, this software only copies used sectors, which is also the key to clone larger drive to smaller drive.
• SSD Alignment: it can help to improve the performance of the destination SSD and prolong its lifespan.
• VSS technology: the cloning process will run in the background so you can continue to use the computer during the process.

Pros	Cons
√ Clone entire disk or a specific partition √ Clone only used sectors to save disk space √ 4K partition alignment for SSD √ Support all-branded SSDs (Samsung, WD, Crucial, Seagate, etc.)	× Cannot clone a system disk. Have to pay for system migration.

2. Samsung Data Migration

Samsung Data Migration (SDM) is a disk cloning tool offered by Samsung. It can help you clone HDD to SSD free of charge after purchasing a Samsung SSD, migrating everything of the system disk to a new Samsung SSD, including the operating system, application software, user data, and so on.

However, it only supports cloning to Samsung SSD disk. That's to say, you cannot use it to migrate data to other branded SSD disks. You may refer to this post to learn how to clone HDD to SSD for free with Samsung Data Migration.

Pros	Cons
√ Migrate OS, apps and files together √ Support excluding data when cloning to a smaller drive	× Only clone to Samsung disks × Cannot clone a data disk

3. Clonezilla

Clonezilla is a free and open source software to clone SSD or image disk/partition. It supports system deployment, bare metal backup and recovery, and single drive/partition clone in various systems, such as Linux, Mac OS, Windows, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and more.

There are three versions of Clonezilla available: Clonezilla live, Clonezilla lite server and Clonezilla SE (server edition).

Pros	Cons
√ Clone entire disk or a specific partition √ Compatible with various systems	× Cannot clone to a smaller drive × No user-friendly GUI

4. Macrium Reflect Free

Macrium Reflect Free is a popular backup and disk imaging software for Windows computers. It allows users to create exact disk image copies of their hard drives, including the operating system, installed programs, and user data.

It also enables users to create a bootable USB or CD/DVD, which can be used to restore the cloned image on a new computer or a replacement hard disk.

Pros	Cons
√ Direct disk cloning √ Removable media imaging and cloning √ Rapid Delta Restore (RDR)	× Complex user interface, not for beginners × Macrium Reflect is no longer free since early 2024

5. DiskGenius

DiskGenius is a reliable and free partition manager and SSD copy tool with a wide range of features to streamline disk-related tasks. You can use it to create, resize, clone, backup and recover partitions and files on Windows-based computers.

Pros	Cons
√ Support a wide range of file systems, including NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and EXT √ Provide a secure data wipe feature that allows users to permanently erase sensitive data from hard drives	× The software can be slow when scanning for lost or deleted files × Some users have reported that the software crashes or freezes during the recovery process × The software is not available for Mac or Linux users

Clone HDD to SSD for Free with AOMEI Backupper

AOMEI Backupper supports all popular brands of solid-state drives, including Samsung, SanDisk, Kingston, PNY, WD, etc. It supports different disk interfaces, such as SATA, IDE and PCIe.

For example, you can easily clone Windows 10 to NVMe SSD with this tool. The following is a Step-by-Step Cloning Guide on SSD cloning.

• 0:00 - Start & Preparation
• 1:12 - Cloning Process
• 2:45 - Cloning FAQs

◉ Prepare for HDD to SSD Cloning

• Make sure your new SSD has been correctly connected to the computer. If your computer has only one drive bay, use a USB-to-SATA adapter.

• The target disk will be overwritten. Back up important files if necessary.

• Download this free SSD migration software and install it. 

  Download Freeware Win 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP

  Secure Download

◉ How to Clone HDD to SSD Step-by-step

Step 1. Find Disk Clone option in SSD clone tool. Click on the Clone button and select Disk Clone in the next window.

💡 Note: The free edition only supports cloning non-system disks. To clone a system disk, please upgrade to higher editions for 1-click system migration.

Step 2. Choose HDD and SSD separately. Select the original hard drive as the source disk and then choose the SSD as the destination disk. 

Step 3. Improve SSD performance and begin clone. Check the SSD Alignment option to optimize the performance of the destination SSD. Then, click on Start Clone to begin the HDD to SSD cloning.

Sector By Sector Clone - If you want to clone every sector (including unused sectors) on the old hard drive to your SSD, tick this option.
Edit Partitions - If you are upgrading your SSD to a larger one, you can use the "Add unused space to all partitions" of this option to avoid unallocated space after cloning. 

Step 4. Leave your computer finishing disk clone. Now leave the process to complete. While you are waiting you can continue to use the PC as normal. Once the process is completed, click Finish.

◉ How to Replace the Old Hard Drive with SSD Correctly

Shut down your PC and remove all external devices and connections first. Then, open the case cover, take out the old hard drive and install the new SSD in the same place. You'll need screwdrivers in practical operations.

It is suggested to take a picture in advance to help you revert cable connections if you're not familiar with such things.

Workaround: Migrate OS to SSD with AOMEI Backupper Free Edition

The direct way of disk cloning is introduced above. Actually, you've got another way to move Windows OS to new SSD via AOMEI Backupper free version. Just need more manual steps. Here is a brief guide.

Step 1. Create a system backup image using AOMEI Backupper backup feature. It is suggested to store the backup image on external drive or network path, or anywhere you can access from the WinPE environment.

Step 2. Create a bootable media, usually a bootable USB flash drive, via AOMEI Backupper tools. The flash drive should better equal or greater than 16GB.

Step 3. Restore the system image in WinPE environment. Boot up your computer with the bootable media. You'll see loaded AOMEI Backupper after log in. Click Restore and follow the wizard to complete.

9 FAQs on Hard Drive to SSD Cloning

Conclusion

What is the best free SSD cloning software for Windows? You may pick a suitable tool according to your specific situation:

• If you plan to clone old hard drive to a Samsung SSD, Samsung Data Migration is a good choice.
• If you want an SSD migration tool compatible with various systems like Linux, Mac OS, and Windows, you may pick Clonezilla.
• If you want a piece of SSD clone software embedded with the Rapid Delta Restore (RDR) technology, choose Macrium Reflect Free.
• If you need an SSD clone tool that can also help you optimize disk utilization, DiskGenius is recommended.
• If you need a data migration tool with flexible clone options and supporting all-branded SSDs, try AOMEI Backupper Standard.

AOMEI Backupper enables you to easily transfer data to your SSD (e.g., clone NVMe to NVMe SSD). It also brings you backup features including file and system backups. Its amazing restoration features allow you to recover your unbootable PC either by creating rescue media or by using the AOMEI PXE boot tool.

If you're an IT technician or want to use portable cloning software anywhere and anytime, you may try AOMEI Backupper Technician or Technician Plus edition to create portable version.