Best Free Cloning Software for Windows 11 – Speed & Feature Comparison

User Case: Is There Free Cloning Software for Windows 11?

5 Best Free Cloning Software for Windows 11

If you need to clone a hard drive or SSD on Windows 11, choosing the right cloning software can make the process smooth and efficient. Here, we list the 5 best free cloning software for Windows 11 to help you migrate data effortlessly.

Best Free Cloning Software for Windows 11

Software	UI	Clone	Align SSD	Backup	Open-Source
AOMEI Backupper	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	✅	✅	✅	❌
Macrium Reflect Free	⭐⭐⭐⭐	✅	❌	✅	❌
DiskGenius	⭐⭐⭐	✅	❌	✅	❌
DriveImage XML	⭐⭐⭐	✅	❌	✅	❌
Clonezilla	⭐⭐	✅	❌	❌	✅

1. AOMEI Backupper Standard

Best for: Beginners and advanced users who need reliable and free disk cloning with advanced features.

AOMEI Backupper Standard is one of the most powerful and user-friendly free disk cloning software for Windows 11. It allows users to clone entire disks, migrate OS, and transfer data without reinstalling Windows.

Key Features	Things to Note
✔️ Clone HDD to SSD or SSD to SSD effortlessly. ✔️ Supports cloning all brands of SSDs, including Western Digital, Kingston, Samsung, and NVMe M.2 SSDs. ✔️ Intelligent Clone function for cloning only used sectors, allowing cloning to smaller SSD. ✔️ SSD Alignment optimization to boost SSD performance and longevity. ✔️ Completely free with no bundled adware.	⛔ The free version does not support system disk cloning; you need to upgrade to the Pro version for this feature. ⛔ Ensure the target disk has enough space before cloning.

Takeaways:

✅ Best free cloning software for Windows 11 with a user-friendly interface.

✅ Ideal for upgrading to a larger drive or migrating Windows without reinstallation or data loss.

2. Macrium Reflect Free

Best for: Users looking for reliable backup and cloning software with robust features.

Macrium Reflect Free was a popular disk cloning and backup software that allowed users to create exact copies of disks or partitions.

Key Features	Things to Note
✔️ Create full-disk backups and clone hard drives. ✔️ Bootable media creation for disaster recovery. ✔️ Allows cloning without loading Windows.	⛔ Macrium Reflect Free was discontinued on January 1st, 2024. No future updates or support. ⛔ Only existing users can continue using it; new users need to purchase the paid version.

Takeaways:

✅ Feature-rich cloning software with additional backup capabilities.

✅ Secure and trusted by IT professionals.

3. DiskGenius

Best for: Users needing an all-in-one disk management tool.

DiskGenius is a powerful disk management and recovery tool that offers partition cloning and disk cloning capabilities.

Key Features	Things to Note
✔️ Clone hard drives and SSDs with ease. ✔️ Resize, create, and recover partitions. ✔️ Supports backup and data recovery features.	⛔ The free version has limited cloning features compared to the paid version. ⛔ Cloning speed may be slower compared to dedicated cloning tools.

Takeaways:

✅ Ideal for users looking for a multi-functional disk utility.

✅ Suitable for both cloning and partition management.

4. DriveImage XML

Best for: Users needing a lightweight cloning solution.

DriveImage XML is a free and simple disk imaging software for Windows 11/10. It allows direct disk-to-disk cloning and image-based backups.

Key Features	Things to Note
✔️ Supports hot imaging (clone while the disk is in use). ✔️ Stores images in XML format, making them accessible via third-party tools. ✔️ Lightweight and portable with a simple interface.	⛔ Lacks advanced features like SSD alignment and intelligent sector cloning. ⛔ Not suitable for cloning dynamic disks.

Takeaways:

✅ Good for creating disk images and quick cloning.

✅ XML-based backups allow flexible storage and restoration.

5. Clonezilla

Best for: Advanced users looking for open-source cloning software.

Clonezilla is a free and open-source disk imaging and cloning software used for system deployment, bare metal backup, and recovery.

Key Features	Things to Note
✔️ Clone an entire drive or a single partition. ✔️ Supports Windows, Linux, Mac OS, and more. ✔️ Can clone multiple computers simultaneously via a network.	⛔ Not user-friendly for beginners; requires command-line knowledge. ⛔ No graphical user interface (GUI), making it less intuitive.

Takeaways:

✅ Best open-source solution for advanced users and IT professionals.

✅ Supports network cloning, making it useful for bulk system deployment.

Cloning Speed Comparison: How Fast Can These Tools Clone a 500GB Drive?

The time required for cloning depends on factors such as the amount of data, the read/write speeds of the HDD and SSD, system performance, and the cloning software used.

For example, assuming a cloning speed of 100MB/s, cloning 500GB of data would theoretically take approximately 90 minutes. Here are estimated times for the five software tools:​

• AOMEI Backupper Standard: While specific times for cloning a 500GB disk aren't provided, users have reported that imaging a 32GB partition takes about 6 minutes on an Intel i5-2500 processor. Extrapolating from this, cloning a 500GB disk might take approximately 1.5 hours, though actual times can vary based on system performance and data amount. ​Source from AnandTech Forums

• Macrium Reflect Free: In tests, cloning a 1TB NVMe SSD with a 100GB partition took 12 minutes, and a 4TB HDD with a 2TB partition took about 2 hours. Therefore, cloning a 500GB disk would likely fall within this range, depending on the data size and drive type. ​Source from 33rd Square

• DiskGenius: Specific cloning times for DiskGenius aren't readily available. However, as a comprehensive disk management tool, its cloning speed may be comparable to other utilities, potentially taking between 1.5 to 2 hours for a 500GB disk, influenced by hardware and data specifics.​

• DriveImage XML: Users have reported that imaging a 30GB system partition took approximately 12 minutes. Extrapolating from this, cloning a 500GB disk could take around 3.5 hours, though this is a rough estimate and actual times may vary. ​Source from MajorGeeks.Com Support Forums

• Clonezilla: In tests, cloning a 1TB NVMe SSD with a 100GB partition took 12 minutes, and a 4TB HDD with a 2TB partition took about 2 hours and 12 minutes. Based on this, cloning a 500GB disk would likely take between 1 to 1.5 hours, depending on the data amount and drive type. ​Source from 33rd Square

How to Clone HDD to SSD on Windows 11 via AOMEI Backupper

In this part, you can learn how to clone Windows 11 data drive to an SSD using AOMEI Backupper. Before starting the cloning process, we need to do some preparatory work.

1. Install or Connect the SSD in Windows 11

If you are using a desktop:

1. Shut down your computer and cut off the power. Open the side of the computer tower case to expose the internal hardware and wiring.
2. Connect a power cable to the SSD and attach a SATA connector. Then close your computer case and restart it.

If you are using a laptop:

In the laptop computer, you’ll need to buy something like a SATA-to-USB cable, which will let you connect a hard drive to your laptop via USB.

Note✍: If the SSD is used and there are important things on it, please back up files in advance, since all the data in the destination will be overwritten in the cloning process. If this SSD is new, you can initialize disk first.

2. Run Disk Migration Tool - AOMEI Backupper

You can refer to the following steps to clone Windows 11 hard drive to SSD.

Step 1. Navigate to the Disk Clone option. Install and start free cloning software on Windows 11. Then you will see a dark blue interface. Click Clone in the left panel and select Disk Clone.

Step 2. Choose the disk to copy data from. Select the HDD as the source disk and click Next. Due to Standard edition restriction, the HDD should be a data disk which has no OS installed.

Step 3. Choose the disk to store cloned data. Select the SSD as the destination disk and click on Next.

Step 4. Begin cloning hard drive to SSD. Check SSD Alignment option to improve the writing & reading speed of SSD disk. Confirm all other settings and click Start Clone.

Tip:
◉ Sector By Sector Clone: By default, AOMEI Backupper just clones the existing data (used sectors) on the disk. If you want to clone all sectors on the source disk, regardless of whether it is used or not, please try this option.
◉ Edit Partitions: When you click it, you'll see these options as picture. The last two options allow you to resize and expand hard drive varying. You can also clone MBR to GPT via the Convert the destination disk from MBR to GPT option.

How to Migrate Windows 11 to SSD for Free

AOMEI Backupper Standard can also help you migrate Windows 11 to SSD. The process is relatively complicated, because it involves two main steps: create a system image and restore system image to new SSD. Let's take a closer look.

Step 1. Prepare a destination path to store the system image. It can be a USB flash drive, external hard drive or network location.

Step 2. Run AOMEI Backupper. Click Backup > System Backup, and follow the wizard to create a system image backup.

Step 3. After the backup process is completed, click Restore > Select Image File. Then, restore system image to new SSD as prompted.

Important: Securely Boot from the Cloned Hard Drive

If you performed HDD to SSD cloning on system disk, you can follow the steps below to safely boot from the cloned drive.

1. Install your cloned hard drive to the computer.
2. Press the specific key (usually F2, F8, F12, Del) to enter BIOS, and change the boot order to boot from the cloned SSD.

✍ Note: If you clone system between MBR disk and GPT disk, you also need to change the boot mode. MBR disk works with Legacy BIOS while GPT disk works with UEFI. To change the boot mode, you need to enter BIOS during startup as well, then select the boot mode (usually under Boot tab) as Legacy or UEFI.

Troubeshooting: Cloned Drive Won't Boot

There are a lot of reasons that would cause the SSD won’t boot after clone. For instance, bad sectors, corrupted system, missing system reserved partition, wrong boot drive, missing boot files, MBR/GPT conflict, etc. 

Here are commonly used ways to deal with post-cloning boot issues. For more information, please refer to Cloned SSD Won't Booting

1. Correctly install the cloned SSD with a SATA cable

2. Set system partition as an active partition

3. Setting BIOS to boot from UEFI or Legacy

4. Change boot order to boot from the cloned SSD

5. Repair Windows Startup from WindowsRE

6. Run Bootrec.exe

FAQs on Free Clone Software for Windows 11 

1. Why need free Windows 11 cloning software?

Since the release of Windows11, many users have been looking for a free cloning software. Some of them try to move the hard drive to a new computer and back up their disks on the computer. Others want to transfer data from one hard drive to another for different reasons, including replacing the old HDD with an SSD, upgrading the hard drive to obtain more storage space, and so on.

2. Can I clone a RAID array to a single drive without data loss?

Yes, it's possible to clone RAID arrays like RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 5 to a single drive without data loss. Tools such as AOMEI Backupper are designed to safely and easily perform this task. They support cloning various RAID configurations to a single drive, ensuring data integrity during the process.

3. How can I clone a dynamic disk to an SSD?

Cloning a dynamic disk to an SSD can be achieved without converting it to a basic disk. Software like AOMEI Backupper allows you to clone the entire dynamic disk directly to an SSD, preserving all data and system configurations. This approach eliminates the need for data migration or system reinstallation.

4. What is the best way to clone a server's hard drive?

Cloning a server's hard drive depends on the server's configuration. Tools like Clonezilla or AOMEI Backupper Server can be used by booting into a utility environment. Always verify the compatibility of the cloning tool with your server's hardware and software setup.

Summary

This page offers you the 5 best free cloning software for Windows 11. Considering the simplicity of operation and rich functions, I recommend AOMEI Backupper.

This software can provide you with much more than cloning. You can use it to create a WinPE bootable USB to help you deploy Windows 11 image. When your computer has some startup problems, this bootable media can also help you start the computer.

With its Backup features, you can backup your User Profile to restore it to a new computer or system, thus avoiding spending a long time to re-customize your new Windows 11. Try this free Windows 11 cloning software now!