Best USB Format Tool 2024 (Top 10 Utility Comparison)

Quick Summary:

Uncover the top USB format tools of 2024, carefully selected for their efficiency, compatibility, and ease of use. Our comprehensive guide compares key features and benefits, helping you choose the right tool for reliable USB drive formatting and optimal data management.

You’ve picked up a new USB or another form of external hard drive to manage your file system better. Now it’s time to pick the right formatter to keep your hard disk organized and optimized. While many basic OSs like Windows 10 have decent disk management tools, sometimes you want something better than average.

To format USB drives for your needs, you can use a separate program for more control over the formatting process. This article goes over the best USB format tools. We’ll break down their uses, and then compare programs, prices, and if they have free editions.

USB Format Tool Comparison Chart (Top 10 Highest Rated)

What is a USB Format Tool & What Does it Do?

There are a lot of storage devices like external hard drives that connect to our computers via USB. External memory can come in many different forms. These include USB pen drives, external hard drives and more. There are also non USB memory devices like memory cards, compact flash and SD cards.

When we buy these hard drives they may or may not be formatted according to our needs. Sometimes this is due to our operating systems. From Windows XP to Windows 10 to Mac or Linux, you should format USB drives optimally for your system.

One part of the formatting process is erasing memory drives completely. This is useful to return storage devices to their original state. Once you do that, you also need the best booting software to get your system up and running.

Another format option is to create partitions. This lets you create separate sections on a USB drive which can be formatted differently. These sections can get their own volume labels too. The smallest amount of disk space that can hold data is called a cluster size.

Finally, USB format tools are used to repair corrupted flash drives. If your computer won’t read your USB stick, it doesn’t mean it’s outright broken. You can run a format tool and hopefully get it fixed. USB format tools can also scan and wipe memory sticks of viruses. 

A Note on CMD

Sometimes, a hard drive needs to be opened using a command prompt. This is sort of an alternative to a format tool. To do this, you plug in your USB, and right-click on the Start button. Depending on your version of Windows, you may need to type in “CMD.” This is a more advanced way to format or repair a USB drive, and will require some familiarity with command lines. 

What Are the Different Types of USB Drive Format Tools

Different types of USB formatting tools can create the following formats:

• FAT, FAT32

• exFAT

• NTFS

• HFS+

• Ext2, Ext3, Ext4

• Btrfs

• Swap

What Are the Best USB Format Tools? Here’s Our Top 10 List:

Time to really look at the best USB format tools out there on the market today. This selection of 10 format tools will sure have something for all kinds of needs. Some come from well-known companies, and others are from smaller indie firms.

1. HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool (Best USB Format Tool Overall)

This USB flash drive formatting tool comes from the computer giant Hewlett-Packard. It formats USB sticks with FAT, FAT32, or NTFS partition types.

It works with the operating systems of Windows XP to Windows 10. You can use this to create a DOS startup disk. This HP tool can be used on flash drives that HP doesn’t make.

Overall, this is a very simple and quick tool to format USB keys. The interface looks familiar to Windows users. The best part? It’s 100% free!

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool is best for:

• Overall

• Windows users

• Startups

• SMBs

Visit site 
_{Go to HP’s official website}

2. JetFlash Online Recovery (Top USB Flash Drive Formatter)

Why We Chose It:

The JetFlash USB formatter is made by Transcend, a company that makes products like SSDs, memory cards, DRAM modules and flash drives. This JetFlash tool is for Microsoft Windows 7 and beyond.

It works specifically for Transcend flash drives and products, as well as ADATA products. This is a pretty quick format tool. JetFlash functions relatively simply by repairing disks in a three-step process.  

JetFlash Online Recovery is best for:

• Transcend products

• ADATA products

• Disk repairs

• Startups

Visit site 
_{Go to JetFlash’s official website}

3. HDD Low-Level Format Tool (Great Formatter for USB Pen Drives)

Why We Chose It:

HDD GURU is a website for computers and software. They make a free and premium USB formatting tool. It runs on Windows as well as Server.

You can run this formatting tool on many brands of hard drives, including Maxtor, Hitachi, Seagate, Samsung, Toshiba, Fujitsu, IBM, Quantum, Western Digital, and more. Because it is low level, it’s great for totally wiping USBs.

HDD Low-Level Format Tool is best for:

• Pen drives

• General use with lots of hard drives

• High-speed formatting with the commercial license

• Small businesses

Visit site 
_{Go to HDD’s official website}

4. Kingston USB Format Utility (Good Format Utility for USB Sticks)

Why We Chose It:

Kingston manufactures USB drives. These are all pre-formatted as FAT32. Kingston recommends you use Kingston formatting tools to work with their USB drives.

It runs on Windows 7, Windows XP and Windows Vista. This formatting tool only runs on the DTHX30/XX model of Kingston USB products.

Kingston USB Format Utility is best for:

• Kingston USB drives

• Windows users

Visit site 
_{Go to Kingston’s official website}

5. IM-Magic Partition Resizer (Top USB Format Tool for NTFS)

Why We Chose It:

The IM-Magic Partition resizer is made by Keloweisi. It comes as a freeware as well as a premium download. Plans go from $59 to $399. It’s good to shrink, widen, move, and merge partitions without destroying the data.

It handles the following formats: FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, exFAT and Ext formats. The interface is pretty self-explanatory.

IM-Magic Partition Resizer is best for:

• NTFS

• SMBs

• Professional use

Visit site 
_{Go to IM-Magic Partition Resizer’s official website}

6. Rufus (Good Tool for Creating Bootable USB Drives)

Why We Chose It:

Rufus is an independent operation. It makes bootable USB drives. It works on keys, pen drives, and memory sticks. It’s known to be a very fast formatting tool. Rufus runs on Windows 7 or later.

The Rufus code is available to the public, and modifications can be shared. With Rufus, you can flash a BIOS or DOS firmware. It also supports many languages, including Asian ones. Lots of ISOs work with Rufus for archiving copies of data from disks. 

Rufus is best for:

• Coders

• Bootable USB drives

• Startups

Visit site 
_{Go to Rufus’s official website}

7. EaseUS Partition Master (Best FAT32 Tool for USB)

Why We Chose It:

EaseUS is a big name in all things data. They’ve been around since 2004 and have over 200 million users.

The EaseUS Partition Master is a premium disk management tool. But there is a free version too. It works with Windows, and the premium plans also work with Server.

With Partition Master, you can migrate OS to SSD, which will speed things up. This one also lets you convert FAT32 to NTFS.

EaseUS Partition Master is best for:

• FAT32

• Large businesses

• Enterprise

Visit site 
_{Go to EaseUS Partition Master’s official website}

8. AOMEI Partition Assistant (Most Secure USB Format Tool)

Why We Chose It:

This Partition Assistant tool is made by the data insurance company AOMEI. They make a hard disk manager that’s fast and highly secure. You can do easy partition or disk cloning for backup purposes.

There’s also dynamic to basic disk conversion. This removes partitions without losing data. On top of all the many tools, AOMEI has lots of service and tutorials to help users make the most of their file system.  

AOMEI Partition Assistant is best for:

• Secure formatting

• SMBs

• Large business

Visit site 
_{Go to AOMEI Partition Assistant’s official website}

9. ADATA USB Flash Drive Online Recovery (Good Online Format Tool for USB)

Why We Chose It:

ADATA is a leading name in hardware memory like SSD and DRAM drives. The ADATA USB Flash Drive tool is an online tool, so no downloads. It helps repair drives that cannot be read or must be reformatted.

All you do is input the serial number of the drive into the site, and it matches the right formatting tool. It runs on Microsoft Windows XP and similar operating systems. 

ADATA USB Flash Drive Online Recovery is best for:

• Online flash drive recovery

• Startups

• SMBs

Visit site 
_{Go to ADATA’s official website}

10. Authorsoft USB Disk Storage Format Tool 6.0 (Best Free USB Format Tool)

Why We Chose It:

Authorsoft makes shareware and freeware. This is their USB formatting tool. You can create partition types for FAT, FAT32, exFAT, or NTFS. Even FAT32 that is larger than 32 GBs works.

The interface is simple and the formatting is quick. This works with flash drives from companies like SanDisk, Kingston, Sony, Lexar, Toshiba, ADATA, Verbatim, LaCie, IronKey, Silicon Power, and more.

Authorsoft USB Disk Storage Format Tool 6.0 is best for:

• Free users

• FAT32

• General USB pen drives

Visit site 
_{Go to Authorsoft’s official website}

Which is the Best USB Disk Storage Format Tool for You? 

For a brand-name USB formatting program, the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool takes top place. But if you want to get away from the big names and support shareware, then Authorsoft USB Disk Storage Format Tool 6.0 is a great choice.

And that about wraps it up for this mega USB format breakdown. 

Remember, our feeble human memory can’t quite cut it in today’s informational tsunamis. Not only do you need the best external memory devices, but you’ll want to be master of their forms, formats, and partitions too.