It is a well-known fact that USB drives have become more popular among some members of society, especially friends and colleagues. Nevertheless, they could not even get close to replacing the good old discs like DVD and CD. For one thing, when it comes to commercial use, CDs and DVDs are more cost-effective, secure, and you will not have to worry about someone writing over your data or returnin it back after its data is used or copied.
Despite this, people have always found it difficult to get their hands on the best CD/DVD burning software. In this article, TopWonk experts have reviewed the best CD/DVD burning software for you.
A Word for Beginners
Writing information on CDs (compact discs) and DVDs (Digital Video Discs) requires special tools. While in thumb drives a simple copy and paste procedure suffices, for writing data (burning data) on these discs you must follow a different course of action. While newer OSs like Windows 10 allow you to copy and then burn your data on a disc, a safer way is to install a professional burning software.
While some discs are used for permanent storage of data, CD-RW and DVD-RW formats (which are re-writable) allow you to erase the existing data and burn new data on them.
Note: if you are looking for some cool apps to edit videos before burning them on a CD/DVD, definitely check the best video editing software out.
1. Ashampoo Burning Studio
💳 Price: Free
First on our list is Ashampoo Burning Studio Free that is being taken advantage of by many users worldwide. Ashampoo is a prestigious brand in the world of software programs and has amazing apps such as music studio and an uninstaller software for windows.
One thing that gives an edge to Ashampoo tools is the fact that they are loaded with options and features. You may use this app to burn a wide variety of data, from photos to high quality videos on your disc. Ashampoo Burning Studio is an apt choice for beginners who are looking for a user-friendly CD and DVD Burning software. After a very smooth installation, all you have to do is drag and drop your files into the app. Then, you can choose your disc format: CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray.
If you need to burn music on CD/DVD on a regular basis, then Ashampoo is definitely an awesome choice. first, it supports diverse formats, and second, it boosts optimization and correction tools for your audio files.
Another great feature that Ashampoo has is its built-in compression tool. It automatically compresses your files. Still, if your files’ size is larger than a CD or DVD’s capacity, Ashampoo is programmed to split them into smaller sections.
Pros
- Free
- User-friendly
- Wide variety of formats are supported
- Back Up options available
- Normalizations and optimization tools
- Default Compression tool that saves space
- Different Menu views for different preferences
- Password protection with AES-256 Encryption
Cons
- None
2. BurnAware
💳 Price: Free (with Paid Pro and Premium Versions)
Another great CD/DVD burner is of course BurnAware. It is a feature-packed and surprisingly free program that lets you make and burn different types of discs. It caters to every single need of both professional and home users. BurnAware provides great options for burning different formats of media. Documents, and applications, or create bootable discs. What’s more, you can manage your UDF partition, boot settings, as well as session selection, ISO levels, etc.
Pros
- Intuitive
- Free
- Blu-Ray and M-Disc supported
- Light with little CPU usage
- Numerous languages are supported
- Numerous formats are supported
- Advanced options for professional users
- Multi-burn
Cons
- No option for copying discs
3. Nero Burning Rom
💳 Price: 49.95 $
Almost Everyone knows that Nero is a premium brand developing every sort of tool you might need for disc management. When we talk about Nero, we mean quality and security.
Pros
- Incredibly fast and secure
- Various features for burning, ripping, ISO tools, etc.
- Automatic quality improvement for audio files
- SecureDisc 4.0 technologyà256-bit encryption
- Advanced features for burning media files
- Gracenote for album cover art integration
- Copy all kinds of discs: CD, DVD and Blu-Ray
- Digital signature
Cons
- A bit Pricey
4. WinX DVD Author
💳 Price: Free
Next up, TopWonk is going to introduce you to the amazing Winx DVD Burner. This app is the perfect tool for beginners since it has a really low learning curve. Nevertheless, despite its seemingly simplistic interface, this CD/DVD burn software for windows has a lot to offer. Winx DVD Author supports almost all the common and standard formats for media and disc image. It also allows you to create chapter and title menus for all the data on your disc. It has a built-in video encoder for every format available.
Pros
- Speedy and easy to use
- Great for beginners and first timers
- Subtitle and menu creation are supported
- Great output resolution and quality
- Built-in editor and convertor for videos
- Downloader for YouTube videos
Cons
- Lacks some of the more advanced features
- No encryption offered
💳 Price: lifetime license for 1 user 55.95 $ & Multiple (2-5) users 89.95 $
With just a few clicks, Wondershare DVD Creator allows you to burn your data and add cool features to them. You may create slideshows, burn movies and add menus and subtitles, and do lots more. This DVD burning software supports all the major standard formats such as DVD-5, DVD-9, DVD-R/RW, as well as BD-R, BD-RE, and BD-25, BD-50, and BD-100.
By the way, do not let the name mislead you, this amazing app also supports CD formats for burning and ripping music.
Pros
- Supports numerous formats
- Integrated video editor to crop, trim and enhance your videos
- Add subtitle, watermark,
- Chapter and movie menu
- One-click burning available
- High resolution
- Great tech support
- A limited free version is available
Cons
- None that we know of
6. NCH Express Burn
💳 Price: Free (Plus Edition 60 $)
This is another effective tool you can make use of for burning data on a CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray. NCH Express Burn supports an extensive diversity of formats for media files such as video and audio. Also, when it comes to different disc types, NCH Express Burn can be the number one choice for many users: you can write a DVD-RW, DVD-R, BD-RDL, BD-R and many others.
One good thing about NCH Express Burn is that is compatible with every version of Windows that you may use. From XP and Vista to Windows 10.
Pros
- dual layer option for Blu-Ray and DVD burning
- Supports Rewritable burning
- Copy disc option
- Many formats are supported
- Menu and chapter creation with various templates
- Features for Bootable disc
- Audio normalization
Cons
- The plus version is rather Costly
7. Roxio Easy CD & DVD Burning 2
💳 Price: 24.99 €
As the name clearly implies, Roxio leads the way to a very simple and efficient burning process. Save your data and keep them safe on any type of disc you wish. You can also edit and copy CD or DVDs and even create and author your own DVD with your desired menus and chapters. Furthermore, Roxio is jampacked with features for ripping, digitalizing, and adding metadata for authors and artists.
One point that has made working with Roxio a walk in the park is its drag and drop option. Furthermore, with the loads of features for converting video and audio formats as well as editing tools, Roxio makes the use of any other software redundant.
Pros
- An All-in-one app with great features
- Audio enhancement
- Gracenote technology
- Templates and themes for menu customization
- Editing, converting and trimming tools
- Customize photos, videos, and sound files
- Audio digitalization from LP albums and cassettes
- A large variety of formats are supported
Cons
- Does not offer any encryption options (available is Roxio Secure Burn)
- In-app purchases for Blu-Ray
- Only works on Widows 7, 8 and 10
8. gBurner
💳 Price: 29.95 $ (30-day trial)
Another handy tool for creating your own data is definitely gBurner. In spite of its old-fashioned interface, gBurner has a lot to offer. It allows you to create data on different types of discs and provides you with a wide range of choices: Blu-Ray, DVD, VCD, CD and others. What’s more, gBurner supports a plethora of digital formats. You can also rip audio CDs; or create, control, and burn disc image files with formats like ISO, Cue, Bin, MDF and lots more.
An interesting fact about gBurner is that it supports nearly 20 languages which include international ones like English and Spanish, as well as others like Vietnamese, Kazakh and Estonian.
Pros
- Multisession and bootable disc creation are supported
- Options for rewritable and returnable discs
- ISO 9660 and its subsets like UDF and Joliet
- Menu provided in Multiple languages
- Works with every Windows OS version
Cons
- No templated for DVD menus
9. CDBurnerXP
💳 Price: Free
CDBurnerXP is a free of cost cd/dvd burning application that caters to the needs of users who wish to create or copy discs. You can also copy discs, handle rewritable and re-burnable discs, as well as handle images files of different formats like ISO. It is worth mentioning that there is no feature for creating an image file and all you can do is burn it on a disc.
All in all, it is a super-efficient and amazing tool that lets you create and copy audio files and videos with a great choice range of formats.
Pros
- Free of charge
- Numerous formats are supported
- Works with every Windows OS version
- Easy and intuitive interface
- Several languages are supported
Cons
- No editing, trimming and customization options
10. True Bruner
💳 Price: Free (Professional 29.95 $)
Developed by Glorylogic, True Burner is a neat and super intuitive software for burning data on CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray. True Burner allows you to create and burn multisession discs, in addition to bootable ones. It works fine with different ISO image formats provides you with all the necessary options to create, write, and preserve your data.
Pros
- Free for personal usage
- Options for ISO, bootable, and multisession
- Rewritable discs enabled
- Small and compact
- Works with Vista and higher OSs
Cons
- Lacks some more sophisticated options
In a Nutshell
If you wish to preserve and share your data in the safest and most durable way possible, then having a decent burning software is a must. Fortunately, we have a wide array of choices that suit our persona, commercial, and of course professional use. All in all, some burning software like Nero and Roxio might cost you a pretty penny, there is nothing you cannot do without them. On the other hand, a burner like Ashampoo burning Studio is completely free and does not by any means fall short of features offered by paid ones.
FAQs
Check our detailed review above to get familiar with the best free burner software. There are some cool choices like Ashampoo Burning Studio and WinX DVD Author.
The short answer is no. in contrast, some of these burning programs offer features that normalize and enhance the quality of your videos and audios. However, the burning speed can at times affect the accuracy and quality of your data.
In addition to a decent software for burning, your system must be equipped with an optical disc drive. Therefore, you cannot use this option in some newer laptops that have no disc drive.
