The Top 5 Best Free DVD Burning Software

The Top 5 Best Free DVD Burning Software

Zight | September 03, 2020 | 8 min read time

Article Last Updated: June 10, 2023

The Top 5 Best Free DVD Burning Software

What are the best free dvd burning software out there? We know you already know: Thumb drives and hard drives seemingly replaced DVDs. But this older technology is still extremely useful, especially in the business world.

There’s a main advantage to DVDs that other hardware storage options don’t have: A long shelf life.

Why You Need the Best Free DVD Burning Software

Thumb drives and hard drives use a magnetic medium to write data. This method causes them to suffer from “data perishability.” That’s why HDDs, thumb drives, and even SSDs can’t (and aren’t) used for archival purposes. They’re an excellent shorter-term solution.

But data burned to a DVD is laser printed on a tiny sheet of metal. Theoretically, the information printed on the metal could last for hundreds of years when properly stored. Your data is also not stored on someone else’s servers in the cloud or being sent across the web using file sharing sites. Making DVDs the most secure option for storing highly-sensitive information.

What Is the Best Free DVD Burning Software

So what is the best free DVD burning software you can use? This article gives you 5 feature-rich options for virtually any data storage needs. Let’s dive in!

BurnAware

BurnAware is free DVD burning software with every important feature you need to create CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and more.

Some software has a clumsy interface and isn’t always intuitive for people with less experience using this type of tool. BurnAware has an approachable interface with different icons and titles for every option available such as

  • Data
  • Multimedia
  • Disc images
  • Utilities

It’s easy to set up and use on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, and 10. In a few clicks, you’ll be ready to burn almost any type of disc.

Choosing to burn a DVD is as simple as clicking on the DVD-Video icon in the Main Window. This will open a new window with more options strictly for creating DVDs.

You’ll see Compilation, Edit, and Recorder.

In Compilation, you’ll find the red “burn” button and other options for configuring additional elements of the burn you’re performing.

WIthin Edit is an option to “add files,” which opens a new window and lets you choose the files you want to burn. But you also have the option of dragging-and-dropping files directly into BurnAware. Also, Edit allows you to delete specific properties of your file if necessary.

Recorder is where you choose an optical drive – the tray that you placed your disc into – and the writing speed of the software.

Ashampoo Burning Studio FREE

Ashampoo Burning Studio FREE is easily one of the best free DVD burning software options on this list.

It comes loaded with tons of features and gives you the ability to burn music, data, films, photographs, and more. It’s another tool well-suited for beginners who want to be able to open the program and start burning without much hassle.

Burning any disc is pretty much the same process. After selecting “burn data” you can open files or drag-and-drop them into Ashampoo. From there, all you have to do is select the type of disc you’re burning (Blu-ray, DVD or CD).

Ashampoo also lets you use rewritable discs and can erase and reuse them.

You can burn HD and Full HD movies in 720p or 1080p quality.

You can burn any kind of music on CDs in most formats, including MP3, WMA, and WAV. Of course, you can burn any kind of audio, such as sales calls or meetings. Ashampoo normalizes volume discrepancies and other issues automatically.

One of the most important reasons for using free DVD burning software is to backup sensitive data.

You can burn and store password-protected data on a disc to keep your important information safe. The size of your files isn’t usually a concern because Ashampoo has a built-compression tool that automatically keeps the file sizes as small as possible.

Of course, if you have so much data that you require 2 or more discs, the disc spanning function automatically splits the burning process into smaller segments across multiple discs for you.

Whatever the type of data you’re burning, or the disc you need to burn it on, Ashampoo is one of the best tools to use.

CDBurnerXP

CDBurnerXP has been around since 2004 and has remained the go-to DVD burning software for many people.

It can burn CDs, DVDs, HD-DVDs, and more.

It’s also frequently used to burn ISOs.

Part of its popularity is due to its multilanguage feature which can change the interface’s language to Chinese, French, Lithuanian, and dozens of other languages providing access to people around the globe.

The main window of CDBurnerXP isn’t as modern as some other options on this list, but it’s straightforward enough for anyone to understand their options and start using the software.

The features are clearly listed with titles such as Data disc, Video DVD, Audio disc, Burn ISO image, Copy or grab disc, and Erase disc.

No matter which title you choose, CDBurnerXP will open new panels with new options, allowing you to focus on one action at a time while being able to easily start a new operation from the main window.

Generating DVDs is effortless. You just need to choose a disc name, video folder, the number of copies, and then choose a device and speed.

You’ll have the option of enabling or disabling a variety of burning options including modifying IFO/BUP files, activating double-layer compatibility mode, or padding the DVD size to 1GB.

When burning data or creating ISO images, you’re given an interface that’s very similar to what File Explorer on Windows looks like. It provides you with swift access to files and folders on your hard drive and even lets you view their properties such as name, size, type, date, and folder path.

With the “review image” feature you can drag-and-drop files into a list with the items you want to burn. Add or remove files, clear the list, and view the remaining size on your disc.

The disc you’re burning can be labeled with a name, application, and publisher. You can create cover images and print them through the software.

You can also choose the burning speed and toggle an option to shut down the computer when the disc has finished burning and ejected from your PC.

CDBurnerXP offers a user-friendly DVD burning tool that suits the needs of first-time users and pros alike.

WinX DVD Author

WinX DVD Author bills itself as one of the “best free DVD author’s for Windows 10.”

It supports burning almost any major file type, including MP4, MKV, AVI, VOB, FLV, MOV, ISO, and more. While many free DVD burners restrict many inputs, WinX DVD Author supports almost all of them.

WinX DVD Author doesn’t feature any ads cluttering its interface and allows unskilled users to pick up this tool and start burning in just a few clicks. They did a great job focusing on a better user experience.

One of the best features of this free DVD burning software is the ability to create DVD title menus and chapter menus to organize all your information in a clean, straightforward way. You can even add background music for a little extra flair and presentation.

Thanks to a powerful decoder and encoder engine, WinX DVD Author burns data at speeds faster than many others; you can burn 4.3 GB within an hour.

If you’re burning a video that’s going to be seen by people who need or require subtitles, you can add an .srt file and WinX DVD Author will do the rest.

One of the coolest features is the ability to download YouTube videos without needing external software and later burning them to DVD.

Wondershare DVD Creator

Wondershare DVD Creator software offers a full suite of free DVD burning tools.

Its parent company, Wondershare, is well-known for being a pioneer in the area of multimedia tools and applications.

Wondershare DVD Creator can burn it all: videos, images, ISOs, and audio files to DVDs and Blu-ray discs.

You can burn DVDs in over 150 file formats including MP4, MKV, AVI, and so on. If you need added customization, Wondershare DVD Creator can burn videos in different formats such as DVD-9, DVD-R/RW, BD-R, etc.

Videos you add to DVDs can be converted into a full movie, complete with background music and transition effects.

One major feature you don’t find often in free DVD burning software is a built-in video editor.

Wondershare DVD Creator provides a range of video editing tools to enhance the final cut of the movie you create. Trip and crop scenes. Enhance brightness, contrast, and saturation. Or use a variety of special effects to create an improved visual experience, especially when viewing your movie on a bigger screen.

Another excellent feature is the ability to add copyright ownership over your videos or create a text watermark to your movies.

Wondershare DVD Creator also supports subtitles.

The menu on your DVD can be customized using an assortment of 100 static and dynamic DVD templates that feature various holidays, sports, and other themes.

Wondershare DVD Creator is all-around one of the best options on this list.

For Quick Communication That Doesn’t Need to be Permanently Saved, Use Zight (formerly CloudApp)

DVDs are the ideal solution when you’re saving data long-term offline.

But oftentimes, you need to communicate with your team and coworkers quickly, no data burning necessary.

For that, you can turn to Zight (formerly CloudApp).

Zight (formerly CloudApp) is a visual communication solution that makes collaboration fun and easy while reducing miscommunication and mistakes.

No more multi-paragraph emails or unnecessary team meetings.

Zight (formerly CloudApp) allows you to quickly share important information, create engaging content for both team members and customers, all while helping you stay focused and productive.

We bring HD screen and webcam recording, and GIF creation to the cloud in an easy-to-use, enterprise-grade app so you can quickly create and share visual content.

Zight (formerly CloudApp) is used by over 3 million people and is trusted by top companies such as Uber, Salesforce, and Adobe.

We’ve been ranked by G2 Crowd as one of the top sales enablement tools and we continue to help companies improve communication with all of our solutions.

We believe fast and easy collaboration is a great thing, not only for your bottom line, but for your company culture as well.

And we make it easy for teams like yours to:

  • Save Time
  • Communicate More Clearly
  • Grab Attention
  • Personalize Content
  • Engage Customers

And so much more.

Discover how Zight (formerly CloudApp) makes communication faster and easier in your company today.

Create & share screenshots, screen recordings, and GIFs with Zight