10 Best Free Disk Partition Software Tools

Free apps from MiniTool, AOMEI, and more let you shrink, expand, combine, and split partitions

Partition management software programs let you create, delete, shrink, expand, split, or merge partitions on your hard drives or other storage devices. Whether you're trying to make room for a dual-boot OS setup or combining two partitions for those new UHD movie rips, these are the best free tools I've used.

01
of 10

MiniTool Partition Wizard Free

MiniTool Partition Wizard Free
What We Like
  • Supports lots of common disk partitioning tasks

  • Lets you extend the system partition without having to restart

  • Simulates changes before you save them

  • The program is really easy to use

  • Works well in all modern versions of Windows

What We Don't Like
  • Dealing with dynamic disks is not supported

  • Some features that look free are only available if you purchase the program

  • Attempts to add another program to your computer during setup

MiniTool Partition Wizard includes more partition management tools than most similar programs, even ones you might pay for.

Not only does the free version support regular functions like formatting, deleting, moving, resizing, splitting, merging, and copying partitions, but it also can check the file system for errors, run a surface test, and wipe and align partitions.

Additionally, MiniTool Partition Wizard is able to move the operating system to a different hard drive and recover lost or deleted partitions. There's also a disk space analyzer and benchmark tool built-in.

One thing I don't like is that it doesn't support manipulating dynamic disks.

Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP are the confirmed supported operating systems.

02
of 10

GParted

GParted v0.23.0
What We Like
  • Works no matter what operating system is installed (or even if there isn't one)

  • Every change can be applied nearly instantly without a reboot

  • Lets you hide partitions

  • Adjusting the size of a partition is really easy

  • Supports lots of file systems

What We Don't Like
  • Takes longer to start up because you have to boot to the software

  • Partitions are easy to miss because they're hidden in a menu

  • Takes much longer to download than most disk partitioning programs

  • No redo option (just an undo)

GParted runs entirely from a bootable disc or USB device, but it still has a full user interface like a regular program, so it's not at all difficult to use.

Editing a partition's size is easy because you can choose the exact size of the free space before and after the partition, using either a regular text box or a sliding bar to visually see the size increase or decrease.

A partition can be formatted in any one of several file system formats, some of which include EXT2/3/4, NTFS, FAT16/32, and XFS.

Changes GParted makes to disks are queued up and then applied with one click. Because it runs outside the operating system, pending changes don't require a reboot, which means you can get things done that much quicker.

A small but particularly annoying issue is that it doesn't list all the available partitions on one screen like most other free disk partitioning programs. You have to open each disk separately from a drop-down menu, which is actually easy to miss if you're not sure where to look.

This download takes up a few hundred megabytes of space—much larger than most of the other programs on this list—so it may take some time to download.

03
of 10

AOMEI Partition Assistant SE

AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition 10
What We Like
  • Includes an easy-to-use, step-by-step wizard

  • Changes you make are queued and not applied until you specifically apply all of them at once

  • Lots of useful features are included

  • Many of the options are readily available without having to sift through menus

  • Can run from a bootable program to work with a hard drive that doesn't have an OS installed

What We Don't Like
  • Some features are only available if you pay for them

  • Unable to convert between primary partitions and logical partitions

  • Can't convert dynamic disks to basic disks

AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition has a lot more options that are out in the open (as well as hidden away in menus) than many other free partition software tools, but don't let that scare you away.

You can resize, merge, create, format, align, split, and recover partitions with this program, as well as copy whole disks and partitions.

Some of the partition management features are limited and offered only in their paid, professional version. One such feature is the ability to convert between primary and logical partitions.

You can also use AOMEI's tool to create a bootable Windows flash drive, move an operating system to an entirely different hard drive, and wipe all the data from a partition or drive.

If you want extra features like dynamic to basic disk conversions, you have to pay.

This program can be used in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.

04
of 10

EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition

EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition
What We Like
  • Easy to understand with lots of useful options

  • Makes it easy to upgrade the system drive to a larger HDD

  • Several helpful options and functions

  • Changes are previewed before they're applied

  • The program updates often with improvements and new features

  • Can convert to MBR and GPT

What We Don't Like
  • Doesn't work for commercial use; only personal

  • No support for managing dynamic volumes

  • Features like disk cloning and migrating aren't free

  • Shows an ad every time you close the program

  • Your email address is required to get the download

Managing the size of a partition in EaseUS Partition Master is dead simple thanks to their easy-to-use slider that lets you drag left and right to shrink or expand a partition.

Changes you apply to a partition with this program aren't actually applied in real-time. Modifications exist virtually, which means you're only seeing a preview of what will happen if you save the changes, but nothing is actually set in stone yet. Changes don't take effect until you click a certain button.

I particularly like this feature so things like expanding and copying partitions can be done in one swipe instead of having to reboot between each operation, thus saving tons of time. The list of pending operations is even shown on the side of the program so you can clearly see what will happen when you apply them.

You can also password protect EaseUS Partition Master, hide partitions, upgrade the system drive to a larger bootable drive, merge partitions, defragment a drive, and copy Windows to a different hard drive.

One thing I don't like about this program is that several features are only available in the full, paid version, but are still clickable. This means you might sometimes try to open something in the free version only to be prompted to buy the professional one.

It works with Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7.

05
of 10

Macrorit Partition Expert

Macrorit Partition Expert v5 in Windows 8
What We Like
  • Program interface makes it easy to use and understand what you're doing

  • Supports common and advanced features

  • Queues changes until you apply them all at once

  • Everything you're able to do is shown outright; no hidden menu options

  • There's a portable option

What We Don't Like
  • Free for personal use only

  • Can't manipulate disks bigger than 16 TB

I love this app's user interface because it's super clean and uncluttered, making it very easy to use. All the available operations are listed out on the side, and none of them are hidden away in menus.

Some actions you can perform to a disk include resize, move, delete, copy, format, and wipe a volume, as well as change the volume's label and run a surface test. It also supports OS migration and converting dynamic disks to basic disks.

Much like similar partition management software, Macrorit's program doesn't actually make any changes to the partitions until you apply them with the Commit button.

This program can run on Windows 11, 10, and older versions of Windows. A portable edition is also available. To use this with a Windows Server OS, you'll need to pay for the Server or Unlimited edition.

06
of 10

Paragon Partition Manager

Paragon Partition Manager 17 CE
What We Like
  • Supports plenty of basic features

  • Walks you through a step-by-step wizard

  • Previews changes before committing to them

  • Supports common file systems

What We Don't Like
  • Missing features found in similar tools

  • Not everything is free; some features require an upgrade

  • Not free for business usage

If walking through wizards helps you feel more comfortable making changes to partitions, then you'll like Paragon Partition Manager.

Whether you're creating a new partition or resizing, deleting, or formatting an existing one, this program has you move through a step-by-step process to do it.

Common file systems like NTFS, FAT32, and HFS are supported.

Unfortunately, a number of additional features are disabled, available only in the pro version. These include disk backup, OS migration, and data wiping.

The supported operating systems include Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7.

07
of 10

NIUBI Partition Editor Free Edition

NIUBI Partition Editor Free Edition
What We Like
  • Queues up all the changes and applies them at the same time

  • Convert MBR to GPT without data loss

  • Convert between logical and primary partitions without data loss

  • Convert NTFS partitions to FAT32 without data loss

What We Don't Like
  • Bootable Media Builder works only in the paid edition

  • Isn't free for commercial use

NIUBI's partitioning tool is extremely capable, despite it being the free version. Like most of the programs from this list, you can manipulate partitions in several ways.

There's an OS migration wizard and clone disk wizard, so if you need to do those things, it'll walk you through the whole process of choosing the source and destination locations.

Over 10 operations are listed off the left of the program for easy access. These let you do things like resize/move the volume, merge two volumes, delete or format a volume, repair the file system, run a surface test, and more.

This program runs on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.

08
of 10

IM-Magic Partition Resizer

Lists of disks in IM-Magic Partition Resizer
What We Like
  • Quick install

  • Lots of options

  • Accessing all the options from anywhere is easy

  • Shows a preview of what will happen after you save the changes

What We Don't Like
  • Some features only work if you upgrade to the paid version

  • Free for home/personal use only

IM-Magic Partition Resizer installs quickly and is super simple to use. You can use it to move, resize (even the active one), and copy partitions, as well as change the drive letter and label, check the partition for errors, delete and format partitions (even with a custom cluster size), convert NTFS to FAT32, hide partitions, and wipe all that data off.

All of those actions are extremely easy to find because you just have to right-click the device you want to manipulate. As you perform these actions, you'll see the program update in real time to reflect them so that you can see how it will look when everything has been applied.

Then, when you're happy with the results, use the big Apply Changes button to put everything into action. If you have to reboot for anything to take effect, IM-Magic Partition Resizer will tell you so.

You can also view the properties of any drive, to see its NT object name, GUID, file system, sector size, cluster size, partition number, physical sector number, total number of hidden sectors, and more.

The only downfall I can see with this program is that a few of the features require that you upgrade to a paid edition. For example, you can't make the bootable media program that they support unless you pay for it.

The official list of operating systems that you can install this software to is Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, and 2000.

09
of 10

Active@ Partition Manager

Active@ Partition Manager v6 in Windows 8
What We Like
  • It's really easy to use and understand

  • Some changes you make can be restored from a backup

  • Many common disk partitioning tasks are supported

What We Don't Like
  • Can't copy partitions

  • Extending the system partition might not work for you

  • Won't downsize locked volumes

  • Very infrequent updates

Active@ Partition Manager can create new partitions out of unallocated space as well as manage existing partitions, like resizing and formatting them. Simple wizards make it easy to walk through some of these tasks.

No matter what kind of file system you're using, this tool should be able to handle it, with support for all the common ones, like FAT, HFS+, NTFS, and EXT2/3/4.

There are other features, too, like imaging a whole drive for backup purposes, converting between MBR and GPT, creating FAT32 partitions as large as 1 TB, editing boot records, and rolling back changes by auto-backing up partition layouts.

When Active@ Partition Manager resizes a partition, you can define the custom size in either megabytes or sectors.

Unfortunately, it can't resize locked volumes, which means it won't let you change the size of the system volume.

This program should work just fine with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP, as well as Windows Server 2012, 2008, and 2003. 

This software is also able to enlarge the system partition, but in my testing, I found that it always resulted in a BSOD.

10
of 10

Cute Partition Manager

Cute Partition Manager v0.9.8
What We Like
  • Runs on any computer, with or without an OS

  • It's easy to delete and create partitions

  • Can format a drive to one of many file systems

  • The download size is really small

What We Don't Like
  • No graphical user interface

  • Takes a while to start using because you have to boot to the software

  • Must enter the exact size of the partition you want to make

  • Doesn't save changes automatically

  • No option to restart or exit the program

  • No longer updates

Like GParted, listed above, Cute Partition Manager doesn't run from within the OS. Instead, you must install it to a bootable device like a disc or a flash drive. This means you can use it even if you don't have an operating system installed at all.

This program can be used to change the file system of a disk and create or delete partitions. Any changes you make are queued up and can be undone because they are only applied when you save them.

Cute Partition Manager is hardly "cute"; it's completely text-based. This means you can't use your mouse to select the different options — it's all done with the keyboard. Really, though, there aren't that many menus, so it's not a problem.

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