10 Free Disk Partition Software Tools

Partition manager programs for Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP

An illustration of a storage disk being divided like a cake to simulate disk partitioning.

 Jon Marchione, Lifewire 2018

by Tim Fisher
Tim Fisher has 30+ years' professional technology support experience. He writes troubleshooting content and is the General Manager of Lifewire.
Updated January 02, 2019

Partition management software programs let you create, delete, shrink, expand, split, or merge partitions on your hard drives or other storage devices.

You can certainly partition a hard drive in Windows without extra software, but you won't be able to do things like resize them or combine them without some extra help.

Safe, easy to use partition tools weren't always available, and even when you did find something you liked, it was expensive. These days, there are plenty of completely free disk partition software programs that even the novice tinkerer will love.

Whether you're expanding your Windows system partition, shrinking it to make room for an operating system dual-boot setup, or combining your two media partitions for those new UHD movie rips, these free disk partition tools will sure come in handy.

01
of 10

MiniTool Partition Wizard Free

Screenshot of MiniTool Partition Wizard Free 10 in Windows 8
MiniTool Partition Wizard Free 10.

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

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

Not only does the free MiniTool Partition Wizard 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, wipe partitions with various data sanitization methods, and align partitions.

In addition to the above, MiniTool Partition Wizard is able to move the operating system to a different hard drive as well as recover lost or deleted partitions.

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

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

02
of 10

AOMEI Partition Assistant SE

Screenshot of AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition v7.0 in Windows 10
AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition v7.0.

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 basis 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 doesn't let that scare you away.

You can resize, merge, create, format, align, split, and recover partitions with AOMEI Partition Assistant, as well as copy whole disks and partitions.

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

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

You can also use AOMEI Partition Assistant 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.

03
of 10

Active@ Partition Manager

Screenshot of Active@ Partition Manager v6 in Windows 8
Active@ Partition Manager. ​

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

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, the free Active@ Partition Manager tool should be able to handle it, with support for all the common ones, like FAT, NTFS, HFS+, and EXT2/3/4.

Active@ Partition Manager includes 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, Active@ Partition Manager can't resize locked volumes, which means it won't let you change the size of the system volume.

Active@ Partition Manager should work just fine with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP, as well as Windows Server 2012, 2008, and 2003. 

Active@ Partition Manager is also able to enlarge the system partition, but in our testing we find that it always results in a BSOD. There's more on this in the review.

04
of 10

EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition

Screenshot of EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition 13 in Windows 8
EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition v13.

What We Like

  • Easy to understand with lots of useful options

  • Lets you protect the program with a password

  • 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

What We Don't Like

  • Doesn't work for commercial use; only personal

  • No support for managing dynamic volumes

  • You have to restart the computer to extend the system partition

  • Can't convert between MBR and GPT

  • Setup tries to install another program

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 in EaseUS Partition Master aren't actually applied in real time. Modifications exist only 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 the Execute 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.

EaseUS Partition Master works with Windows 10, back through Windows XP.

Partition Master's setup routine will install EaseUS Todo Backup Free and a couple other programs along with the Partition Master...unless you uncheck that option.

05
of 10

GParted

Screenshot of GParted v0.23.0
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 different 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 with GParted 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.

GParted is around 300 MB, which is much larger than most of the other programs on our list, so it may take some time to download.

06
of 10

Cute Partition Manager

Screenshot of Cute Partition Manager v0.9.8
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

Like GParted, 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.

Cute Partition Manager 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 completely text-based. This means you can't use your mouse to select the different options — it's all done with the keyboard. Don't let this scare you off, though; there aren't that many menus and so it's not really a problem.

07
of 10

Macrorit Partition Expert

Screenshot of Macrorit Partition Expert v5 in Windows 8
Macrorit Partition Expert v5.

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

  • Doesn't support dynamic disks

  • Free for personal use only

  • Can't manipulate disks bigger than 32 TB

I love Macrorit Partition Expert'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 of the actions you can perform to a disk with Macrorit Partition Expert include resize, move, delete, copy, format, and wipe a volume, as well as change the volume's label, convert between a primary and logical volume, and run a surface test.

Like most of the partition management software in this list, Macrorit Partition Expert doesn't actually make any changes to the partitions until you apply them with the Commit button.

One thing I don't like about Macrorit Partition Expert is that it doesn't support dynamic disks.

A portable version is also available from the Macrorit website.

08
of 10

Paragon Partition Manager Free

Screenshot of the Paragon Hard Disk Manager Basic v16 program in Windows 8
Partition Manager Free (Paragon Hard Disk Manager Basic).

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 most disk partitioning tools

  • Not every feature is free to use; some require you to upgrade to the pro version

  • Not free for business usage; just personal

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

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.

Paragon Partition Manager Free supports common file systems like NTFS, FAT32, and HFS.

Unfortunately, a number of additional features are disabled in Paragon Partition Manager, available only in the pro version.

09
of 10

IM-Magic Partition Resizer

Screenshot of IM-Magic Partition Resizer v3.2.4 in Windows 8
IM-Magic Partition Resizer v3.2.4.

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 works very much like the tools mentioned above. It installs quickly and is super simple to use.

With this tool, you can move partitions, resize partitions (even the active one), 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 of partitions.

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, just hit 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.

10
of 10

Tenorshare Partition Manager

Screenshot of Tenorshare Partition Manager v2 in Windows 7
Tenorshare Partition Manager v2.0.0.1. © Tenorshare Co., Ltd.

What We Like

  • Really simple interface that's easy to use

  • Works with lots of file systems

  • Queues up the changes before applying them

  • Supports only basic partitioning features

What We Don't Like

  • Unable to manipulate the system partition

  • Hasn't been updated in a long time

Like a number of the partition software tools we've already mentioned, Tenorshare Partition Manager has a natural feel to resizing partitions through a slider bar setting.

One thing I really like about Tenorshare Partition Manager is the interface they chose to use. The options are easily accessible from the top of the window instead of having to push through menus to find what you need like with most tools.

Several file system types can be viewed like EXT2/3/4, Reiser4/5, XFS, and JFS, but partitions can be formatted only in the NTFS or FAT32 file system.

One thing I don't like about Tenorshare Partition Manager that sets it apart from nearly all of the programs from above is that it can not resize the partition that Windows is installed to, very often the thing you want to use a partition management program for!