Refus is a free and open source software that can be used to create Windows To Go, Hasleo WinToUSB is the world's first third-party tool that can be used to create Windows To Go, it is the best Refus alternative.
In short, Windows To Go (WTG) is a handy feature that allows us to install fully-functional Windows operating system onto a USB drive as a portable Windows, after that we can carry the portable Windows USB drive to anywhere and use it on any computer. The emergence of Windows To Go makes BYOD (bring your own device) possible, which allows us to use our own Windows operating system and application configuration on other computers, which is of great benefit to improving work efficiency.
In earlier versions of Windows 10 Enterprise/Education Edition, Microsoft provided the Windows To Go Creator Wizard for users to create Windows To Go, however Microsoft stopped Windows To Go development in 2019, so it no longer provides Windows To Go Creator Wizard in subsequent versions of Windows 10/11.
Refus is a free and open source software running on Windows platform, mainly designed to help users create bootable USB drives, it supports a variety of ISOs, including DOS, Windows, Linux, etc, I have to say that it is the most popular on the market One of the tools for creating bootable USB drives. The main function of refus is to help users create Windows and Linux installation USB drivers, but you can also use it to create linux live USB drives or Windows To Go USB drives.
As mentioned above, Rufus can be used to create Windows To Go, and it is indeed a good choice for creating Windows To Go USB drive. However, Refus has the following shortcomings:
As mentioned above, several shortcomings of Refus may cause it to fail to meet your needs, you may be looking for an alternative to Refus Windows To Go, where we recommend you try Hasleo WinToUSB. As the world’s first third-party Windows To Go Creator, Hasleo WinToUSB does not have these shortcomings at all, and it is more flexible and efficient.
Step 1. Connect the USB drive to the computer, download, install and run Hasleo WinToUSB and then click the "Windows To Go USB".
Step 2. Click "Select installation source", then click "Browse image file" and select the Windows 8 installation ISO file from the open dialog box as installation source, or choose a CD/DVD drive with a Windows 8 installation DVD inserted as the installation source.
Step 3. Hasleo WinToUSB scans for and lists installable operating systems, select the edition of Windows you want to install.
Step 4. Click "Select destination drive" and select the destination drive from the pop-up drive list. If the drive is not correctly recognized by Hasleo WinToUSB, you can click the 
button for the program to recognize the drive.
Step 5. Choose the partition scheme and installation mode you want to use, and you can specify additional drivers or enable BitLocker to encrypt the Windows To Go USB drive according to your needs, then click "Proceed".
* Tips:
Step 6. After clicking "Proceed", a pop-up will appear asking you if you want to format it to continue, click "Yes" if you are sure.
Step 7. After clicking "Yes", WinToUSB begins installing Windows to the destination drive.
Step 8. It takes some time to install. After installation restart the computer and change BIOS to boot from your USB drive.
Step 9. Windows normal installation starts up and you have to complete all the installation steps. After that, you can install programs, copy files, etc.
As the best free alternative to Refus Windows To Go, Hasleo WinToUSB can do all the work Refus did to create portable Windows, and you can use it to cloning existing Windows to a USB drive as Windows To Go or use BitLocker to entrypt the Windows To Go USB drive to protect your data.
