I can’t count the amount of times I have been asked, “What’s a good Windows alternative to Nero (or Roxio or etc)?” I’ll admit, being primarily a Linux user, I have had no such experience with various free alternatives only because I have come to enjoy Nero quite a bit over the years. Download Squad lets us know that CDBurnerXP 4 has just been released, and despite it’s name, it will run on Windows 2000/XP and Vista. According to what I’ve been reading in the comments, this is a worthy application to install regardless of whether or not you want to just save money.
While Windows XP and Vista include some basic CD and DVD authoring features, CDBurnerXP is about as full-featured as many commercial applications out there. And it’s free. The program is donateware, so if you want to download the latest beta versions you’ll need to make a contribution.
Source: Download Squad