balenaEtcher Alternatives
balenaEtcher is described as 'free and open-source image burner with support for Windows, macOS and GNU/Linux. It makes USB and SD card image burning as simple and fast as possible' and is a leading bootable usb creator in the os & utilities category. There are more than 25 alternatives to balenaEtcher for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, PortableApps.com and Android. The best alternative is Rufus, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like balenaEtcher are Ventoy, UNetbootin, YUMI and dd.
balenaEtcher alternatives are mainly Bootable USB Creators but may also be Disk Imaging Tools or Hard Disk Diagnostic Tools. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of balenaEtcher.Rufus
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Bootable USB Creator
63 alternatives to Rufus- Windows
- PortableApps.com
Rufus is a utility that helps format and create bootable USB flash drives, such as USB keys/pendrives, memory sticks, etc.
Rufus Features
Rufus vs balenaEtcher opinions
DL300I am convinced BalenaEtcher is recommended by people who have never used it. I have never even witnessed it successfully complete a write. Rufus has always worked.
0aidan_mullen23Flashes quickly and works flawlessly almost every time.
0It works best and has features needed most.
0Luismart89The thing I love from Rufus is the possibility to customize the platform target i.e BIOS O UEFI, so this let me use and EFI Image for BIOS Based computer. a good example of this is using Windows 10, by default is UEFI based computers, but Rufus can convert the image file to hybrid, so you can install windows 10 on both BIOS and on UEFI based pcs with the same stick. Rufus also can be used to write linux distros to USB sticks. It is the best option we can find on Windows.
2POXProbably the best software to burn an OS image on a USB drive if you're using Windows.
1Ventoy
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Bootable USB Creator
41 alternatives to Ventoy- Windows
- Linux
Ventoy is an open source tool to create bootable USB drive for ISO files. With ventoy, you don't need to format the disk again and again, you just need to copy the iso file to the USB drive and boot it.
Ventoy Features
Ventoy vs balenaEtcher opinions
AasbalenaEtcher had some privacy issue in the past. Ventoy doesn't "phone home". Why an USB image creator needs to send some data out anyway?
2leik1jdVentoy is a great tool. I had used YUMI extensively before Ventoy came out. What is great about Ventoy is the cross-platform support and the fact that your ISO image stay intact on your USB stick. Being able to have a large 256GB USB stick with Ventoy on it also gives it an edge against tools like Balena Etcher (one image per USB) or Rufus (ISO images are not intact).
As a bonus, Ventoy can create USB sticks that will work with BOTH UEFI and BIOS.
1Everything balenaEtcher can do Ventoy can do better and more. Plus they 'ignore' Mac, haha.
2Everyone who wants to try linux from windows. Ventoy is the best option. Why? Because Ventoy will let you put two iso on the drive. No Burning or wiping out entire disk. Only direct iso copy and paste. If you want to try linux, simply put linux iso and for safe back to windows put a windows 10 iso.
1UNetbootin
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Bootable USB Creator
- Linux Distro
50 alternatives to UNetbootin- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- PortableApps.com
UNetbootin (Universal Netboot Installer) is a cross-platform utility that can load Linux and other distributions to a partition or USB drive. It loads distributions either by downloading listed Linux and BSD like distributions, a variety of system utilities and rescue disks ISO...
UNetbootin Features
UNetbootin vs balenaEtcher opinions
It doesn't appear to just write images to disk
0I cannot choose Winshit 10
0YUMI
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Bootable USB Creator
42 alternatives to YUMI- Windows
- PortableApps.com
- Wine
- WineBottler
YUMI (Your Universal Multiboot Installer), is the successor to our MultibootISOs. It can be used to create a Multiboot Bootable USB Flash Drive containing multiple operating systems, antivirus utilities, disc cloning, diagnostic tools, and more.
YUMI Features
YUMI vs balenaEtcher opinions
dd
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Bootable USB Creator
28 alternatives to dd- Mac
- Linux
- BSD
dd, that stands for ‘data duplicator’, is a command-line utility for Unix mainly used for copying and converting data.
dd vs balenaEtcher opinions
It's application free, and already, always installed in system !
0sharmaganesha2It's command line. That means it does not have garbage inside the program. But it might freak some people out. But Literally, you have Git Bash so you can use DD on Windows.
The usage:
$ lsblk /dev/sdb 28G /dev/sda 931G $ dd if=popos.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=1M status=progress
It's really nice.
0POXA good command-line alternative that comes with Unix-based operating systems. It's what I use on my MacBook to burn Linux ISO images on my USB drive.
1Win32 Disk Imager
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Disk Imaging Tool
- Bootable USB Creator
36 alternatives to Win32 Disk Imager- Windows
A utility that can write a raw backup image of your hard drive to a removable device or vice versa.
Win32 Disk Imager Features
Win32 Disk Imager vs balenaEtcher opinions
TheDcoderA lot smaller and more native to the Windows platform than Etcher
1Win32 Disk Imager, despite its name, does not "create" disk images: it only writes/mounts pre-existing .img files to flash storage.
-4Universal USB Installer
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Bootable USB Creator
- Linux Distro
37 alternatives to Universal USB Installer- Windows
Universal USB Installer is a Live Linux USB Creator that allows you to choose from a selection of Linux Distributions to put on your USB Flash Drive. The Universal USB Installer is easy to use. Simply choose a Live Linux Distribution, the ISO file, your Flash Drive and, Click...
Universal USB Installer Features
Universal USB Installer vs balenaEtcher opinions
MultiBootUSB
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Bootable USB Creator
39 alternatives to MultiBootUSB- Windows
- Linux
MultiBootUSB is a software to create multi boot live Linux on a removable media i.e USB disk. It is similar to UNetbootin but many distros can be installed, provided you have enough space on the disk.
MultiBootUSB Features
DiscontinuedThe project seems no longer developed and the official website is no longer available. Last version, 9.2.0, released in April 2018, can be still downloaded from GitHub.
MultiBootUSB vs balenaEtcher opinions
LinuxLive USB Creator
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Bootable USB Creator
- Linux Distro
39 alternatives to LinuxLive USB Creator- Windows
LiLi USB Creator is a free software for Windows that allows you to create a bootable Live USB key with a Linux on it.
LinuxLive USB Creator Features
DiscontinuedThe program seems to be no longer updated. Last version, 2.9.4, released in September 2015, can be still downloaded from the official website. The project has officially been abandonned on December, 22nd 2020 (announcement on their blog).
LinuxLive USB Creator vs balenaEtcher opinions
USBImager
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Disk Imaging Tool
10 alternatives to USBImager- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Raspberry Pi
USBImager is a really really simple GUI application that writes compressed disk images to USB drives and creates backups.
USBImager Features
USBImager vs balenaEtcher opinions
prog_ukSmall, simple and does everything it needs to without any unnecessary bells and whistles.
0docampoangelIs like etcher but installed occupies 508,43 KiB in disk, instead 500MB of spyware and electron crap.
0rescuezillaUSBImager is a 300 kilobyte download compared to balenaEtcher's 80+ megabyte. They're both cross-platform (Windows/macOS/Linux). The reason is USBImager is a native app while balenaEtcher is an Electron app.
balenaEtcher is still a bit more user-friendly, but USBImager is by far the best cross-platform alternative right now.
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