balenaEtcher vs Universal USB Installer
balenaEtcher
etcher.balena.io
Universal USB Installer
pendrivelinux.comSide by side
| Figure | balenaEtcher | Universal USB Installer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $143.33/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 9 | 1 |
| Spec score · Bootable USB Software | 8.7 (#1) | 7.5 (#21) |
| Founded | 2011 | 2006 |
| Purpose | Etcher flashes OS images to SD cards and USB drives. | Creates bootable USB drives from ISO files for Linux distributions, Windows installation media, recovery tools, antivirus utilities, cybersecurity tools, disk cloning, forensics, and other bootable software. |
| Support | The documentation directs users with problems to raise an issue on GitHub, where the balena.io team can help. | The maker provides a contact form and asks bug reports to include reproduction steps, operating system, ISO filename, tool version, and expected outcome. |
Plans
balenaEtcher
- balenaCloud FreeFree
- balenaEtcherFree
- balenaCloud Prototype$159 a month
- balenaCloud Pilot$329 a month
- balenaCloud Production$1,439 a month
- balenaCloud Prototype$1,720 a year
- balenaCloud Pilot$3,588 a year
- balenaCloud Production$15,588 a year
- balenaCloud EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
balenaEtcher
balenaEtcher flashes operating system images to SD cards and USB drives, and can create USB installation media from bootable ISOs. Its three-step interface requires no command line. After flashing, it confirms completion to help users check that a card can boot and is not corrupted. To reduce the risk of choosing the wrong target, it warns users and hides system drives by default. Flashing erases the entire target drive and replaces its data. Etcher runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows: listed support covers most Linux distributions on Intel 64-bit systems, Windows 10 and later on Intel 64-bit systems, and macOS 10.13 and later on Intel and Apple Silicon. It can directly flash Raspberry Pi devices that support USB device boot mode. Etcher is free and open source. It does not configure persistent storage for live USB drives, and Windows images may need special boot preparation that Etcher is not designed to perform.
Universal USB Installer
Universal USB Installer has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.