KDE ISO Image Writer vs UNetbootin
KDE ISO Image Writer
apps.kde.orgUNetbootin
unetbootin.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | KDE ISO Image Writer | UNetbootin |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Bootable USB Software | 7.8 (#13) | 8.4 (#3) |
| Maker | KDE describes itself as an international community building and distributing free, open-source software since 1996. | The site credits Geza Kovacs as the person who created and wrote UNetbootin. |
| Purpose | ISO Image Writer writes an ISO image to a USB disk. | UNetbootin creates bootable Live USB drives for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions without burning a CD. |
| Support | The app page links to a KDE forum for help and to KDE's bug tracker to report bugs. | The FAQ directs users to GitHub Issues for bug reports and GitHub Pull Requests for patches. |
Plans
In their own words
KDE ISO Image Writer
KDE ISO Image Writer has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
UNetbootin
UNetbootin creates bootable Live USB drives for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions, allowing installation without burning a CD. It can download a supported distribution or use a Linux ISO already on the computer, and the listed targets are a USB drive or hard disk. Built-in downloads include Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch Linux, Linux Mint, and FreeBSD, as well as system utilities such as Parted Magic and SystemRescueCD. The site says most Linux ISO files should work, though some require extra boot options or changes, and some cannot boot from USB as-is. Non-Linux operating system ISOs should not be expected to work because they use a different boot mechanism. UNetbootin is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows, and is free; donations are accepted. The source code is available on GitHub under GNU GPL Version 2 or above. Linux download options include an Ubuntu PPA, 32-bit and 64-bit binaries, packages for several distributions, and source code.