Lethe vs MultiDrive Erase Drive
Lethe
github.comMultiDrive Erase Drive
multidrive.ioSide by side
| Figure | Lethe | MultiDrive Erase Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Disk Wiping Software | 8.4 (#4) | 7.6 (#20) |
| Supported drives | The project says it should work with HDDs, SSDs subject to limitations, and flash drives. | It lists SATA, SAS, IDE, NVMe, USB drives, memory cards, and PCMCIA/PC card drives as supported erasure targets. |
Plans
In their own words
Lethe
Lethe is a free, open-source command-line utility for wiping drives on Linux, macOS and Windows. It overwrites existing data with randomly generated data or a static pattern, then can read data back to check whether write commands succeeded. The project says it should work with HDDs, flash drives and SSDs, but warns that its current approach cannot reliably erase all SSD data because of wear leveling and compression.
Lethe requires root or administrator access to operate on real drives. It uses a fast cryptographic random generator and lets users override the operating system's recommended block size. It can track and automatically skip bad blocks and other localized errors, though that feature is experimental. Available binaries cover Windows x86-64, Intel macOS, experimental Apple macOS and Linux x86-64; installation from Rust sources is also documented. The project says initial active development is complete, though occasional changes may still be made. Lethe is licensed under Apache License 2.0.
MultiDrive Erase Drive
MultiDrive Erase Drive has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.