UNetbootin vs USBImager
UNetbootin
unetbootin.github.ioUSBImager
bztsrc.gitlab.ioSide by side
| Figure | UNetbootin | USBImager |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Bootable USB Software | 8.4 (#3) | 8.2 (#5) |
| Extensibility | Official documentation covers building and using UNetbootin plugins and creating custom versions. | The source is separated into stream, disk, user-interface, and language layers, and supports debug builds and test-device compilation switches. |
| Purpose | UNetbootin creates bootable Live USB drives for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions without burning a CD. | USBImager writes compressed disk images to USB drives and creates backups. |
| Rating on AlternativeTo | 3.5 out of 5 from 19 ratings. | 5 out of 5 from 8 comments or reviews. |
| Support | The FAQ directs users to GitHub Issues for bug reports and GitHub Pull Requests for patches. | The README directs users to the GitLab issue tracker to report problems. |
| What it does | UNetbootin creates bootable Live USB media for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions without using a CD. | USBImager writes compressed disk images to USB drives and creates backups through a small graphical interface. |
Plans
In their own words
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.
USBImager
USBImager is a free desktop utility for writing disk images to USB drives and creating backups. It reads raw images, compressed formats such as .gz, .bz2, .xz, and .zst, and archives including .zip, .tar, .cpio, and .pax. It can compare a written drive with the source image to verify the result, and create backups in raw or ZStandard compressed format. Images can also be sent to microcontrollers over a serial line. The app is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows, with a minimalist native interface and 18 language options. The maker says it is intended for people who may be uncomfortable with command-line tools, and that it tries to avoid overwriting the system disk. Synchronized writes are intended to ensure data is on disk when progress reaches 100%. The maker describes it as free of advertisements and privacy concerns and GDPR compatible. One stated limit is that xz compression dictionaries larger than 1 gigabyte are unsupported. The app is open source under the MIT license.