Rufus vs balenaEtcher

Struggling to choose between Rufus and balenaEtcher? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Rufus is a Os & Utilities solution with tags like bootable-usb, live-usb, usb-installer, windows-usb, linux-usb.

It boasts features such as Creates bootable USB drives for installing operating systems, Supports ISO and DD images, Provides options for partition scheme and file system, Small size and fast operation, Works on Windows only and pros including Free and open source, Easy to use interface, Wide range of supported operating systems, Actively developed and updated, Fast USB formatting and writing.

On the other hand, balenaEtcher is a Os & Utilities product tagged with open-source, burning, flashing, imaging, iso, img, usb, sd-card, microsd-card.

Its standout features include Cross-platform availability, Intuitive and simple UI, Support for ISO, IMG, ZIP, and DMG images, Validation of images before writing, Support for writing to USB drives, SD cards, and more, Open source and free, and it shines with pros like Easy to use, Reliable burning process, Active development and updates, Lightweight and fast, Works across Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Feature	Rufus	balenaEtcher
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Os & Utilities	Os & Utilities

Product Overview

Rufus

Description: Rufus is a free and open-source utility software for creating bootable USB drives. It is commonly used to create bootable USB flash drives for installing or running operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, or other tools, on a computer.

balenaEtcher

Description: balenaEtcher is a free and open-source utility used for burning image files such as ISO and IMG files to external devices such as USB flash drives, SD cards, and microSD cards. It has a simple interface with intuitive controls for selecting an image file, target device, and writing the image.

Key Features Comparison

Rufus Features

• Creates bootable USB drives for installing operating systems
• Supports ISO and DD images
• Provides options for partition scheme and file system
• Small size and fast operation
• Works on Windows only

balenaEtcher Features

• Cross-platform availability
• Intuitive and simple UI
• Support for ISO, IMG, ZIP, and DMG images
• Validation of images before writing
• Support for writing to USB drives, SD cards, and more
• Open source and free

Pros & Cons Analysis

Rufus

Pros

• Free and open source
• Easy to use interface
• Wide range of supported operating systems
• Actively developed and updated
• Fast USB formatting and writing

Cons

• Windows only
• Limited features compared to similar tools
• No verification of written USB drives
• Some compatibility issues with certain ISOs
• Lacks features like multiboot USB creation

balenaEtcher

Pros

• Easy to use
• Reliable burning process
• Active development and updates
• Lightweight and fast
• Works across Windows, Mac, and Linux

Cons

• Limited functionality compared to similar tools
• No support for creating bootable Windows USBs
• Lacks some advanced options

Pricing Comparison

Rufus

• Free

balenaEtcher

• Free
• Open Source