balenaEtcher

7.4easy start · #1 of 39
in Bootable USB Software

Free to practise onyes
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
Runs where you workyes

Runs on Linux, Mac, Windows. Paid plans from $143.33/mo.

balenaEtcher is ranked #1 of 39 in bootable USB software on The Geeks Club. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. There is a free plan. Paid plans start at $143.33/mo.

balenaEtcher plans and pricing

All plans

balenaEtcher Free Free and open source etcher.balena.io · 4 Oct 2026

balenaCloud Free Free $0/year 10 devices · unlimited team members balena.io · 4 Oct 2026

balenaCloud Prototype $159/mo $159/month 30 devices included · 1 user · $3 / additional device / month balena.io · 4 Oct 2026

balenaCloud Pilot $329/mo $329/month 60 devices included · 3 users · $2 / additional device / month balena.io · 4 Oct 2026

balenaCloud Production $1,439/mo $1,439/month 110 devices included · 5 users · $2 / additional device / month balena.io · 4 Oct 2026

balenaCloud Prototype $1,720/yr $1,720/year 30 devices included · 1 user · $36 / additional device / year balena.io · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on bootable USB software

Free plan: Yes
Windows app: Yes
macOS app: Yes
Linux app: Yes
Persistent storage: No

Best balenaEtcher alternatives

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YUMI 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 27.1 Buddi 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 37.0 UNetbootin 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 46.9 Easy2Boot 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 56.8 Universal USB Installer 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 66.8 Ventoy 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 76.8

The record

Purpose: Etcher flashes OS images to SD cards and USB drives.
Use cases: It can create USB installation media from bootable ISOs and install operating systems to flash drives.
Flash validation: Etcher confirms when flashing has completed to help ensure the card will boot and is not corrupted.
Drive protection: It warns users and hides system drives by default to help prevent accidentally wiping a hard drive.
Workflow: The interface uses a three-step process and requires no command line.
Open source: Etcher is free and open source, and the maker welcomes community contributions.
Flash with Etcher: Website and blog owners can add a Flash with Etcher button so users can install their OS from that site.
Raspberry Pi: Etcher can directly flash Raspberry Pi devices that support USB device boot mode.
Linux support: The documentation lists Linux on most distributions for Intel 64-bit systems.
Windows support: The documentation lists Windows 10 and later for Intel 64-bit systems.
macOS support: The documentation lists macOS 10.13 and later on Intel and Apple Silicon.
Drive erasure: Etcher erases the whole target drive and replaces its data when flashing.
Notable limitation: Etcher does not support configuring persistent storage for live USB drives.
Windows images: Windows images may require special treatment to boot, which Etcher is not designed to perform.
Price from: $143.33/mo

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Bootable USB Software in 2026#1 of 39

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Sources

etcher.balena.io· checked 4 Oct 2026
etcher-docs.balena.io· checked 4 Oct 2026
etcher-docs.balena.io/FAQ/· checked 4 Oct 2026
balena.io/pricing· checked 4 Oct 2026