fd
Focus: file search, command line and developer tool. Shares open source and github with Etcher. Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (Etcher: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
Desktop App
Etcher
Write an operating system image to a USB drive or SD card safely.
Rating
4.6 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Beginner
Works on
macOS, Windows, Linux
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is Etcher?
Etcher is a free app for flashing OS images onto SD cards and USB drives. It protects you from accidentally writing to your hard drives, checks that every byte was written correctly, and can flash Raspberry Pi devices that support USB device boot mode. It runs on Linux, Windows 10 and later, and macOS 10.13 and later.
Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.
Pros: what Etcher does well
- Made for one clear job: writing images to drives
- Guards against writing to the wrong drive
- Checks the result after writing
Cons: where it falls short
- Only does one job
- Needs an image file you have already downloaded
Who Etcher is for
Anyone setting up a Raspberry Pi, a bootable USB stick or a new operating system.
Who can skip it
People who never flash drives.
Etcher alternatives
Not sold on Etcher? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
restic
Focus: backup, encryption and snapshots. Shares open source and github with Etcher. Rated 4.7 (Etcher: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
BorgBackup
Focus: backup, encryption and deduplication. Shares open source and github with Etcher. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
dua-cli
Focus: disk usage, storage cleanup and terminal. Shares open source and github with Etcher. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
eza
Focus: file listing, terminal and command line. Shares open source and github with Etcher. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
nnn
Focus: file manager, terminal and batch rename. Shares open source and github with Etcher. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.6Visit
Free alternatives to Etcher
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
BleachBit
Focus: disk cleaner, privacy and free space. Shares open source and github with Etcher. Rated 4.5 (Etcher: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, Linux
4.5Visit
Broot
Focus: file manager, terminal and navigation. Shares open source and github with Etcher. Rated 4.5 (Etcher: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit
Double Commander
Focus: file manager, dual pane and batch rename. Shares open source and github with Etcher. Adds Offline. Rated 4.5 (Etcher: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit
duf
Focus: disk usage, terminal and command line. Shares open source and github with Etcher. Rated 4.5 (Etcher: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit
Duplicati
Focus: backup, encryption and cloud storage. Shares open source and github with Etcher. Rated 4.5 (Etcher: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit
Dust
Focus: disk usage, storage and du alternative. Shares open source and github with Etcher. Rated 4.5 (Etcher: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit
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