We all know it’s not only Etcher that’s available out there. There are definitely tons to choose from and one of these is UNetbootin. So, what is UNetbootin? UNetbootin is also a software used to write files on a device. It can create bootable USB flash drives without having to burn CDs just like the old ways. But let me help you compare BalenaEtcher and UNetbootin with the things that would significantly help you decide what to choose. If you want a better solution, you can always check out Rufus as it also gets the job done.
Both Etcher and UNetbootin is actually a cross-platform utility which means that both software are available and compatible for Windows, Linux, and macOS. So at this stage, I would probably say that everybody is still pretty happy.
Let’s get physical, physical. So, if you try and see how Etcher’s user interface looks like and compare it to UNetbootin’s user interface, definitely a picture can paint a thousand words! It already says a lot about how Etcher’s really etching it really good with how the design is so simple and straight-forward – select file > select device > flash. As simple as one, two, three! On the other hand, UNetbootin’s user interface seems to be outdated. With how it looks, I would normally feel like I am really a beginner and might want to call a friend for help (if you are not techy-savvy). So, looks like first impressions last!
Selecting a file with UNetbootin is also not as easy as selecting a file with Ether. With UNetbootin it’s a little bit of working on your memory trying to remember which folder was the image file is being saved unlike with Etcher, you don’t have to go through all that pain.
Digging up on the hard drive. One of the features of Etcher was that it is “Hard Drive Friendly”. The drive picker of Etcher is beautifully designed to help us avoid overwriting a hard drive. So as we dig further on this comparison, UNetbootin’s drive picker lacks this functionality. The dropdown shows drive data that is not enough for you to decide if you got the right one unless you go the extra mile of doing so which is a risk of people overwriting or wiping out the hard drive (and that is really something that we do not want to happen!).
Another thing to look at is the output. As mentioned above, Etcher has a feature of “Validated Flashing” making sure that we do not write on corrupted devices. Unfortunately, UNetbootin does not have this feature raising higher chances of people writing on a corrupted device. This is where we wonder why the device is not booting perhaps? This is because you have used a corrupted device.
So, to wrap this all up, after comparing Etcher and UNetbootin, taking everything into consideration, I would definitely recommend Etcher. We all want something that is easy and simple without compromising quality and performance, as much as possible. And definitely, Etcher has achieved this which is their competitive advantage amongst other software out there.