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Impression vs balenaEtcher: catalog facts
Impression	balenaEtcher
Free Free and open source under the GPLv3.	Free Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 licence. Balena sells separate commercial device…
Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Minimal interface focused on one task Fits in with the GNOME desktop	Hides system drives, so the classic wrong-disk accident is much harder Verifies the write by reading the media back
Linux only Fewer options than full-featured image writers	An Electron app doing a job a 200 KB tool could do No persistent storage or multi-boot; one image per stick
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0	License: Apache-2.0
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.