Best Data Recovery Software of 2019
There are so many data recovery software today. If you have lost your data don’t worry – there is a solution for you. It can be pretty tough to restore data from storage devices like memory cards, hard drives, and USB sticks.
It could be pretty stressfull to find good data recovery apps, but it is important to find a reliable data recovery software tool. Here you will find the most popular and powerful data recovery software of 2019.
Below you’ll find a comparison of the Top Best Data Recovery Software Download for Windows and Mac users for quickly recovering lost data, deleted files, and photos or formatted partition data:
How Does Data Recovery Work?
When a file is deleted, it is moved to the recycle bin. Even after you empty the recycle bin, the files don’t get removed, but rather the file gets less accessible. The space which was assigned to this file on the system will be available for use by another file when required.
The file remains available until it gets overwritten by another file.
If the deleted file gets partially overwritten by another file then the data recovery software will not be able to recover the file and provide you with the usable data.
Photo credit: Disk Drill
Disk Drill is an undeniable leader among data recovery software, you can recover up to 500MB of data for free with Disk Drill for Windows.
This application, developed by CleverFiles, is uniquely tailored to scan both external and internal storage devices, from your local disk drive to portable USB drives and SD cards.
Disk Drill is not only free and comprehensive, but also the best buy data recovery software. It has been confirmed by plentiful independent reviewers on the Internet and printed publications.
CleverFiles has licenses for both individual and commercial consumers. The software has versions for Mac or Windows.
Support file types include:
- Documents: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF
- Images: JPEG, PNG, RAW, Photoshop, Illustrator
- Audio: MP3, WAV, AIFF, AAC, Ogg
- Videos: MPEG-4, QuickTime, AVI, WMV
- Archives: Zip, Gzip, RAR, Stuffit
Disk Drill can be used to recover files from the following file systems:
- Windows: FAT, NTFS
- Mac: HFS, HFS+
- Removable Storage: ExFat
Free version:
Disk Drill recovery software is available in several editions. The most popular is the freely available Basic package for personal use. The Basic package enables users to preview files that are recoverable as well as recover previously protected data. The free package lets you recover deleted data up to 500MB per computer.
Pro version:
The PRO version provides full functionality, allowing a user to recover files on various media without any restrictions. The commercial package is called Enterprise and it comes with a license with extended features and permissions such as enabling multiple simultaneous users to run the data recovery software as a commercial service.
Strengths:
- Very comprehensive file and partition recovery with variety of options
- Complete support for HFS, HFS+, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, EXT3 and EXT4
- Easy to use UI
- Data recovery is effective as verified in our tests
- Ability to protect your OSX drive from data loss by using snapshotting (Recovery Vault) and multiple copies of files (Guaranteed Recovery)
- Ability to view disk usage
- Ability to backup drives into DMG files
Weaknesses:
- Unintuitive filetype selection UI
- Mixed recovery results depending on file
- No preferences/settings to choose from
- Limited contact options
Photo credit: Stellar Data Recovery
Stellar Data Recovery is best for consumers and businesses. It can work with desktop, laptop, mobile, server, flash drive, memory card, and other external storage. Its software portfolio includes Data Recovery Software, Photo Recovery Software, iPhone Recovery Software, and Video Repair Software.
This software recovers all types of lost and deleted files from an inaccessible, corrupt, and formatted storage media.
A typical Stellar license applies to a single device and is good for life. For IT professionals, there are toolkit licenses available.
Stellar Data Recovery comes in both a Free and Premium version. There are a couple of main differences between the free and paid versions.
Support file types include:
- Documents: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF
- Images: JPEG, PNG, RAW, Photoshop, Illustrator
- Audio: MP3, WAV, AIFF, AAC, Ogg
- Videos: MPEG-4, QuickTime, AVI, WMV
- Archives: Zip, Gzip, RAR, Stuffit
Stellar Data Recovery can be used to recover files from the following file systems:
- Windows: FAT, NTFS
- Mac: HFS, HFS+
- Removable Storage: ExFat
Free version:
If you decide to go the free route instead, you can recover a maximum of 1TB of files, and no one file can be more than 25MB in size.
Pro version:
You have several choices for the level of software. The Stellar platform comes with a variety of plan options, including:
- Standard: $49.99
- Professional: $79.99
- Premium: $99.99 (regularly $179.99)
- Technician: $199 (regularly $299)
- Toolkit: $299 (regularly $499)
Strengths:
- Performs recovery on a wide range of devices including hard disks, memory cards, smartphones, and USB drives.
- Simple to use and quick to download.
- An extensive list of helpful features that enable quick recovery of lost files.
- Preview feature that shows available files prior to attempting recovery.
Weaknesses:
- Relatively expensive
- No way to scan for specific files or file types
- Deep scan results weren’t great
- UI is pretty basic
- Scanning times were inconsistent
Photo credit: EaseUS Data Recovery
EaseUS Data Recovery performs a reasonably good recovery process. The app supports lost partition recovery and RAW drive recovery with Deep Scan from various storage devices formatted as FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, EXT2/EXT3, HFS+, and ReFS.
EaseUS has various functionalities like accidentally deleted file recovery, formatted recovery, virus attack recovery, hard drive damage, recycle bin empty data recovery, OS crash recovery, lost partition recovery, and RAW Partition recovery. You can restore lost files, photos, and videos in a variety of file formats with this data recovery application.
Devices Supported
- Windows
- Android
- iPhone/iPad
- Mac
Support file types include:
- Documents: DOC/DOCX, XLS/XLSX, PPT/PPTX, PDF, CWK, HTML/HTM, INDD, EPS
- Images: PG/JPEG, TIFF/TIF, PNG, BMP, GIF, PSD, CRW, CR2, NEF, ORF, SR2, MRW, DCR , WMF, RAW, SWF, SVG , RAF, DNG, ARW, RW2, DCR, KDC, ERF, 3FR, MEF, PEF, SRW, X3F
- Audio: AIF/AIFF, M4A, MP3, WAV, WMA, APE, MID/MIDI, OGG, AAC, RealAudio, VQF,FLV, MKV, MPG, M4V, RM/RMVB, WMV,APE etc.
- Videos: AVI, MOV, MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, MKV, ASF, FLV, SWF, MPG, RM/RMVB, MPEG
- Archives: Zip, Gzip, RAR, Stuffit, SIT, ISO
EaseUS Data Recovery can be used to recover files from the following file systems:
- Windows: FAT 12/16/32, NTFS, NTFS5
- Mac: HFS, HFS+
- ext2/ext3, ReFS
- Removable Storage: ExFat
Free version:
EaseUS is free to try through a no-expiry trial, but you’ll be limited to only recovering a total of 2GB of data before you have to pay for a full license.
Pro version:
EaseUS Pro version is $69.95, when a $99.90 Pro + WinPE version, which creates a bootable USB drive that you can use to recover files when you can’t boot your system at all.
And there’s the Technician level subscription which is $499, but this is only if you run your business with the help of a data recovery suite.
Strengths:
- Good results in both quick scan and deep scan tests
- File preview option
- Free trial
- 30-day money back guarantee
- Numerous customer support options
Weaknesses:
- Limited number of settings/options to configure
- Automatic scan selection prevents fine tuning
Photo credit: R-Studio
R-Studio is a family of powerful, cost-effective disk recovery software. Originally developed by R-Tools Technology, Inc. for experienced data recovery professionals, R-Studio has been redesigned as a scalable, user-friendly all-in-one data recovery tool.
R-Studio is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It can perform data recovery from local disks, removable disks, heavily corrupted disks, unbootable disks, or clients connected to LAN and Internet.
This is a high quality data recovery program but there is less search capability as compared to other products. There is need of user friendly interface so that users can be able to understand it very easily.
Devices Supported
- Windows
- Linux
- Mac
- Web-based
Support file types include:
- Documents: DOC/DOCX, XLS/XLSX, PPT/PPTX, PDF, HTML/HTM etc..
- Images: PG/JPEG, TIFF/TIF, PNG, BMP, GIF, PSD, etc..
- Audio: M4A, MP3, WAV, WMA, APE, MID/MIDI, OGG, AAC, RealAudio, FLV, MKV, MPG, M4V, WMV,APE and more.
- Videos: AVI, MOV, MP4, M4V, WMV, MKV, FLV, SWF, MPG, MPEG
- Archives: Zip, Gzip, RAR
R-Studio can be used to recover files from the following file systems:
- Windows: FAT/NTFS, ReFS/ReFS2+
- Mac: HFS/HFS+, APFS
- Removable Storage: ExFat
- Linux: UFS1/UFS2/Ext2FS/3FS/4FS
Lacks support for less common file systems, such as XFS, ZFS, JFS, Novell NWFS/NSS, VMware VMFS, ReiserFS.
Free version:
No free version available
Pro version:
R-Studio data recovery has a pricing plan for Disk Cloning and Backup, File Repair, and PC Privacy. The license can be purchased for a fixed price of $79.99.
Strengths:
- It supports recovering files from devices with unknown file systems, including DVD, floppy drive, USB drive, memory stick and more.
- It is capable of recovering file names and paths that were deleted to recycle bin.
- It allows you to customize your known file types hence let you find these files easier.
- Multiple OS supported: Windows, Mac, Linux, and web-based devices.
Weaknesses:
- Confusing interface
- R-studio doesn’t have a pause button
- The price is a bit expensive
Photo credit: Minitool
MiniTool Partition Recovery can recover not only deleted files, but an entire partition. It is very easy to use for basic operation, and it is mainly focused on its partition level recovery approach, which is good for the less experienced users.
The software is allows you to recover lost data in an easy recovery process. This app works for Windows and Mac computers.
This professional Data Recovery program recover files lost due to deletion, damages, formatting or disk or drive, inaccessibility to the disk partition, hidden files, virus attack. This software has the ability to recover files from hard drives, USB drives, CD, DVD, IDE/SATA/SCSI hard drives, and other storage drives.
Support file types include:
- CAD: DWG, DXF, DWF, IFC, STL
- Images: JPEG, JPG, JPE, BMP, TIFF, TIF, GIF, PNG, EMF, WMF, WEBP
- Documents: DOC, DOCX, ODG, ODP, ODF, ODT, ODS, PPT, PPTX, PDF, XLS and XLSX
- Others: HTM, HTML, MHTML, MHT, XHTML,MSG, PST, OFT, EML, PSD: PSD, EPS: PS, EPS
MiniTool can be used to recover files from the following file systems:
- Windows: FAT 12/16/32, exFAT, NTFS, NTFS5, Ext 2/3/4
- Mac: HFS+
- Others: ISO9660, and UDF
Free version:
MiniTool Partition Wizard offers a free edition for various products. Free version can recover up to 1GB. It provides a 30-days money-back guarantee for licensed products. MiniTool Partition Wizard Free helps users to manage disks and partitions, check file system, align SSD partition, migrate OS to SSD, clone disk, convert MBR to GPT, etc.
Pro version:
The pricing starts at $39 for Partitition Wizard. Power Data Recovery price starts at $69. Photo Recovery price starts at $49. Mobile Recovery price starts at $49 for iOS devices and at $39 for Android Devices.
Strengths:
- Undeleted Recovery.
- Recover lost data from CD or DVD drives.
- Digital Media Recovery from digital media devices such as digital cameras and camcorders.
- Damaged Partition Recovery.
- Lost Partition Recovery.
Weaknesses:
- When scanning data, this tool will not be able to skip a broken sector of your drive.
- It doesn’t provide information during scan or data retrieval process.
Photo credit: Prosoft Data Rescue
Prosoft Data Rescue is a data recovery application that offers the user a suite of advanced data recovery tools. Prosoft has built on 20 years of data recovery research to provide a high-quality tool that has been designed, developed, and tested in a professional data recovery lab.
The interface is clean and easy to work with and it performs recovery for just about any file types.
Data Rescue can usually recover files that have been recently deleted. Quick scan can also be used to recover files from a non-mounting partition that still has its file system.
Support file types include most of the popular ones 150+ supported filetypes including and even more:
- CAD: DWG, DXF, DWF, IFC, STL
- Images: WFM, GIMP, DPX, TIFF, PNG, GIF, AI, EPS, RAW Camera Formats, PSD, BMP, PCS, JPEG 2000
- Documents: DOC, DOCX, ODG, ODP, ODF, ODT, ODS, PPT, PPTX, PDF, XLS and XLSX
- Others: HTM, HTML, MHTML, MHT, XHTML,MSG, PST, OFT, EML,
Data Rescue can be used to recover files from the following file systems:
- Windows: FAT (FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32), NTFS
- Mac: HFS+
- Others: ExFAT, ext2, ext3
Free version:
While most data recovery software include a free trial with a limitation like how much data you can recover Data Rescue 5 locks the entirety of its recovery capabilities behind the paid version.
Pro version:
Standard and professional versions of the app are available that both offer advanced recovery tools. License costs for Data Rescue are separate for PC and Mac versions and are limited to a single computer for consumer packages. There are unlimited-use licenses available for IT professionals.
Data Rescue 5 Standard license costs $99.
Strengths:
- Very comprehensive scanning options
- Exceptional recovery results
- Secure Erase file deletion
- Huge number of settings to configure
- Professional-looking UI
- Easy install/activation process
Weaknesses:
- Long deep scan times
- No ability to pause/resume scans
Photo credit: Active@ File Recovery
Active@ File Recovery is a data recovery utility that you can use to restore accidentally deleted files and folders located on the existing drives, and even on deleted or damaged partitions. It runs on all versions of Windows.
It supports hard drives, floppy and USB flash disks, damaged or deleted RAID systems, large-sized drives (greater than 2TB), and can even recover compressed, fragmented and encrypted files on NTFS partitions.
Efficient & easy to use recovery tool for deleted or lost files, damaged or re-formatted volumes, even if your PC doesn’t boot.
Active@ File Recovery can be installed on and run from CD/DVD or USB disk, so that the risk of overwriting your data is minimized.
Support technology allows you to recognize files based on file signatures for more than 155 file typesincluding and even more:
- CAD: DWG, DXF, DWF, IFC, STL
- Images: WFM, GIMP, DPX, TIFF, PNG, GIF, AI, EPS, RAW Camera Formats, PSD, BMP, PCS, JPEG 2000
- Documents: DOC, DOCX, ODG, ODP, ODF, ODT, ODS, PPT, PPTX, PDF, XLS and XLSX
- Others: HTM, HTML, MHTML, MHT, XHTML,MSG, PST, OFT, EML,
Active@ File Recovery can be used to recover files from the following file systems:
- Windows: NTFS / NTFS5 / NTFS+EFS FAT12 / FAT16 / FAT32 / exFAT
- Mac: HFS+
- Linux: Ext2 / Ext3 / Ext4 / BtrFS
- FreeBSD: Unix UFS
- CD/DVD/Blu-ray UDF & ISO9660
Free version:
It only offers a demo which limits the maximum file size to be able to recover to 64KB.
Pro version:
The standard version starts at $29.95 and allows you to recover deleted files or to recover files from deleted or damaged partitions.
The Professional package starts at $44.95 also includes integrated Active@ Disk Editor (or Hex Viewer – a utility for low-level data inspection), Virtual RAID re-constructor, being able to recover damaged RAID disk arrays, and File Organizer.
The Ultimate edition starts at $89.95 and extends the Professional package with Active@ Boot Disk & Active@ LiveCD.
Strengths:
- Can recover data from RAID Drives, Custom files, and Raw data.
Weaknesses:
- Deep scan is a little slow
Photo credit: Remo Data Recovery
Remo Recover supports the recovery of lost and deleted files from corrupt, formatted, and deleted partitions. The software is simple and easy to use but the file recovery process is slow compared to other professional software. Bearing the speed of scan its overall performance is quite good.
You can recover lost and deleted files from corrupt, formatted, and deleted partitions.
However, Remo Data Recovery lacks behind in terms of the user interface. It is simple and easy to use, but the response time is significantly slow.
The software works well at recovering your crucial files and folders with feature such as overwrite-protection, compress recovered files, multiple files system support.
Supported file formats and even more:
- Images: PNG, JPEG, JPG, TIF, TIFF, GIF, PSD, BMP, WMF, WPG, PSP, PCX, PIC, DRW, ART, PCD, PBM
- Documents: TXT, DOCX, DOC, PPTX, PPT, XLSX, XLS, SXD, CHM, PDF, CSV, HTM, HTML, WK4, CSV, TV4, AMI, etc.
- Others: DCI, DBX, ZIP, PST, RAR, ZOO, AVB, PKR, RPM, and many others
- Audio & Video: MPEG, MPG, MP3, MOV, AVS, 3GP, DIVX, XVID, WAV, M4V, WMA, M4A, MP4, ASX, ASF, AIFF, RM, AU, RA
Remo Data Recovery can be used to recover files from the following file systems:
- Windows: FAT32, NTFS5, NTFS, exFAT
- Mac: HFS, HFS+, HFSX
Free version:
Remo Recover Windows Free Edition software works similar to the purchased version. The only limitation is you could save up to 1 GB of recovered data in the Free Edition software.
Pro version:
Remo Recover Windows Pro version help you recover data over 1 GB and the price is $99.97.
Strengths:
- Supports resume recovery
- Can recover custom files
- The graphical interface is incredibly easy to use.
- Can recover files that were deleted using the command prompt
- Can restore data from non-booting hard drives, crashed drives, and failed drives.
Weaknesses:
- Slow scan and processes in between
- Pro version is expensive
- You can only preview media files that have been recovered.
- Does not allow you to sort by file type or scan by file type.
- It does not allow you to do a full hard-drive scan
Photo credit: ParetoLogic
ParetoLogic Data Recovery Pro is also an efficient deleted file recovery software specifically designed to recover various deleted files and emails. It can help you restore lost files from USB drives, hard drives, SSDs, SD cards, etc.
If you are looking to just recover pictures, text files and emails, then this product would be all right for you.
With email recovery option you can recover MS Outlook, Outlook , and Vista Windows mails. It supports full scan and quick scan as well as allows you to select file types.
Support technology allows you to recognize files based on file signatures for more than 155 file typesincluding and even more:
- CAD: DWG, DXF, DWF, IFC, STL
- Images: WFM, GIMP, DPX, TIFF, PNG, GIF, AI, EPS, RAW Camera Formats, PSD, BMP, PCS, JPEG 2000
- Documents: DOC, DOCX, ODG, ODP, ODF, ODT, ODS, PPT, PPTX, PDF, XLS and XLSX
- Others: HTM, HTML, MHTML, MHT, XHTML,MSG, PST, OFT, EML,
Active@ File Recovery can be used to recover files from the following file systems:
- Windows: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, NTFS5
- Mac: HFS+
- SATA/SCSI/IDE, SD, XD, flash memory cards
Free version:
It offers limited features.
Pro version:
Data Recovery Pro starts at $66.97 without an offer for a single computer. In addition, the company offers a 90-day money-back guarantee.
The product is based on a semi-annual subscription and includes free product updates, frequent database updates and access to Technical Support.
Strengths:
- Email recovery is possible
- Recovers decently and takes up very little space on your hard drive
- Allows to search files by keyword
- Previews scan results
Weaknesses:
- Does not support file recovery from corrupt and formatted drives.
- Limited free trial
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