10 Best Data Recovery Software

Data is valuable like oil for modern organizations, but once lost, restoring it can be challenging. Data recovery tools make the process of recovering lost data relatively simple and help IT teams avoid major impacts of data loss.

Data of an organization can be stored in hard drives, cloud storage, and applications. Data loss can be due to hardware or software failure, accidental deletion, or cybercrime. Data recovery may become a costly affair and difficult if organizations do not take appropriate measures at the right time. 

Data recovery is a process that enables the organization to restore the data by creating multiple copies of important files, applications, and other data located on physical or virtual servers. It helps prevent data loss, backup, and recovery solutions that will enhance the efficiency of the IT teams.

Some of the benefits of data recovery tools are:

• Data management during its restoration is a difficult task in an organization. Data recovery software helps you to create a complete data backup and manage it.

• Data recovery software offers replication functionality. This can be used to create real-time replicas of your data and store them.

• Data recovery solutions help to reduce the effect on work due to lost data by recovering it.

• It helps to protect your data and avoid legal risks.

Key Features of Data Recovery Software

• Data recovery tools can help retrieve data from different internal and external storage devices like hard drives, memory cards, flash drives, etc.

• It allows users to quickly restore lost, deleted files like photos, audio, videos, documents, etc.

• If the drive has been formatted accidentally, the tool can restore all data. Additionally, it can recover an inaccessible drive which gives an error message.

• The tool allows you to extract selected files and folders from recovered items and save them in the desired location on a hard disk.

• The tool will help you get back files and folders that have been deleted from the recycle bin.

Now that we understand the importance of data recovery softwares let's have a look at some of the best data recovery tools.

Data recovery tools

1. Stellar Data Recovery

Stellar is a data recovery tool that features advanced and customized searches, a file library, and deep scanning capabilities. The tool comes with several scan options, which means you can scan for the type of data loss and no need for a full scan.

It is available in both free and paid versions and supports a wide range of data formats, including digital photos and videos, audio libraries, PDF and word documents, excel workbooks, email files, and more. 

Additionally, it can recover files from damaged volumes and formatted media. It also supports RAID and virtual drive recovery and works for both non-bootable and encrypted drives.

Features

• You have to choose the storage drive and file type, scan the disk and save the recovered files.

• It lets you know in advance which files can be recovered.

• It allows you to scan by file type, by specific folders, and preview files while the scan is still running.

• It can fix damaged films, photographs, crashed systems, and lost partitions but is available only in premium versions.

Pros 

• Recovery of data without making the data corrupted

• It can even recover data from hard drives with errors 

• Easy to use

Cons

• The time period for the scanning of the device cannot be determined for lost or deleted data.

• The recovery speed is slow, and it takes a lot of time to recover data

• Vector images cannot be recovered

• Doesn’t allow to add of custom signatures for unsupported file formats

2. Recuva

Recuva allows the deep scan to recover data and help to recover accidentally deleted files, files lost from customer crashes, or even files from damaged or newly formatted drives. 

Recuva gives you an idea about what are chances to retrieve your files or set of files. It is workable with any type of storage medium, including damaged CDs or DVDs.

It comes with a free trial as well as a paid version. It is capable of simpler data recovery jobs, such as the recovery of data from recently deleted files.

Features

• Intuitive user interface

• It comes as a portable version that users can install on an external drive like a USB stick without overwriting any free space on your hard drive.

• It can also recover from any writable media you have, like memory cards, external hard drives, USB sticks, and more.

• You can securely overwrite the file, and the tool will ensure that nobody else can restore the files.

Pros 

• Easy user interface

• You can preview files before recovery

• Can recover an unlimited amount of data for free

Cons

• Abandoned by its developers'

• Limited raw photo recovery capabilities

3. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

 EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard allows you to scan and recover files, and you can save scan results from restoring files without going for a new scan. It can take backup of data and reduce the need for file recovery strategies. 

In addition, it has the capability to recover data from RAW file systems where the master boot record is corrupted and the system itself cannot access the data. There are paid and free software versions for macOS and Windows. 

Features

• It is easy to recover the deleted files in just a few clicks.

• EaseUS consists of Quick scan and Deep scan features. Quick scan mode searches for the deleted files and folders using the basic algorithm, and Deep scan mode scans the storage devices by sector to provide the results.

• You can preview all the available files for recovery and can select what you want to recover.

• You can recover data from different formats like documents, graphics, audio, video, email, and other types of files.

• You can filter the results of the scan by file type and selectively restore the archived files after emptying the recycle bin.

Pros

• It is easy to recover all the deleted files

• Easy to set up

Cons

• Relatively expensive

• Doesn’t work if your deleted files were on an SSD 

4. Disk Drill 

Disk Drill is a data recovery tool that helps in restoring data from corrupted and compressed volumes. It helps you to recover data in a few simple steps. 

It offers both free and paid versions. Disk Drill can recover data from hard disk drives, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, SD/CF cards, digital cameras, etc.

Disk Drill has the capability to mount and read a previous unmountable USB flash drive and to recover data within a small time frame. It can scan both internal and external storage devices.

Features

• It can recover data from a phone. Various supported brands include Samsung Galaxy, iPhone, Lenovo, OnePlus, Google Pixel, etc.

• It has deep scan capabilities.

• The scans can be interrupted and restarted at per users' convenience.

• It allows you to see the files it has discovered before committing to recover them.

Pros

• Simple user interface and easy to use

• Both PC and Mac-formatted disks can be recovered on Windows systems

• Easy recovery of data from any place and any system

Cons

• The recovery system does not work properly in all operating systems

• It identifies the same file multiple times

5. Wise Data Recovery

Wise Data Recovery is a data recovery tool that is developed by Wise Cleaner. It scans and identifies recoverable files. A portable version is available for both Windows and MAC.

It offers both quick scans and deep scans. Quick scan is fast and can recover the recently deleted files. Deep scans take a relatively long time and recover data from damaged drives.

Wise Data Recovery Free version recovers up to 2 GB of data. The paid version will be able to repair corrupt or distorted videos and photos, feature automatic product updates, offer premium tech support, etc.

Features

• It can recover different file types, including video and image files.

• It can save email files, zip folder archives, and executables from permanent deletion.

Pros

• The free version is available to recover recently deleted files

• Works with most file types and windows file systems

Cons

• Doesn’t support exFAT file systems for Mac users

6. OnTrack EasyRecovery

OnTrack Easy Recover is a data recovery software that allows you to recover data lost through deletion, reformatting, and more. It helps to recover data from SSD, hard drives, flash drives, and optical media.

It supports both windows and macintosh operating systems. EasyRecovery helps to repair damaged and corrupt photo and video files. 

It has a free version available with basic functionality and a paid version that can recover large types of files like images, monitor drives, repair photos and videos and clone drives, etc.

Features

• It can scan deleted files for a fast recovery or perform a deep scan for files that are more difficult to recover.

• It allows for locating and rebuilding corrupt, damaged, or deleted volumes for both Windows and Mac operating systems.

• It allows you to recover data at your pace. It saves the results of your scan and resumes the recovery process at a later time.

Pros

• Easy to use interface

• Easy to recover all the lost data from the hard drive

• Good customer support

Cons

• Extra backups require manual configuration 

• Poor tracking system

7. R-Studio

R-Studio is a disk and hard drive recovery software, and it can retrieve files or data lost due to reasons like power failure, accidental deletion, etc. The tool includes specific file system features like advanced APFS recovery, in-depth file analysis, disk imaging, live-boot version, and more. 

It works on both local and network drives that have been formatted, damaged, or erased. 

It recovers files from NTFS, NTFS5, ReFS, FAT 12/16/32, exFAT, APFS, etc. It also uses raw file recovery for heavily damaged and unknown file systems.

Features

• It displays elements detected while scanning files.

• It can recover data from damaged RAID configurations and includes a file viewer to preview recovered data.

• It can recover data that is not recognized and recover files from devices with unknown file systems.

Pros

• It is easy to use, and you can manage all the active data 

• Almost zero learning curve

• Data can be exported and imported easily

Cons

• Occasional errors

• Often crashes programs due to large files

8. Wondershare Recoverit

Wondershare Recoverit is a data recovery software that has the ability to access all kinds of storage media, including mobile devices and digital cameras or camcorders. 

The paid version includes a bootable toolkit that you can use to launch the product from a USB drive to access and recover files on a crashed or damaged operating system drive.

The free version allows up to 100Mb of data to be recovered. A portable version of Wondershare Recoverit is available for Windows and Mac.

Features

• Wondershare Recoverit is capable of recovering more than 1000 different file formats across 2000 different types of storage devices.

• It allows you to access computer data even if your operating system fails and becomes unbootable.

• It supports 15 different languages, including English, Japanese, French, Russian, Arabic, etc.

• The software recovers high-quality videos from a wide range of devices, such as DSLRs, drones, etc. when they are accidentally deleted.

• It helps you to retrieve and repair videos even after the recording device is damaged.

Pros

• Easy to use

• Works well for Windows and Mac

• It is fast, efficient, and recovers most of the data

Cons

• Poor technical support

• The trial version supports limited features

9. Redo Rescue

Redo Rescue is a data recovery software that restores data from a live USB/CD system by creating and storing snapshots of your system. It can restore the system image, even to a new blank drive, and can recover in minutes from ransomware and viruses, deletions, hardware damage, and hackers.

It is an open-source Linux data recovery tool, and it is available for free.

Features

• It comes with UEFI Secure boot support, which helps your computer resist attacks and infection from malware.

• It helps you to restore data selectively and recover them to different locations on the target drive.

• Redo Rescue can run swiftly because it runs outside your OS in a USB/CD system, and there is no challenge in competing for computing resources.

Pros

• It is user-friendly

• A good source for backing up a computer

Cons 

• Cannot backup a running operating system

10. MiniTool Power Data Recovery

MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a free data recovery tool that you can install, scan, and recover any lost data with searchable scans.

It helps you to determine which file you actually want to scan and recover the data. You can scan almost every type of file like FAT, NTFS, etc. The free trial version is limited to the recovery of up to 1 GB of data.

Features

• MiniTool Power data recovery is bundled with a separate previewing program that displays pictures and other files.

• It can scan a hard disk, external drive, or USB device connected to your computer

• It helps you to scan specific data from specific locations as per your requirement.

Pros

• It is simple to use and recover data easily

• It recovers data from various locations, including damaged drives, CDs, DVDs, digital media, etc.

• Recover all types of data

Cons

• The trial version limits the data to recover

• The recovery process is slow