
Best data recovery software of 2023
The best data recovery software makes it simple and easy to recover deleted files and folders on your computer, mobile device, or storage media.
Ask anyone who has experienced data loss whether it’s a fun experience, and they’ll tell you that data loss, whether due to hardware or software failure, accidental deletion, or cybercrime, is extremely stressful.
Today, businesses store so much of their essential information on hard drives or using cloud backup (opens in new tab). You might have everything routinely saved to a USB stick (opens in new tab) or to an external hard drive (opens in new tab) as well.
While there are a number of data backup software (opens in new tab) options, and disk cloning software (opens in new tab) that can make the process of data recovery relatively simple and easy to do, if you don’t have anything like this in place then in the event of a hard drive crash or corrupted drive you will need dedicated data recovery tools to help restore your missing files and folders.
It pays, then, to have a robust data security plan for your organization. Data recovery software or data recovery services should be an integral component of this plan.
Fortunately, there are several high-quality data recovery packages available to businesses. In the event of partial or complete data loss, these software packages enable you to recover as much data as possible and limit the negative impacts. Even if you use a data backup service (opens in new tab), you should still have a data recovery plan in case the worst happens.
We’ll therefore list the best data recovery software, both free and paid, currently available.
The best data recovery software of 2023 in full:
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Stellar Data Recovery is one of the most popular data recovery services for businesses and for good reason. The platform comes with several scan options, meaning you can tailor the scan for the type of data loss that has occurred. This saves time if you’ve deleted an important file and realized straight away, meaning there’s no need for a full system scan.
The platform also comes with advanced search capabilities, making it easy to identify and extract the most critical data.
Another important feature of Stellar Data Recovery is its support for all file formats and drives. It is an adaptable provider that will recover data from hard drives (internal and external), memory cards, flash drives, and optical media like CDs and DVDs.
However, you have to pay for a license annually rather than monthly, with pricing starting at around $80 / £80 / AUD$120.
Read our full Stellar Data Recovery review.
EaseUS isn’t overstating the ‘Wizard’ part of this software’s title – it really is ‘wizard’ in the sense of being good at something. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is straightforward to use, taking you step-by-step through the recovery process. Run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro quickly enough after disaster has occurred and it’ll be able to resurrect just about everything, from inadvertently-deleted partitions to virus-ruined files.
The full package is still one of the more affordable solutions we’ve seen for resurrecting crashed RAID setups – certain packages hide this functionality away in their premium versions. While there are definitely more advanced recovery packages out there, and certainly some cheaper ones, this is the one we’d keep on our shelf for those not-so-special occasions.
There are various pricing options, from monthly to yearly, or alternatively, a Lifetime upgrades license, with costs starting from around $80 / £80 / AUD$120. However, you can get 25% off any of these prices if you enter the code AFF-TECH-RAD at checkout.
Upgrading to a paid license is a little expensive, but the vast number of features you get for that investment means that in reality, it represents great value for money. And, when you add to this the app’s great performance, EaseUS’s responsive customer support, and a tidy user interface, you have a clear winner.
Read our full EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro review.
One of the most popular data recovery tools on macOS, Disk Drill is now available for Windows.
With a range of features and a choice of free and premium versions, Disk Drill is designed to recover data from hard disk drives, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, SD/CF cards, digital cameras, and even smartphones. Disk Drill’s website boasts that any lost data file type can be recovered, from almost any data loss scenario you can think of.
Disk Drill’s complete collection of features for every imaginable platform and scenario is impressive enough. Its ability to effortlessly mount and read a previously unmountable USB flash drive and to recover the data from it within a comparatively small timeframe proves that Disk Drill is a recovery tool that you should be considering.
Pricing for the PRO version comes in the form of a one-time license fee rather than monthly or yearly cost, at around $100 / £100 / AUD$150 which could make it most cost-effective in the long run. Overall, Disk Drill is an excellent recovery option for Windows.
Read our full Disk Drill data recovery review.
Once the darling of free backup solutions for the home user, CrashPlan has since shifted its focus to the enterprise arena with its CrashPlan for Small Business offering.
And CrashPlan is certainly a favorite around here – in fact, our official company machines here at TechRadar all run Crashplan, and it’s saved our bacon on more than one occasion. It’s not quite the same as the traditional file recovery apps that we’ve covered in this article – it’s a backup service first and foremost – but it’s so comprehensive that it almost counts.
Crashplan, you see, stores absolutely everything. It chugs away in the background and makes full, detailed backups of your entire machine starting with the newest files first. It then sifts everything into virtual buckets so you can get quick access to the files that matter most.
Critically, though, Crashplan even stores files you’ve deleted. You can switch this feature off, but we wouldn’t: your backups are fully encrypted, so even those deleted files will be safe from prying eyes, and you never know when you might need to retrieve that long-discarded (or virus-removed) file.
Pricing is $10 / £10 / AUD$15 a month per endpoint, with up to 100 endpoints covered in the small business plan. Enterprise users will need to get a custom quote.
Read our full CrashPlan review.
Ontrack EasyRecovery comes in a number of different options, all intended to help provide the complete recovery of data under a range of different data loss conditions.
A free version allows you to recover up to 1GB, so isn’t going to be particularly helpful except as for a tester for most people. The Home edition allows for the recovery of files and folders that have been accidentally deleted, though it can also recover them after a virus infection.
The Professional edition allows you to create disk images as well as recover data from CDs and DVDs, while the Premium edition doesn’t just have the ability to clone HDDs and SSDs, but can also repair corrupted photos or videos.
The Technician and Toolkit editions are even more powerful, allowing for lost or reformatted RAID volumes, but also come with commercial licensing for commercial use, working across Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.
Prices rise accordingly for the level of data recovery required, starting from around $80 / £80 / AUD$120 for full protection, and we can speak from experience in saying the cost can be worth it for successful full data recovery.
Read our full OnTrack Data Recovery review.
Best free file recovery software
Although we’ve featured the best file recovery software and best file recovery services above, some home and personal users may find they offer more than they need and would rather not pay full price for unwanted features. Therefore we’ll feature what we think are the best free file recovery software and service options.
Stellar Data Recovery is one of the best data recovery tools we’ve used, with highly customizable searches, a huge file-type library, and deep scan abilities. However, while a number of paid plans are available, there is also a free tier available.
Stellar Free Data Recovery Software offers up to 1GB of free data recovery for both Windows and Mac users. This enables users to retrieve deleted, lost, and unavailable objects from a hard drive, USB stick, or almost any other storage device. All of the advanced data recovery tools are otherwise available.
Overall, Stellar Data Recovery is a great file retrieval tool with powerful advanced options for business. In its simplest form, it enables anyone to retrieve lost data from a computer or external storage device. Paid subscriptions are a little expensive, but the free program’s impressive performance and user-friendly interface mean it’s well worth using.
The only concern would be whether 1GB of free recovery is enough for your needs, but if that’s the case then one of the paid tiers would definitely be worth considering as an alternative.
Read our full Stellar Data Recovery review.
DMDE Free Edition – or, to give it its full title, DM Disk Editor and Data Recovery Software – helps you recover files from your hard drive that you have lost due to accidental deletion, hard drive problems, a virus attack, or some other grave misfortune. This is the free edition of a program for which there are paid-for versions (opens in new tab), so it should come as no surprise that there are a few limitations – but none that should put you off.
DMDE is a portable app that runs directly from a USB stick, meaning you don’t need to install it and risk overwriting data you’re trying to get back. The program also goes beyond file recovery, giving you the option of searching for and recovering drives and partitions that have, for one reason or another, become invisible to Windows.
If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can even venture into disk editing mode or reconstruct RAID configurations as part of your disaster recovery program.
Overall, if you can get past the unforgiving interface, this is an essential file recovery tool that could save you serious heartache.
Read our full DMDE Free Edition review.
Recuva is a full recovery toolkit, dealing with deep scanning, retrieval of data from damaged drives, extracting files from removable devices, and more. Although it does come with a paid-for version like the above, the free version is definitely worth checking out as an option.
It’s not the most comprehensive tool, but it’s certainly powerful enough for the price, particularly given that the pro version also adds disk imaging tools for taking full backups of your drives.
Perhaps Recuva’s most interesting feature is one that’s contrary to its main aim: using its secure delete capability, you can completely obliterate files. Note that usually files are only ever truly deleted when they’re overwritten by another occupying the same space on the drive – otherwise, it’s merely the reference to their data in the OS that’s removed.
By overwriting each of their bits repeatedly with zeroes, even the most advanced data forensics tool won’t be able to get them back. Perfect for those highly questionable documents that absolutely need to stay deleted…
Read our full Recuva review.
Presented as a pair of tools rather than a single integrated solution, TestDisk and PhotoRec together can recover data from both lost partitions and files.
TestDisk takes care of the partition side of things. The fact that it’s a command line tool with no graphical interface might be off-putting at first. If can set this to one side though, there’s help on hand to guide you through the process of working with your drives. TestDisk offers support for so many file systems, it should cater to most eventualities.
PhotoRec is the component for recovering files. It’s available with a command lint interface, but unlike TestDisk there’s also a GUI for less confident users. It may not be as intuitive as some of the other recovery software in this listing, but it’s effective.
PhotoRec is cross-platform and can be run as a portable app from a USB stick, which means you don’t have to install it on your PC and risk accidentally overwriting the data you want to recover.
Read our full TestDisk and PhotoRec review.
Despite the inclusion of the word “pro” in the name, this program is still free; there is, in fact, no non-pro version.
The look of UnDeleteMyFiles Pro may not be particularly appealing, but don’t let that put you off too much as there are multiple tools included here, not just data recovery. Recovery can be a little hit and miss as there is no indication of the quality (or recoverability) of files – you just have to hope that the files that are found are in a reasonable state.
When it comes to data recovery, there aren’t really all that many options other than the ability to search for particular types of files to reduce the size of the list you have to sort through.
In terms of extras, you also get a disk snapshot tool which basically backs up your drive so you can recover data at your leisure, a secure file deletion tool, and email recovery. Worth checking out, even if this is not necessarily the best of the bunch.
How we tested the best data recovery software
To test for the best data recovery software we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service to see how the software could be used for recovering data from both a normal hardware as a well as an external hard drive. The aim was to push each software platform to see how useful its basic tools were and also how easy it was to get to grips with any more advanced tools.
See how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar.
Which data recovery software is best for you?
When deciding which data recovery software to download and use, first try to determine how difficult the data might be to recover. For example, some dual-disk RAID configurations mean that recovery isn’t going to be a simple process. Additionally, free or budget software options may have built-in limitations on how much data or how many files you can actually recover.
We’ve also featured the best document editing and management software.
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