Best Data Recovery Software for Windows and Mac

Quick picks

Best overall: Disk Drill — clean interface, Windows and Mac versions, and free drive-protection extras.
Best for guided recovery on Windows: EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard — simple wizard, previews, and bootable media for crashed PCs.
Best for damaged photos and videos: Stellar Data Recovery — higher editions add file repair and crashed-PC recovery.
Best for advanced users and RAID: R-Studio — deep file system support, RAID reconstruction, and disk imaging.
Best free option: PhotoRec and TestDisk — open source with no recovery limits, plus partition repair.
Best built-in option: Windows File Recovery — Microsoft's free command-line tool for Windows 10 and 11.

How we chose

Recovery depth: quick scans for recently deleted files plus deep, signature-based scans for formatted or corrupted drives.
Safety: read-only scanning, file previews before you pay, and recovery to a separate drive.
Platform and file system coverage, including NTFS, exFAT, FAT32, and Mac formats like APFS and HFS+.
Ease of use for someone under stress, balanced against advanced controls for complex cases.
Pricing model: what the free tier actually allows, subscription versus lifetime licences, and renewal terms.
Emergency extras such as bootable media, disk imaging for failing drives, and partition recovery.

1. Most people on Windows or Mac

Disk Drill

Disk Drill from CleverFiles pairs a clean, approachable interface with capable quick and deep scans for internal drives, external drives, USB flash drives, and memory cards. You can filter results by file type, preview many files before recovering them, and save them to a separate drive. It also includes useful protection tools at no extra cost: Recovery Vault, which keeps extra records for protected folders to make future recovery easier, byte-to-byte disk backups for imaging a failing drive, and S.M.A.R.T. health monitoring. Versions are available for both Windows and macOS.

Pros

Clear interface that suits beginners
Free disk imaging and S.M.A.R.T. monitoring tools
Windows and Mac versions
Wide file system support, including NTFS, exFAT, APFS, and HFS+

Cons

Free recovery allowance on Windows is small
The Mac free version is mainly for scanning and previewing

Pricing: Free Basic edition to scan, preview, and recover a small amount on Windows; PRO is sold as an annual subscription or a one-time lifetime licence, so compare both on the current pricing page.

Visit Disk Drill

2. Guided recovery on Windows, including crashed PCs

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard walks you through choosing a location, scanning, and filtering results by type, path, or date, with previews for common documents, photos, and videos. It handles deleted files, formatted drives, lost partitions, and external media, and its paid editions can build bootable WinPE media so you can recover files from a PC that no longer starts. There is also a Mac version. The free edition is a genuinely useful way to confirm your files are recoverable before paying, though its allowance only covers small jobs.

Pros

Very beginner-friendly scan and filter workflow
Bootable WinPE media for PCs that will not start
Previews for many common file types
Windows and Mac versions

Cons

Subscription pricing unless you choose the pricier lifetime licence
Free allowance only covers small jobs

Pricing: Free edition with a limited recovery allowance; paid editions are sold as monthly or annual subscriptions or a lifetime licence, so check which terms renew automatically.

Visit EaseUS

3. Recovering and repairing damaged photos and videos

Stellar Data Recovery

Stellar Data Recovery comes in tiered editions for Windows and Mac. The entry edition covers everyday recovery from hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, and memory cards, while higher editions add lost-partition recovery, bootable media for crashed PCs, and repair of corrupted photos and videos. That makes it a good fit for photographers and anyone whose recovered media files open damaged. The interface is simple, letting you choose what to recover by file type and location, and the free edition lets you scan, preview, and recover a small amount before you buy.

Pros

Tiered editions let you pay only for what you need
Photo and video repair in higher editions
Bootable recovery for crashed PCs
Windows and Mac versions

Cons

Edition lineup can be confusing
Partition recovery and file repair require higher tiers
Licences are typically annual

Pricing: Free edition with a small recovery allowance; paid editions are mostly sold as annual licences, with higher tiers costing more, so check renewal terms before buying.

Visit Stellar

4. Technicians, RAID arrays, and difficult cases

R-Studio

R-Studio from R-Tools Technology is a professional-grade recovery suite for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It reads a wide range of file systems, including NTFS, exFAT, APFS, HFS+, Ext4, and XFS, can reconstruct many RAID layouts, recovers files over a network, and creates disk images of failing drives so you work from a copy. Technician licences add a hex editor and extra tools, and R-Studio Emergency provides a bootable version for systems that will not start. The trade-off is complexity: the interface assumes you understand partitions and file systems.

Pros

Deep file system and RAID support
Disk imaging to protect failing drives
Runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux
One-time licences

Cons

Steep learning curve
Demo mode only recovers small files
Overkill for simple undelete jobs

Pricing: Demo mode lets you scan and preview but only recover small files; full versions are one-time licences in several editions, with Technician licences costing the most.

Visit R-Studio

5. Free recovery with no size limits

PhotoRec and TestDisk

PhotoRec and its companion TestDisk are free, open-source tools from CGSecurity that run on Windows, macOS, and Linux. PhotoRec ignores the file system and carves files by their signatures, which makes it effective on formatted drives and memory cards, but recovered files lose their original names and folders. TestDisk takes a different approach: it can find lost partitions and repair damaged partition tables and boot sectors. Both use a keyboard-driven text interface, though a basic graphical version of PhotoRec is included for Windows. They are powerful, but not forgiving.

Pros

Completely free and open source
No recovery size limits
TestDisk can restore lost partitions
Runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux

Cons

Text-based interface is intimidating
PhotoRec loses original file names and folder structure
Writing the wrong changes in TestDisk can make things worse

Pricing: Free and open source with no paid tier.

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6. Free recovery without third-party software

Windows File Recovery

Windows File Recovery is Microsoft's free command-line tool, available from the Microsoft Store for Windows 10 and 11. You run winfr with a source drive, a different destination drive, a mode, and filters, for example winfr C: E: /regular /n \Users\YourName\Documents\. Regular mode suits recently deleted files on healthy NTFS drives, while extensive mode digs deeper and works on other file systems. There is no preview and no graphical interface, and results on SSDs are limited by TRIM, but it costs nothing and comes from Microsoft.

Pros

Free and made by Microsoft
Filters by folder, file name, or extension
Regular and extensive scan modes

Cons

Command-line only, with no preview
Must recover to a different drive
Windows only

Pricing: Free from the Microsoft Store.

Read the Windows recovery guide

7. Quick, simple undeletes on Windows

Recuva

Recuva, from the makers of CCleaner, remains a lightweight free option for recovering recently deleted files from hard drives, USB flash drives, and memory cards. Its wizard asks what you lost and where, color-codes results by their chance of recovery, and offers a deep scan plus a portable version you can run from a USB stick without installing anything on the affected drive. However, Recuva has seen little meaningful development in years, so it is less capable on formatted drives and complex cases than actively maintained tools.

Pros

Free and very lightweight
Portable version avoids installing on the affected drive
Simple wizard with recovery-chance ratings

Cons

Little meaningful development in years
Windows only
Weaker on formatted or corrupted drives than actively developed tools

Pricing: Free version covers recovery; a paid Professional edition adds extras such as virtual hard drive support and premium support.

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Buying guide

Stop using the drive before you do anything else

Deleted files are rarely erased immediately. Windows marks the space they used as free, and the data stays there until something new is written over it. That is why the most important step happens before you choose any software: stop using the affected drive. Do not save downloads to it, do not install recovery software onto it, and if it is your system drive, shut down non-essential apps. Install your recovery tool on a different drive, or use a portable version run from a USB stick, and always recover files to a separate drive. If the lost files were on your only internal drive, consider removing it and connecting it to another computer, or booting from recovery media, so Windows is not writing to it in the background.

Quick scans, deep scans, and file carving

Most recovery tools offer two kinds of scan. A quick scan reads the file system's own records of recently deleted files, so it is fast and usually brings files back with their original names and folders. A deep scan, sometimes called signature search or file carving, reads the raw drive looking for the known patterns that start and end common file types. It works even when the file system is damaged or the drive was formatted, but it is slower, and carved files often come back with generic names and no folder structure. Start with a quick scan, and only run a deep scan if the quick results are missing what you need. Previewing files before recovery is the best way to confirm they are intact.

Why SSDs and TRIM change the odds

SSDs behave very differently from hard drives. When you delete a file, Windows sends a TRIM command telling the SSD those blocks are no longer needed, and the drive's controller may erase them soon afterward to keep writes fast. Once that happens, no software can recover the data. TRIM is enabled by default in Windows for internal SSDs, so recovering deleted files from an internal SSD is often unsuccessful unless you act within minutes. USB flash drives, memory cards, and many external SSDs in USB enclosures may not receive TRIM, so their odds are usually better. Formatting an SSD also typically triggers TRIM across the whole drive. The practical lesson is that backups matter even more on SSD-based computers.

When software is the wrong tool

Recovery software fixes logical problems: deleted files, formatted drives, lost partitions, and damaged file systems. It cannot fix hardware. If a hard drive clicks, grinds, beeps, or does not spin, if a drive is not detected at all, or if it keeps disconnecting mid-scan, stop running software. Every power-on can worsen damage to the heads or platters. Also avoid running CHKDSK with /f or /r on a drive you still need data from, because repairs can rewrite the structures recovery tools rely on. For physically failing drives, a professional recovery lab with clean-room facilities is the safe option. Ask for an evaluation and quote first, and check whether they only charge when data is recovered.

Recovering files on a Mac

On a Mac, check the Trash, Time Machine, and iCloud Drive's Recently Deleted folder before reaching for software. Recovery apps need Full Disk Access, which you grant in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access. Macs with Apple silicon or a T2 chip encrypt their internal SSDs and use TRIM, so recovering deleted files from the internal drive is often not possible, while external drives and memory cards generally have better odds. Disk Drill, EaseUS, Stellar, R-Studio, and PhotoRec all offer macOS versions. As on Windows, scan and preview with the free version first, recover to a separate drive, and only pay once you can see that your files are recoverable.

FAQ

Can data recovery software recover files after emptying the Recycle Bin?

Often, yes. Emptying the Recycle Bin removes the file from view, but the data usually stays on the drive until it is overwritten. Your odds are best on a traditional hard drive, memory card, or USB flash drive when you stop using it immediately. On an internal SSD, TRIM may erase the data quickly, so recovery is much less likely. Scan with a free version first to see what is still there.

Is free data recovery software good enough?

Free options can be enough. Windows File Recovery and PhotoRec are completely free, and Recuva still handles simple recent deletions. Paid tools earn their price with friendlier interfaces, better handling of formatted and corrupted drives, previews, disk imaging, and bootable media. Most let you scan and preview for free, so you can confirm your files are recoverable before paying anything.

Is data recovery software safe to use?

Reputable tools such as Disk Drill, EaseUS, Stellar, R-Studio, and PhotoRec scan drives in read-only mode, so scanning itself does not change your data. Risk comes from how you use them: installing software onto the affected drive, recovering files back onto the same drive, or letting a tool repair a partition before you have copied your files. Download only from official websites to avoid bundled or fake installers.

Can I recover files from a formatted drive?

Yes, in many cases. A quick format usually leaves most data in place, and a deep scan can find files by their signatures even after the file system is replaced. Recovered files may lose their original names and folders. A full format in Windows overwrites the drive with zeros, which usually makes recovery impossible, and formatting an SSD typically triggers TRIM, which has the same effect.

How long does data recovery take?

Deep scans read every sector, so time depends on the drive's size, speed, and health rather than the software alone. A quick scan may take minutes, while a deep scan of a large hard drive can take several hours. A scan that slows to a crawl or stalls can indicate bad sectors; in that case, stop and consider imaging the drive or using a professional lab.

When should I use a professional data recovery service?

Contact a lab when the drive has a physical problem: clicking, grinding, beeping, not spinning, not detected by any computer, or damage from a drop, fire, or water. Also consider a lab when the data is irreplaceable and a first software attempt failed. Labs are expensive, so ask for a free evaluation and quote, and power the drive off while you decide.

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