If you accidentally delete important files or photos, your hard drive crashes, or some glitch damaged data on your SSD, all hope is seemingly lost. Fortunately, advanced data recovery software exists that may help get your data back.
It’s important to stop using the faulty drive, if possible. The only time you should use it is during the recovery process. After you’ve extracted as many files as you can, you can try reformatting the drive to test if it’s still usable.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
EaseUS might have a lot of different applications on offer, but they are all related to storage. Whether it’s preemptively backing up files or recovering them later, its main focus is keeping your data safe. The company’s Data Recovery Wizard is one of the best tools for helping you find any lost file.
With the ability to recover files following hard drive damage, lost partitions, virus attacks, and more, it can recover more than 1,000 different file types, so whatever you’ve lost, it stands a good chance of getting it back.
If you’re only looking to recover a small amount of data or want to try it out before committing to a paid option, the free version lets you restore up to 2GB of data, a generous amount that could be all you need.
I reviewed EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro and found it to be among the most reliable solutions. Starting at $40 weekly, it makes restoring all your files affordable. If you anticipate needing it again, you save more with longer subscription terms: $70 monthly, $100 annually, and $150 for the lifetime plan.
Stellar Data Recovery
Compatible with internal and external storage, physical media, and even cameras, Stellar Data Recovery is considered by many to be one of the best data recovery tools available today. It can recover lost partitions and data from encrypted drives and clone entire disks, and it has a robust scanning and file-browsing tool for intuitive data recovery.
Available for Windows, MacOS, and iOS, Stellar Data Recovery offers a free version that recovers up to 1GB of data, like deleted photos, videos, and critical files. It supports NTFS, exFAT, and FAT (16/32) partition formats.
However, for more features and unlimited data recovery, you’ll need at least the Standard edition, which starts at $60. That also gives you the ability to perform more in-depth recoveries from formatted or encrypted systems.
The Professional version starts at $90, unlocking the option to recover lost partitions and letting you recover from a CD or DVD without a functioning hard drive. For $10 more, I reviewed Stellar Data Recovery Premium to unlock advanced photo and video repair features.
Stellar Data Recovery might not be the cheapest option available, but it’s special features could be the solution you need. If you have any trouble, you get 24-hour live support on weekdays.
Recuva Professional
Recuva is somewhat unique since the free version allows unlimited data recovery. It’s easy to use interface guides you through the restoration process, with previews of files and a status column in the file list letting you know which files are recoverable.
When I reviewed the paid version, Recuva Professional, I was surprised with how effective this low-cost solution was. For just $25 per year, it restored almost every hard drive file I lost and even found a lost partition on my thumb drive.
Recuva Professional adds the ability to access virtual drives, provides automatic updates, and comes with customer support via email.
Ontrack EasyRecovery
KLDiscovery is a company that offers a professional data recovery service, so that should act as a real testament to the effectiveness of its Ontrack data recovery software.
Considered to be a more professional tool than others on this list, it’s comprehensive and incredibly fast at recovering files from all sorts of file volumes. It’s compatible with both Windows and MacOS, and you can even start and stop your file recovery when it’s convenient for you.
The basic free version gives you a 1GB recovery trial, while the $60 Home version offers unlimited recovery and most of the core features. For advanced features, like photo and video repairs or disk cloning, you’ll need the Professional edition or higher, which starts at $100. RAID recovery requires the Technician version, which costs $200.
Clever Files Disk Drill
The Clever Files Disk Drill offers a free and paid version to recover files and supports Windows and macOS. The unique Recovery Vault stores metadata for files you throw away to aid recovery, saving you trouble with any accidental deletions.
With the free version, Windows users can get up to 500MB of recovery storage. On macOS, you can only preview files that might be recoverable before paying.
The good news is, it’s a one-time purchase that lets you recover files from up to three devices. The Pro plan costs $89, and for an extra $19 can get lifetime upgrades to the latest version.
What about unrecoverable data?
If you’ve tried more than one data recovery app with no success, it might mean your drive has a more serious problem that makes it impossible to access the files you need.
In that case, a professional data recovery company might be required. It is still possible to extract files from crashed HDDs. The same is true for fast SSDs, which data recovery software often has trouble with.
