Top 10 Best Data Recovery Software for Windows 10 PC and Mac in 2023 (Pros vs. Cons)

We all have the experience of losing data due to accidental deletion, disk formatting, storage media damage, OS crash, etc. Losing important files is very frustrating. Fortunately, we can use data recovery software for help. Here is a list of the best data recovery software for Windows 10 PC and Mac users. With a capable data recovery tool, we can retrieve deleted or lost data files quickly.

Last updated:

September 28, 2023

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Looking for the best data recovery software to tackle your data loss? Very often, important files are lost just when we need them most. Positively, you don't have to devote time and energy to find the replacement or re-write the data. Instead, this article is here to pick out the best data recovery software for you.

To help you select the incredible tool, we’ve taken days to run through the versatility, features, price, and reviews of each program. What you need to do, based on your needs, is grabbing the powerful and easy-to-use data restoration application. Read on a list of the 10 best data recovery software.

Data Recovery Software Picker

  •  Windows  Mac
  •  Free  Paid
  •  Beginners  Advanced

After losing data, you definitely want to retrieve it as fast as possible. If you don't know how to choose suitable data recovery software, we can help you quickly get the best solution. Depending on the system you use, your budget, and your computer proficiency, we can suggest the right product for you. Click on the three tabs above to see the suggestions.

We recommend:

  •  
     

    EaseUS

    EaseUS is a simple and popular data recovery tool for Windows and macOS that gets back lost files in a few clicks. Its advanced data recovery algorithms can perform a deep scan to recover over 1000 types of files in any case. EaseUS data recovery free version allows free recovery of up to 2GB of data.

  •  

    R-Studio

    R-Studio is a slightly complex and commercial data recovery tool that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It suits experienced data recovery professionals to restore lost or deleted data. The free demo version of R-Studio can recover files less than 256KB in size.

  •  

    Recuva

    Developed by Piriform, Recuva is a 100% free data recovery application to retrieve deleted or permanently deleted files on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows. It works on HDD, USB, memory cards, MP3 players, and more.

  •  

    SysTools

    SysTools supports Granular recovery of lost files on Windows laptops or PCs. It has abilities in recovering deleted data effortlessly. It can restore various types of files from corrupted or formatted NTFS, FAT, exFAT files systems.

Best Data Recovery Software Selection Criteria

The data recovery process could be hard if you are using the wrong tool. According to WIKIPEDIA, the data recovery process varies from different scenarios and devices. Therefore, the selection criteria and suggestions for data recovery software are necessary.

Versatility:

Not only the data loss happens on the PC, but external hard drives, USB flash drives, and other storage devices are also some of the hottest requirements for data recovery. Therefore, we will inevitably consider whether the application supports multiple devices. Also, it is worth mentioning that resourceful software supports several file types including files, videos, pictures, etc.

Features:

What scenario is the software suitable for? Which features meet your needs? How much time does it take to scan the data? What are the highlights of the product? You don't want to spend time choosing undesirable software that does not match your requirements. A Good-performing tool can be flexibly applied to a wide range of file loss scenarios, features in high recovery rate, appraised by its easy-to-use steps and simple interface. This article will run down the pros and cons of each for you.

Price:

How much do you want to pay for data recovery software? Is this software worth paying for? What is the difference between the free and trial version? You can test the free version first to recover files and then preview your data. That is the secure route to try. Once you've paid, it is hard to get a refund. If you have a limited budget, some freeware also worth downloading. Of course, we will recommend which software you should buy based on the price and reviews - It's up to you to decide!

User-Friendly:

How much do you want to pay fThere are various data recovery products, which can be roughly divided into two categories, one is software with a graphical interface, and the other is a product that requires code manipulation. If you are an ordinary computer user, you must choose data recovery software with a graphical interface. If it is too complicated, you may not understand it. Therefore, ease of use is also an important criterion for selecting software.

Technical Support:

In the process of retrieving data, you may encounter all kinds of problems, from disk scan, preview, to final data recovery. Therefore, you need technical support, whether by phone, email, LiveChat, or remote customer service. When choosing data recovery software, be sure to choose a product that clearly provides technical support.

Now you figure out the selection criteria. Time to navigate to the list.

Comparison Among Top 10 Data Recovery Software: EaseUS vs. Recuva vs. R-studio...

With 10 data recovery software to choose from, how do you decide which to download and which function suits your preference? Before checking the detailed information of each software, you can first check the main features of each tool. We've put together the 7 points here in the comparison table. Join us and take a quick look at these factors.

  • Brands
  • Reviews
  • Platform
  • Free Version
  • Pro Version
  • User-Friendly
  • Preview
  • File Formats
  •  

    EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

  • Best overall
  • Windows & Mac
  • 2GB
  • $69.95
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Supports over 1,000
    file formats
  •  

    Recuva

  • 100% free
  • Windows
  • Unlimited
  • $99.95
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Supports only basic
    file formats
  •  

    R-studio

  • Adavanced pick
  • Win/Mac/Linux
  • No free version
  • $79.99
  • No
  • Yes
  • Several hundred file
    formats
  •  

    Disk Drill

  • High-end pick
  • Windows & Mac
  • 500MB
  • $89
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Over 400 file
    formats
  •  

    Stellar

  • Reputable brand
  • Windows & Mac
  • 1GB
  • $79.99
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Supports over 200
    file types
  •  

    SysTools Data Recovery Software

  • Best for a person
  • Windows
  • No free version
  • $39 per feature
  • Yes
  • No
  • Most standard file
    formats

Have you decided which data recovery software to choose from? Each program is probably good. However, combined, the performance of them still has differences. We've listed the pros and cons, user experiences, price, versatility of each application to you. Check the key part and decide which software to use.

1. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard (Best Overall)

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EaseUS data recovery software is one of the best data recovery software for Windows and Mac users. It is very easy to use for both beginners and experts. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can recover files from hard drives, external hard drives, USB flash drives, SD cards, etc. Whether you want to recover data from an emptied Recycle Bin, or from a formatted or damaged internal disk or external disk, EaseUS data recovery software can help you easily get data back in three steps.

You can enjoy the fast scanning speed and high data recovery quality. This software has helped millions of users over the past 17 years in the data recovery field.

Pros
  • Hundreds of file formats are supported
  • MP4/MOV video repair features are available
  • Various ways to sort and filter lost files
  • There are a wealth of purchase plans to choose from
  • The free version recovers up to 2GB of data
Cons
  • The portable version requires a separate download link
  • The scanning speed is depending on the size of your data

This feature-rich data recovery tool employs guaranteed scanning algorithms and allows users to perform multiple types of scans. The Quick Scan locates files that were deleted and usually recovers them exactly as they were before deletion. The Deep Scan starts after the Quick Scan. It finds more data and takes more time to scan for lost data.

select a location and click scan

Price:

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free Free
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Monthly $69.95
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Annual $99.95
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Lifetime $149.95

Limitations on the free/pro versions:

The free version allows the free recovery of up to 2 GB of data.

The pro version has no recovery restrictions.

System requirements:

EaseUS data recovery software is available for Windows 11/10/8/7, Windows Server 2019/2016/2012/2008/2003, and macOS 12.0 ~ 10.9.

Supported file systems:

FAT(FAT12,FAT16,FAT32)/exFAT/NTFS/NTFS5/ext2/ext3/HFS+/ReFS/APFS is supported.

Author's suggestion

Having been working in the data recovery field for about 17 years, EaseUS has good data recovery experience and a high success rate. The newest version of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can recover data in more than 1000 file types from a variety of storage devices and file systems.

This data recovery software has an intuitive process that doesn't require any expert knowledge. Usually, it only takes three steps to get back lost data. You can filter the scan results to find a specific file and preview it before recovery inside EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard.

The free version of EaseUS can recover up to 2GB of data (for Windows). If your data is less than 2GB, the free version is recommended. If you want to enjoy unlimited data recovery, you can upgrade to EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro for $69.95 (monthly). The paid version is just as easy to use as the free one, even inexperienced home users with no expert knowledge won't feel intimidated by it.

2. Recuva (100% Free)

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If you use CCleaner, a powerful PC cleaning program, you should hear of the other popular product developed by Piriform - Recuva. It is free file recovery software exclusively for use on Windows to recover lost files from any rewritable media, like memory cards, external hard drives, USB sticks, and more. Recuva can restore lost or deleted pictures, music, documents, videos, emails, or any other file type after the quick and deep scan.

Pros
  • The free version is for unlimited data recovery
  • Simple operation with a very intuitive wizard guide
  • The price of the paid version is the lowest among its competitors
  • A preview screen is available for documents, pictures, and videos before recovery
Cons
  • Deep scan technology lags behind others
  • Can't recover as many files as high-priced rivals
  • Customer support is very limited for unsubscribled users

Due to its simple and intuitive wizard guide, you can proceed immediately after downloading Recuva.

select a location and click scan

Price:

Recuva Free Free
Recuva Pro $99.95

Limitations on the free/pro versions:

The free version allows for unlimited data recovery.

System requirements:

Recuva is compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 7, Vista, and XP.

Supported file systems:

FAT, exFAT, and NTFS are supported.

Author's suggestion

Ultimately, the client interface of Recuva is not so beautifully designed, but it's overall simple and effective. What's more, it has other features included in the free version (perhaps not that useful), such as secure file overwriter and formatted drive scanning. For Windows users who are looking for inexpensive yet reliable data recovery tool, and it's not for frequent use or business use, Recuva is still up there with the best data recovery programs we've tested.

3. R-Studio (Advanced Pick)

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R-studio labeled itself a powerful disk recovery software and hard drive recovery tool for advanced users. What makes it jump in the best data recovery queue is the adoption of in-depth file analysis and a unique data recovery algorithm that guarantees a relatively high chance of file recovery. It supports partition recovery, deleted/formatted file recovery, corrupted hard drive recovery, and bad sector data recovery. It also can restore files from some unknown file systems including HD, CD, and DVDs.

Pros
  • Strong ability to recover lost data caused by complex scenarios
  • Retrieve data from a deteriorating drive from a previously created hard drive image
Cons
  • No matter for home or business use, it does not offer a free trial
  • The interface is rather technical, Unfriendly to average computer users

There is only one download button for each operating system, otherwise you can choose to buy online without trial. During the installation, however, you still have a chance to try a demo version to test the capability.

select a location and click scan

Price:

R-Studio Network $179.99
R-STUDIO $79.99
R-Studio NTFS $59.99
R-Studio FAT $49.99
R-Studio Technician $899.99

Limitations on the free/pro versions:

The free version allows for unlimited data recovery.

System requirements:

Recuva is compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 7, Vista, and XP.

Recuva supports macOS 11 - OS X 10.5 Leopard and OS X Server 10.5 Leopard running on a computer with Apple M1 chip, Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 processors.

Supported file systems:

R-studio supports file recovery on NTFS, NTFS5, ReFS, FAT12/16/32, exFAT, HFS/HFS+ and APFS drives.

Author's suggestion

To completely understand the function of each option on the menu, and how to start and finish the recovery process, it takes almost two hours for me to reach there. Gladly, there is an eye-catching "Help & Manual" button on its home webpage for us to follow and learn. Regarding the price and ease of use, it's not so friendly for average computer users. However, the mighty performance in dealing with sophisticated data loss cases are unmatchable by others. Hence, R-Studio is best for business owners to manage data recovery across HDDs, SSDs, and Raid drive.

When you search "R-studio" data recovery software, you might make a mistake by the other seemingly identical brand called "Rstudio", which is not for data recovery but data science and statistical computing. The right data recovery tool you're seeking is R-studio, which has a dash between R and Studio. You can also refer to the screenshot we put here.

4. Disk Drill (High-End Pick)

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Disk Drill is a reliable data recovery tool that can restore deleted or lost data with a few clicks. It also works well on both Windows and Mac laptops or PCs. You can recover deleted photos, videos, music files, documents from internal or external drives with this data recovery software. The fantastic thing is that Disk Drill provides enhanced data protection with its Recovery Vault and Drive backup features. Disk Drill has the ability to perform various data recovery scenarios. It only takes 4 steps to recover data.

Pros
  • Hundreds of file formats are supported
  • Data protection and backup features are available
  • Lost files are organized by category for easy view
  • Free version recovers up to 500MB of data
Cons
  • Lack of phone technical support
  • Very slow to install this software
  • A restart is needed before you can use it

Disk Drill has a user-friendly interface that makes it stands out among many other data recovery programs. It can get back your lost files from a wide variety of storage devices including external hard drives, memory cards, and USB sticks.

select a location and click scan

Price:

Disk Drill Basic Free
Disk Drill Pro $89.00
Disk Drill Enterprise $499

Limitations on the free/pro versions:

Disk Drill for Windows allows users to recover up to 500MB of data for free.

System requirements:

Disk Drill supports Mac OS X 10.11.6 - 12.0.

Disk Drill is compatible with Windows 7 SP1, 8, 8.1, 10, 11.

Supported file systems:

FAT(FAT12,FAT16,FAT32)/exFAT/NTFS/NTFS5/ext2/ext3/HFS+/APFS is supported.

Author's suggestion

Developed by CleverFiles, Disk Drill is an efficient and effective solution to the problem of restoring deleted data from hard drives, SD cards, USB flash drives, and more. It can recover files in hundreds of formats. Familiar file types such as PDF, DOC/DOCX, XLS, and TXT are all supported. 

The data recovery process is also easy and fast. Even a beginner can retrieve lost data with the help of Disk Drill. Unlike any other, the app has two important additional data loss prevention functionalities - Recovery Vault and Guaranteed Recovery.

The free version of Disk Drill can recover up to 500MB of data (for Windows). If you want to enjoy unlimited data recovery, you can upgrade to Disk Drill Pro for $89. Lifetime upgrades can be purchased for $29.

5. Stellar Data Recovery (Reputable Brand)

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Red and grey are the dominant color Stellar use on either its website or the application interface, distinguishing them from most of its rivals. Besides the unique design, we love Stellar data recovery because it's fast and highly customizable in searching lost data! It supports all known file types, and you can also add some custom types in the advanced options menu!

Stellar data recovery software supports data recovery on both the computer HDD or a portable drive, a flash drive, or an SD card. It can retrieve lost partitions and data from encrypted drives and clone entire disks. What’s more, it has powerful scanning and file browsing abilities for intuitive data recovery.

Pros
  • Have both free and trial version
  • Support recovering 1GB files for free
  • Smooth and enjoyable user experience
Cons
  • Scanning progress is really slow
  • The price of the paid version is higher than others

If you look further, Stellar offers individuals more plans than those of others. It has Free (allow 1GB free file recovery), Standard, Professional, Premium, Technician, and Toolkit options. The differences among each are related to prices (ranging from free to $299 per year) and the capability of resolving complex data loss problems. It has a Mac version, too.

select a location and click scan

Price:

Stellar Data Recovery Free Free
Stellar Data Recovery Standard $49.99
Stellar Data Recovery Professional $79.99
Stellar Data Recovery Premium $99.99
Stellar Data Recovery Technician $199
Stellar Data Recovery Toolkit $299

Limitations on the free/pro versions:

Its free verion only offers up to 1GB of free data recovery for both Windows and Mac users.

System requirements:

Stellar Data Recovery supports Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista & XP.

Stellar Data Recovery supports macOS Catalina 10.15, Mojave 10.14, High Sierra 10.13, 10.12, 10.11, 10.10, 10.9, 10.8 & 10.7.

Supported file systems:

NTFS, exFAT, FAT(FAT16/FAT32), HFS, HFS+, ext2, ext3, ext4 is supported.

Author's suggestion

Are you looking for a piece of creative yet powerful data recovery solution with standby technicians? Stellar is your best bet. Stellar is a leading data care corporation based in India. When you search the data recovery software or service, you'll see the Stellar brand everywhere, with how-to articles, paid ads, and recommendations from third parties. As you tell, Stellar is good at self-promotion, and the good part is that it does develop qualified products, though the money it invests on ads finally earned from its worldwide customers.

6. SysTools Hard Drive Recovery (Best for a Person)

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SysTools Hard Drive Recovery is a complete solution to recover deleted files from NTFS and FAT file systems. This data recovery software also retrieves data after formatting a hard disk. What's more, it supports RAW hard drive data recovery professionally. You can restore various multimedia and document files from internal and external hard drives with a few steps, including images, audio, and video files.

SysTools data restoration applications enable you to preview the deleted data before you come up with the decision of which files and folders to restore.

Pros
  • Intuitive interface and options
  • Most of the file formats are supported
  • Lost files can be viewed by category filter
  • The free version provides preview only
Cons
  • Can't preview scanned photos
  • The process is a little bit difficult
  • No forever-free version available
  • Unable to resize the window of the product

SysTools has evolved into a reputable name in data recovery software. It lacks some advanced features of other solutions but has a good record of successfully recovering common file types. This data recovery software can get back lost and deleted files from many kinds of digital storage devices.

select a location and click scan

Price:

SysTools Hard Drive Recovery Full Version $39
SysTools Hard Drive Recovery + Pen Drive Recovery $59
SysTools Hard Drive Recovery + Pen Drive Recovery + SSD Recovery $69

Limitations on the free/pro versions:

Free and trial versions are not provided, and free recovery is not supported.

System requirements:

SysTools Hard Drive Recovery is compatible with Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, etc.

Supported file systems:

The supported formats include FAT, ExFAT, NTFS, and exFAT.

Author's suggestion

SysTools Hard Disk Data Recovery Software is an all-in-one solution. In the past 14 years, it has helped many people all over the world. It is a very reliable solution to those who need to recover lost, permanently deleted & formatted data from a hard drive of any size.

The main advantage of this Hard Disk Recovery Wizard is, you can preview your data before repairing the drive information. The most significant disadvantage of this data recovery software is that the Demo version will only preview the entire recovered items. You need to pay at least $39 to recover deleted or formatted files. The good news is that you have to make a one-time payment only, so you don't need to worry about monthly bills.

7. Remo Recover (Safe Choice)

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Since 2011, Remo Software started to involve in the data recovery field and developed a powerful tool - Remo Recover. It can recover files, photos, videos, etc. from any Windows and Mac computer and could recover data safely even from crashed computers or corrupt hard drives. It’s worth mentioning that Remo Recover has powerful dual scanning modes that can help you recover deleted or formatted partitions.

Besides, Remo data recovery allows users to preview the recovered data before saving it. It is well designed to execute data recovery on Windows, Mac, and Android.

Pros
  • Simple and clear user interface
  • Dual scan modes
  • Supports users to preview before actual recovery
  • Recover more than 300 file types
Cons
  • The price plan is pricey
  • Preview function only available for image files

For novice users, Remo Recover is a good choice. Its interface is simple and clear, and users can know where to click to restore the corresponding file through the prompt text on the interface.

select a location and click scan

Price:

Remo Recover Basic Edition $39.97
Remo Recover Media Edition $49.97
Remo Recover Pro Edition $99.97
Remo Recover Tech/Corp Edition $399.97

Limitations on the free/pro versions:

The free demo allows to scan & preview deleted and lost data.

System requirements:

Remo data recovery software supports Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, etc.

Remo data recovery software supports all versions of macOS including the latest macOS Big Sur.

Supported file systems:

The supported formats include ExFAT, FAT32, FAT16, NTFS, NTFS5, HFS+, APFS, etc.

Author's suggestion

In the field of formatted hard drive recovery, Remo Recover plays an excellent role. With simple clicks, it could scan and list all your lost data, and enable you to preview the files you want to recover.

Speaking of scanning mode, Remo Recover provides users with a flexible scanning mode that can search for lost data in various situations. Normal scanning is suitable for less serious data loss situations. Deep scanning can go deep into each sector of the hard drive to recover data lost due to severe drive damage.

Remo Recover also comes up with different price plans to cover users’ different demands. If you only need to recover basic file documents, you can choose the Basic Edition. If you need to recover lost photos and videos or partitions, you can upgrade to Media or Pro Editions.

8. Ontrack EasyRecovery (Highly-Rated by Customer)

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Ontrack EasyRecovery is a comprehensive data recovery software for both Windows and Mac users. Its data recovery range covers corrupted, damaged, deleted, or reformatted files, and it supports recovering more than 300 file types from hard drives, SSD, USB flash drives, SD cards & removable media.

Ontrack EasyRecovery works with internal and external drives; SSD, RAID, USB, memory cards, and optical media. Besides, it can repair damaged and corrupt photo and video files.

Pros
  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Supports users to recover 1GB data for free
  • Able to repair damaged photos and videos
  • Advanced RAID recovery ability
Cons
  • Free version only supports recovering files sizes less than 25 MB
  • Only Premium version can repair corrupted photos and videos
  • Can’t preview the recoverable files

Ontrack began its journey in 1985 in the software industry. With an experienced development team, Ontrack can provide you with a powerful tool to recover all lost data.

select a location and click scan

Price:

Ontrack EasyRecovery Free Free
Ontrack EasyRecovery Home $75.24
Ontrack EasyRecovery Professional $103.81
Ontrack EasyRecovery Premium $141.90
Ontrack EasyRecovery Technician $284.76
Ontrack EasyRecovery Toolkit $475.24

Limitations on the free/pro versions:

The free version recovers up to 1 GB of data for free.

For file sizes less than 25 MB.

System requirements:

Ontrack Data Recovery Software for Microsoft Windows supports Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.

Ontrack Data Recovery Software for Mac supports macOS Big Sur as well as the former versions.

Supported file systems:

The supported file systems are FAT (FAT16, FAT32), NTFS, HFS+, APFS, etc.

Author's suggestion

Ontrack EasyRecovery enjoys a great reputation among users for its easy operation and powerful function. On the main interface, users can choose a media type that suits their data loss problem best. Like other data recovery software, Ontrack EasyRecovery is also designed with different scanning modes.

One thing that users like the most about Ontrack EasyRecovery is its scanning speed. It only takes a few minutes for this tool to scan a large hard drive. After all your lost files are listed, you can search the file name to find what you want. But it is a little difficult to find the recovered files under the normal scan mode.

The free version of Ontrack EasyRecovery can recover up to 1GB of data, but the file size must not exceed 25MB. If you need to recover unlimited data, you could upgrade to the Home version for $79. Ontrack EasyRecovery provides a detailed comparison table on its official website, you can check the features of each version.

9. Prosoft Data Rescue (Trustable Choice)

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Prosoft Data Rescue is another data software that has a long history in the data recovery industry. Just like Ontrack software, it also start its business in 1985. Prosoft Data Rescue is focused on recovering from internal and external hard drives, USB flash drives, and SD cards. It boasts comprehensive scanning options and exceptional recovery results.

In addition, Prosoft Data Rescue’s FileIQ function gives this tool the ability to learn new file types for recovery. With Prosoft Data Rescue, you can choose to only pay for the files you want to recover, which is very cost-effective.

Pros
  • Modern and user-friendly interface
  • Find all your lost files for free
  • Recover more than 150 file types
  • Advanced search, filter, and file preview functions
Cons
  • Deep scan can take a long time
  • No pause and resume functions for scanning

Prosoft Data Rescue covers many data loss scenarios, such as deleting, formatting, virus attack, etc. It uses a variety of techniques to find and recover as many files as possible. You can trust this tool when you encounter data loss.

select a location and click scan

Price:

Prosoft Data Rescue Standard $19 (Only pay for specific files)
Data Rescue Professional (Annual Version) $399

Limitations on the free/pro versions:

The standard version finds all your lost files for free. But no free data recovery is available.

System requirements:

Prosoft Data Rescue is compatible with Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Secondary Storage Device, and Internet Connection.

Prosoft Data Rescue can be installed on macOS 10.12 - Later (M1 Now Supported), Secondary Storage Device, and Internet Connection.

Supported file systems:

The supported formats include FAT (FAT16, FAT32), NTFS, HFS+, APFS, etc.

Author's suggestion

For users who have never been used data recovery software, Prosoft Data Rescue is a good choice. It supports both Windows and Mac computers, and its interface is clear and user-friendly, even if you are a beginner, you can figure out how to use this software quickly.

As a company with more than 30 years of experience, Prosoft is confident in its data recovery capabilities. It can not only scan and recover files that were deleted deliberately for testing but also find files that were deleted years earlier.

Prosoft Data Rescue provides users with two scanning modes. The quick scan is effective enough to find and repair any errors that might be preventing your OS from starting or preventing an external drive from mounting. The deep scan is aimed to recover deleted files or files from a reformatted drive. But the deep scan process cannot be paused, and it always takes a long time. So this is one thing that bothers users a lot.

10. Partition Recovery (Wise Choice)

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Different from other data recovery software, Partition Recovery is specialized in partition recovery. It supports all kinds of partitions including FAT, NTFS, EXT2, and EXT3 in Windows. If you have encountered unexpected situations such as improper operation, power failure, or accidental erasure that lead to the loss of the whole partition, EaseUS Partition Recovery can recover the deleted partitions and data.

Partition Recovery takes less time to scan your whole drive or specific disks. And it offers Raw recovery feature. With this advanced function, the partitions will be recovered by file signature without data loss.

Pros
  • Easy to use. Anyone can restore lost partitions with this tool
  • Quick scan mode lists deleted files in just seconds
  • Recovery of partitions with multiple file systems
  • Offers Raw recovery feature
Cons
  • One license only available for one computer
  • Does not support EXT4 file system

The interface design of Partition Recovery software is simple, while the recovery capability is very powerful. Even you are not an expert, you can perform a partition recovery with this tool.

partition recovery interface

Price:

Partition Recovery Monthly $49.95
Partition Recovery Annual $69.95
Partition Recovery Lifetime Upgrade $99.95

Limitations on the free/pro versions:

The free trial version won't allow for free recovery.

System requirements:

Partition Recovery is compatible with Windows 11/10/8/7/Server.

Supported file systems:

Partition Recovery supports all kinds of partitions including FAT, NTFS, Ext2, and Ext3 volumes in Windows.

Author's suggestion

Compared with common data loss, losing an entire partition usually makes users more panic. For common data loss, users may only lose some files or documents. But for partition loss, all contents in this partition will disappear. This means you may lose hundreds of files, documents, or application files.

Partition Recovery is both a safe and efficient solution that can recover deleted partitions and protect your data. It covers almost all the partition loss scenarios, such as improper operation, corrupted partition table, power failure, bad sector, and system upgrades, etc. Generally, you only need three steps to perform a partition recovery with this tool. First, select a disk to scan. Second, preview the partitions in the list. Third, recover lost partitions. Once you have recovered the lost partition, all the data on that partition will be recovered, too.

For Windows users who are searching for an efficient and reliable partition recovery tool, Partition Recovery software is a good choice.

Who's the Winner of the Best Data Recovery Software of 2023

We've formed a roundup of top 10 best data recovery software for Windows and Mac by reviewing the versatility, features, price and compatibility. To sum up, they are all dependable and competent data recovery software for all types of files recovery from a variety of storage devices. Still, you'll have to choose the best one among the top 10, right? Next, follow the further tips to pick up your favorite step by step.

Tip 1. Recuva & SysTools Data Recovery Software

Among the 10 data recovery software recommendations, 8 of the 10 are both Windows 11/10/8/7 and macOS compatible, except Recuva and SysTools Data Recovery Software. Therefore, if your request has to be performed on a Mac machine, pick one from the rest ones: EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, R-Studio, Disk Drill, Stellar, Remo, Ontrack EasyRecovery and ProSoft Data Rescue.

Tip 2. Download Windows Data Recovery Software for Free

What files did you lose? For documents like Word .doc/.docx, Excel workbooks .xls/.xlsx or .txt files or images of .png, .jpg, .jpeg with a small size, usually some brands has a free version for you to download it for free. They are EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, Recuva, Disk Drill, Stellar, OnTrack and Prosoft Data Rescue. And, for the most generous data recovery software, it goes to Recuva and EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard!

Tip 3. Cheap & Easy Data Recovery Software for Windows 10 PC

Last but not the least, the best data recovery software has to suit your own need as well. For none computer savvy like most of us, it's better to cope with a smart data recovery tool with clear user interface and simple operation. With regard to the simplicity and cost-effectiveness for unlimited data recovery, the winner should go to EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and Recuva.

Ultimate Comparison: EaseUS vs. Recuva vs. Disk Drill vs. Stellar vs. Ontrack EasyRecovery

Data loss is inconvenient for many beginners and professionals. Picking the best data recovery software here to clear out the major chunk. While we listed 10 applications in detail, we found there were 5 salient tools to choose from.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard: We strongly recommend EaseUS Data Recovery for its better recovery performance and easy-to-use for both beginners and experts. The major review site also praised its feature. Have a try!

Disk Drill: Speaking of data recovery software, Disk Drill is the salient one we need to mention. Unlike the other 9 tools, Disk Drill features in the data loss prevention function. However, it takes a long time to install the software.

Recuva: Supporting unlimited data recovery in the free version but limited to Quick Scan and File Preview function. The price of the Pro version is lower than the other 9 data recovery tools. No Mac version.

Stellar: Praised by its "fast" data searching speed, Stellar Data Recovery is one of the robust rivals in the data recovery field. But the paid version is higher than others.

Ontrack EasyRecovery: Start the business in 1985, Ontrack enjoys a good reputation in the data recovery field. One unique feature of this tool is scanning speed, which only takes a few minutes to scan a storage device. But its free version has some limits.

Honorable Mentions

Data recovery software is a specialized application that can recover deleted files from digital storage devices. In addition to the top 10 best data recovery software, here's a selection of try-worthy applications that can work well in restoring data.

Wise Data Recovery: Wise Data Recovery is a free data recovery tool that is lightweight and space-saving. It can recover lost or deleted photos, videos, audio files, documents, and more from FAT, exFAT, and NTFS hard drive. Wise Data Recovery recovers data from local drives, external drives, USB drives, SD cards, mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, and other removable devices. Its free version supports unlimited free recovery on Windows systems (64-bit and 32-bit).

Recover My Files: Recover My Files is an advanced data recovery software that recovers files from emptied Recycle Bin, hard drive corrupting/crash, virus attack, Trojan infection, unexpected system shutdown, or software failure. You can get off files from FAT 12, FAT 16, FAT 32, NTFS, NTFS5, devices on Windows 7, 8, and 10. The free version of Recover My Files allows for unlimited free recovery.

PhotoRec: PhotoRec is 100% free and open-source data recovery software. With a text-based interface, advanced users can recover lost files on various storage devices, including HDD, USB flash drive, external hard drive, and more. You can use PhotoRec to perform data recovery on cross-platforms - Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, etc. This software is not suitable for novice computer users.

TestDisk: Similar to PhotoRec, TestDisk is also an open-source file recovery application. It has a graphical interface neither. Different from other data recovery software that focuses on file recovery, TestDisk is mainly developed to help users to restore lost partitions and make the non-bootable disk boot again. You can use it to recover lost files from FAT, NTFS, and ext2 partitions in a DOS window via command-line controls.

Windows File Recovery: Windows File Recovery is another free and text-based data recovery utility that recovers lost photos, documents, videos, and more file types due to accidental deletion, hard drive cleaning, or corruption. You need to first download Windows File Recovery in Microsoft Store and use it to find what you lost from hard drive, SSD (*limited by TRIM), USB drive, or memory cards. Note that Windows File Recovery is currently available for Windows 10 2004 and above.

Orion File Recovery: Orion File Recovery Software is a Windows-based data recovery tool that can easily recover deleted files, photos, and music from HDD, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc. Orion File Recovery Software opens with wizard guides for the search and recovery processes. You can use this application to make a file recovery on Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, XP, and Vista. A free version of Orion file recovery software is available for non-commercial use.

FAQs

1. EaseUS vs Recuva

Easeus Data Recovery Wizard won high scores in the data recovery software competition. User-friendly UI design and strong resilience are the main reasons why we recommend this tool. More importantly, it provides users with up to 2GB of free data recovery. So you can try it out first, and then decide whether to buy this tool.

The biggest advantage of Recuva is that it is free software. You can use the free version to recover unlimited data. But compared with EaseUS, Recuva's deep scanning function and UI design are lagging. This means that you cannot use Recuva to recover as many files as you can with EaseUS, and you will find that Recuva's client interface is not so user-friendly.

2. Why do you need data recovery software and is it safe to use?

You need data recovery software if you encountered data loss issues due to accidental deletion, unexpected format, virus attack, storage device corruption, suddenly system shutdown, malware infection, and so on. A powerful and straightforward tool lets you recover files easily from multiple devices.

Yes, it is safe to use. But you need to choose reliable data recovery software. Here we choose the trustworthy and updated tools for you. So you don’t need to worry about whether the software in the list is safe or not.

3. What difference between Free vs Paid software?
Some of the free version offers the basic capacity to recover data, such as EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free provides 2GB for you to try its functions. You can test the free version and preview the recoverable files. And, some of the paid version holds the advanced function and professional data service. However, if you don’t have a lot of money for data recovery software, choose the affordable one or pick the salient free tool.
4. What if the data recovery software didn't help?
The best data software we listed here sometimes can not recover your files on account of unbootable Windows OS, corrupted/damaged disk, raw drive repair. Don't panic. You can resort to the specialized data recovery services launched by EaseUS. Our data recovery experts could offer the free diagnosis and do the 1 on 1 manual recovery service.
5. How does data recovery software work?
Data recovery software applies deeper scan to recover deleted/lost files and folders from your PC. It will scan the disk or storage device in a sector-by-sector mode to find your lost files and folders. One thing you need to focus that running the software on a failing hard drive may cause data overwritten - Adding risk in data restoration. If overwritten is not occur, the data recovery tool can easily restore what you want.
6. What are the best data recovery software?

Top 10 best data recovery software for Windows and Mac:

  • EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard (Windows & Mac)
  • Disk Drill (Windows & Mac)
  • SysTools Data Recovery Software (Windows)
  • Recuva (Windows)
  • R-Studio(Windows, Mac, Linux)
  • Stellar (Windows & Mac)
  • Remo (Windows & Mac)
  • Ontrack EasyRecovery (Windows & Mac)
  • Prosoft Data Rescue (Windows & Mac)
  • Partition Recovery (Windows)

Based on the user's experience and high recovery rate, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is the best data recovery software. Moreover, it supports a wide range of file formats and the free version supports 2 GB for free. Check the best approach for your Windows and Mac.

Cedric

Written by

Cedric Grantham is one of the senior editors of EaseUS who lives and works in Chengdu, China. He mainly writes articles about data recovery tutorials on PC and Mac and how-to tips for partition management. He always keeps an eye on new releases and loves various electronic products.

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Daisy

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Daisy is the Senior editor of the writing team for EaseUS. She has been working in EaseUS for over ten years, starting from a technical writer to a team leader of the content group. As a professional author for over 10 years, she writes a lot to help people overcome their tech troubles.

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