Best data recovery software of 2025

1. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

EaseUS isn’t overstating the ‘Wizard’ part of this software’s title – it really is ‘wizard’, really good at what it does. 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.

During all our tests EaseUS ran incredibly quickly. It detected the virtual drives and ran scans in seconds. In our first test, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard lived up to its name, as it was able to retrieve all of the files on the drive which had previously been deleted from the Recycle Bin.

The utility also performed well on our test on a drive which had been formatted after the file had been deleted, recovering 76% of the missing files. We were particularly impressed that EaseUS was able to recover the filenames too.

We also ran a test simulating a damaged drive. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard immediately recognized it as a “lost partition”, where we were able to preview all of the deleted files, complete with filenames.

Not only is this utility one of the best we’ve seen for data recovery but 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. Costs start from around $70 a month all the way up to a one-off fee around $150 for lifetime access.

You can, however, get 25% off any of these prices if you enter the code AFF-TECH-RAD at checkout.

Upgrading to a paid license is expensive on paper, but a one-off lifetime fee could represent great value for money. Plus, just generally, the app’s great performance, EaseUS’s responsive customer support, and a tidy user interface makes EaseUS’ offering a strong contender.

2. Stellar Data Recovery

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.

During our tests we found that Stellar was able to recover files that had been deleted from the Recycle Bin without any issue whatsoever. It had less success with drives which had been formatted, only being able to recover around half the files. When we simulated a corrupted hard drive however, Stellar was able to recover 80% of the missing files.

There’s a free version available which allows you to recover up to 1GB of data. There’s no limit on the number of files you can ‘preview’ from within Stellar Data Recovery though, so you can check to see which files are recoverable.

To actually attempt to recover anything, however, you have to pay for a license annually rather than monthly, with pricing starting at around $60 in a three-tier annual renewal system.

For partition recovery, for example, you’ll be shelling out around $90 for the Professional tier, while ‘photo and video repair features’ come with the $100 Premium tier. The $60 Standard tier simply offers unlimited data recovery – the least they could do, for that money.

Stellar Data Recovery is a well-established data recovery software developed by Stellar Information Technology Pvt. Ltd., based in India. It’s a fully-featured and modern-looking app with its own unique tools, making it a solid choice for many users.

First Impressions: Like most of the apps on this list, Stellar Data Recovery was easy to install. You just need to download the installer from the site and follow the wizard.

The source selection menu, similar to EaseUS’ interface, only shows volumes (more on this later). You can opt to switch to Advanced mode to see which disks the volumes are attached to. Most of its other features are hidden in menus, which helps keep the interface uncluttered.

Aside from data recovery, a major feature that caught our eye was corrupted video recovery. It’s only available for licensed users, but we can vouch for its efficacy.

Data Recovery Process: Unfortunately, we found out that the reason why only volumes are displayed by default is because Stellar Data Recovery can’t scan whole disks. We had to go through each volume one by one. We also had to switch a toggle on the bottom of the screen to enable Deep Scan.

Stellar recovered less data overall compared to the first 3 apps on this list. It also recognized fewer file types, but we were still able to successfully recover a lot of data – especially documents. And Stellar allows you to scan for a custom file type, which is a missing feature in many similar apps (although it’s a hassle to input a lot of file signatures manually).

The found files list is where Stellar Data Recovery actually shines. We were able to switch between viewing data as a simple list or as a gallery of thumbnails – this makes it very easy to browse images and videos.

Pricing: Stellar Data Recovery lets you recover up to 1 GB of data for free for both Mac and Windows versions. You can also scan and preview your data for free.

The app costs $69.99 ~ $99.99 per year or $129 ~ $199 for a lifetime license, depending on the product tier you choose. The most notable features available for higher-tiered licenses are Lost Partition Recovery, Image Backup, Unbootable Recovery, and Video Repair.

The basic license should be enough for the average user, but more advanced users will definitely want to consider the more expensive licenses.

Latest Big Changes: Unfortunately, we could not find a full change log for Stellar Data Recovery. However, its Wikipedia entry notes that its last stable release (11.0) was rolled out in February 2023.

Verdict: While other options on this list can be considered superior data recovery software apps, Stellar Data Recovery is a great choice if you primarily need to recover photos and videos. Its thumbnail gallery view makes it highly convenient to browse found files and (if you’re willing to purchase the more expensive licenses) its video repair tool actually works quite well. We were able to get previously non-playing videos to work again.

3. Disk Drill

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.

But we weren’t just going to take their word for it, so we decided to put Disk Drill to the test. We were pleased to see that scans of the attached drives completed in just a few seconds.

The “Preview” feature is also essential, as it allows you to examine files in a way that’s more difficult with the “Recovery Fault” which doesn’t always assign correct filenames to data.

In our first test, the utility was able to find all the deleted files that we’d sent to the Recycle Bin. Our next test was on a drive which had been formatted after the files had been deleted. Disk Drill proved itself equal to the task and was able to produce all of the original files, with filenames intact.

For our final test, we simulated a corrupted/damage drive. Although the drive itself wasn’t visible in Windows Explorer, upon launch Disk Drill proudly proclaimed “Woohoo! Lost Partitions Found!”. It then recovered all of the files, though the filenames for two of them were missing. Passing with flying colors, then.

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 drive and recover the data from it within a comparatively small timeframe proves that Disk Drill is a recovery tool that you should be considering.

The free version of Disk Drill only allows you to recover up to 500MB of data, which most likely won’t cut it. Pricing for the PRO version comes in the form of a one-time license fee rather than monthly or yearly cost, at around $108 for the software with lifetime upgrades which could make it most cost-effective in the long haul for a small business with thinking about costs.

Disk Drill is a highly popular data recovery app developed by Cleverfiles, a software company based in the U.S. Disk Drill is known as both powerful and easy-to-use, packaging its complex recovery solutions in a simple, accessible user interface. Disk Drill also offers free data recovery, loads of features (that make sense for the app), and optimal support for different platforms thanks to its consistent updates.

First Impressions: Installing Disk Drill was super straightforward. We downloaded the installer from the Cleverfiles website, ran it, and followed the simple installation wizard from start to finish.

The main window displays the recovery tool by default. We could easily navigate between disks and volumes as well as order them by different parameters. Other tools, like Byte-to-byte backup and S.M.A.R.T., were easily accessible from the left sidebar. The interface itself was very clean and modern. The buttons were clearly labeled and properly spaced out. We could open the app and start recovery without too much analysis.

Data Recovery Process: Disk Drill’s data recovery process, from source selection to recovery, is very streamlined. We were able to scan entire disks during our tests, which is super helpful in cases of severe data loss.

One of the devices we tested with Disk Drill was a severely corrupted hard drive that both macOS and Windows couldn’t recognize. Not only did Disk Drill recover our files, but it was even able to restore the original folder structure.

Browsing scan results was intuitive; users have access to a search tool, can filter and organize results by file type and other parameters, and preview data in the sidebar.

And Disk Drill usefully categorizes results by “Deleted or lost”, “Existing”, and “Reconstructed”, covering multiple data loss scenarios. Our files that were missing from their original folder (in the scan) showed up in the “Reconstructed” section, which found them by their file signatures.

Disk Drill reocvered most of our missing data – more than other apps on this list – from a variety of devices (using various file systems), like HDDs, SSDs (with TRIM disabled), memory cards, and even mobile devices. It also allowed us to preview the majority of the data as well.

Pricing: Disk Drill for Windows offers 500 MB of free data recovery, while Disk Drill for Mac offers none. You can scan, preview, and backup your data for free. You can also access the S.M.A.R.T. tool for free in order to monitor your drive health.

As of this writing, Disk Drill’s license costs a one-time payment of $89 ($19 for lifetime upgrades) for BOTH Mac and Windows versions.

While other apps provide a higher limit for free data recovery (often for both Mac and Windows), we think Disk Drill’s 2-in-1 lifetime license offers excellent value. Aside from macOS and Windows, Disk Drill supports Android and iOS recovery as well.

Latest Big Changes: Disk Drill’s last major update was released last July 2023. Disk Drill 5.3 features greatly enhanced RAID data recovery, better performance, user experience improvements, and bug fixes. A minor update was later released in October 2023, which publicly rolled out support for macOS Sonoma and iOS 17.

Verdict: Disk Drill is crowned Best Overall data recovery software for this article. It’s equipped to overcome almost every data loss scenario that the average user encounters for a wide range of devices. While we wish it offered more free data recovery (many of its competitors offer 1 GB or more for both Mac and Windows), its price value is easily one of the best on the market.

4. AnyRecover

While there are plenty of Data Recovery products on the market, very few are as comprehensive as AnyRecover. The utility is available not just for Windows and Mac but is also designed to recover data from iOS and Android devices.

AnyRecover touts itself as a data recovery solution for over 500 data loss scenarios for over 2000 different types of devices. The website also claims that over 1000 file formats are supported.

In our first test with AnyRecover, we found it was able to recover 92% of files that had been deleted from a drive, with filenames intact.

The second test was performed on a drive which had been formatted after the files were deleted. In that case AnyRecover was able to successfully restore 64% of the missing files, without their filenames.

Our final test simulated a corrupted/damaged drive. AnyRecover didn’t see this at first but as soon as we clicked “Couldn’t Find Location” from within the utility, the drive appeared and scanning began. AnyRecover was able to restore all but one of the missing files with their filenames.

AnyRecover can be downloaded free of charge from the main website by clicking “Try it Now”. You can use the free version to ‘Preview’ certain file types and recover up to 100MB of data in up to 8 files.

If you choose to buy in, AnyRecover can be installed on up to 3 devices and 2 PCs. It’s 79.99 for a monthly subscription. However we recently found that this had been reduced to $59.99 as part of a promotion, and as of January 2025, that’s still the case. Similarly, a yearly subscription is typically $99.99, but we spotted reductions to $79.99. A lifetime licence usually costs $159.99, but is $99.99 right now.

It seems a little bizarre to purchase a one-month plan, in our opinion, and especially at the moment when lifetime access is just $40 more.

If you’ve missed this offer, don’t worry: software companies always pull flash deals and sales out of their hats, and it’s always worth checking back sooner rather than later, and waiting for your time to strike. That’s good advice for any product on this list, really.

5. OnTrack EasyRecovery

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 a tester for most people. The free version also limits the size of recovered files to 25MB.

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.

During our tests we found the “deep scan” feature to be buggy, as the utility froze each time we tried to use it. We had more joy with quick scans however.

Our first test was on a drive where the files had been deleted from the Recycle Bin. Ontrack Easy Recovery was able to restore all of them in seconds, including the filenames. We didn’t have much success with the drive which had been formatted after the files were deleted : some system files were recovered but not the ones we’d placed on there.

Our final test was a simulation of a corrupted/damaged drive. In this case Ontrack Easy Recovery’s “Can’t Find Drive” feature instantly displayed the lost partition. At this stage the utility became unresponsive. This may have been down to a defective data cluster on the drive itself though, so we’d still recommend installing the free version of the utility to try to ‘Preview’ files on lost partitions.

Prices start from around $70 annually, with monthly subscription options available.

6. CrashPlan

Once the darling of free backup solutions for the home user, CrashPlan has since shifted its focus to the SMB space, 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, and good at what it does, that it almost counts.

Crashplan 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 starts from $10 a month per endpoint, with up to 100 endpoints covered in the small business plan. Enterprise users will need to get a custom quote direct from the company, which typically implies that you’ll be paying a good deal more than that.

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.

If you’ve only lost a few files, most commercial data recovery utilities offer a free tier to allow you to recover a small amount of data. There are also free data recovery utilities which may allow you to retrieve your lost files.

In this guide, we’ll explore some of these free options. Before getting started, remember that each time you use a drive from which data has been deleted you’re risking that the system will overwrite the data.

7. R-Studio

System requirements: Windows 2000+ or Windows Server 2003+ / Mac OS X 10.6- macOS 12 Monterey / Any kernel 2.6+ Linux distribution capable of installing .rpm or .deb packages.

R-Studio is a technician’s tool created by R-Tools Technology, a software company based in Canada. While it may seem inaccessible at first glance, it’s a powerful and reliable app for users that can manage the slight learning curve.

First Impressions: R-Studio may be complicated, but installing it is simple. Users can download a standard installer wizard from the official site and R-Studio will be ready to go in a few clicks.

Our first impression of R-Studio is “utilitarian.” It wasn’t made to look pretty – it gives you access to all of its tools compacted in a single window. This is GREAT if you know what you’re doing but the average user will have to digest the interface for a while.

R-Studio offers a comprehensive list of recovery features, including advanced RAID support, network recovery, and image creation.

Data Recovery Process: R-Studio’s source selection menu is a bit cluttered but easy to analyze. We were able to expand our tester drives and select their volumes and partitions easily, even if one of the drives we tested was “problematic” and refused to be mounted or displayed anything other than its label. Upon beginning the scan, various popups allowed us to set multiple scan parameters. This is useful if you want to be super precise but it’s a lot of hassle for an average user.

Fortunately, R-Studio’s scan speed is quick – even compared to other apps. The results page is also highly utilitarian but visually helpful. It compiled our drive’s files in a list on the left panel and clicking on any of them displayed its preview on the right. When we selected a folder within the drive, all of its contents were displayed as thumbnails or icons – this made it easy to select multiple image and video files for recovery. It struggled a bit with recovering RAW photos, but the most common image file types were no problem for it.

Pricing: You can download and use R-Studio for free but you can only restore files that are less than 256 KB each. Mac and Windows licenses are both $79.99 each but you can also pay less for a version that supports a single file system. The price isn’t that different though, so we recommend the full license if you opt to buy it.

Latest Big Changes: R-Studio’s latest update was released in January 2024, which primarily included bug fixes. Prior updates were also focused on bug fixes as well as minor user experience improvements.

Verdict: R-Studio is an excellent tool for its price considering its power and comprehensive recovery features… But for users who are easily overwhelmed by new software (or if you don’t have the time for the learning curve – e.g. you need to restore critical data for work the next morning), apps like Disk Drill or EaseUS Data Recovery are much more suitable.

8.EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard (Windows & macOS)

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is another recognizable name in the data recovery marketplace. Based in China, EaseUS has been around since 2003 and has a lot of apps under its belt. Like most of their software, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard was built to be simple and user-friendly. While it may lack slightly in depth and comprehensiveness, it can solve a lot of data loss problems for novice users.

First Impressions: EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard comes with a super simple one-step installer. The main window defaults to the data recovery window, which shows the volumes/partitions of all connected external storage drives. However, you need to click another button to display the disks themselves (and select them for scanning).

Other devices (like SD cards) can be selected on the left sidebar as well as advanced features like Video Repair, Disk Backup, and portable recovery (this Pro feature comes with an in-app step-by-step, which was a nice touch).

All-in-all, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard’s design choices are clearly catered to novice users. The main window is very clean and uncluttered – on one hand, that makes it easy for users to navigate. On the other hand, users with more advanced knowledge will have to click around a bit more to find what they need. It’s also not as “snappy” as other apps, which can be slightly frustrating if you work fast.

Data Recovery Process: As we previously mentioned, we could only see our drive’s volumes and partitions at first and had to switch to the disk menu to scan our drive.

Like Disk Drill, we didn’t have to choose a specific scan to run – there’s only a single scan button. When the scan was underway, we could see all the data EaseUS had already recovered, neatly categorized into Pictures, Documents, Audio, etc.

EaseUS was excellent at recovering most file types (even RAW photos and videos), but it struggled with more complex data loss scenarios like lost partitions and original folder structure recovery.

After the scan, EaseUS allows you to search and filter the scan results but you’ll need to purchase the pro version to fully preview files. You can also view files by directory if the original folder structure was recovered.

Pricing: The free version of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Windows lets you recover up to 2 GB for free. It offers no free data recovery for Mac.

You can scan as much data as you want for free and you can preview their thumbnails – but full preview is subscription-only.

As of this writing, subscriptions cost $69.95 per month or $99.95 per year plus $149.95 for Lifetime Upgrades for Windows computers. For Mac, subscriptions cost $89.95 per month or $119.95 per year plus $169.95 for Lifetime Upgrades.

Latest Big Changes: The latest major update for EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard was released last September 2023, when version 16.2.0 was rolled out for the Free, Professional, and Technician editions. It included a few performance updates and new supported file types.

Verdict: EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard was designed for the novice in mind and it’s sold as a simple and accessible recovery. While it’s not as comprehensive as the other apps on this list, it serves as a powerful tool that anyone can pick up and use.