5 Best Free Data Recovery Software
Have you recently lost your data? Using data recovery software is the easiest way to get back your important files, folders, photos, videos, etc. But the main question is which data retrieval software is the most suitable for your need. To answer this, we have compiled a list of the best 5 free data recovery software. You may compare them based on their features, cost, performance, etc.
List of Top 5 Free Data Recovery Software
#1 Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition
Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition is one of the most recommended DIY data recovery tools. This software enables users to retrieve lost or deleted data from all kinds of storage devices, such as PCs, Laptops, Hard Drives, USB drives, SD cards, and more. It comes with a suite of high-end features. It also lets you add the custom file type to quicken the file recovery process.
You can even use this software to recover your lost or deleted files, folders, photos, videos, and more from formatted systems and storage drives. Moreover, it also supports BitLocker Data Recovery, meaning that you can retrieve your lost data even from your drive encrypted with Windows’ encryption tool- BitLocker.
We reviewed the Stellar Data Recovery software and found it quite suitable for users’ needs, available with highly customizable searches, deep scan abilities, and avast file-library to ease the data retrieval process.
| Pros | Cons |
| Most reliable and easy-to-install software | Recovers data only up to 1 GB for free |
| User-friendly and intuitive interface | Advanced features such as Lost Partition Recovery, Bootable Media Recovery, Disk Imaging Utility, RAID & Virtual Disk Recovery, etc. are available with paid variants. |
| 100% accurate recovery results | |
| Option to preview files | |
| Option to add custom file type | |
| Option to sort and filter the deleted or lost files | |
| Recovers all kinds of data including emails, documents, files, folders, photos, videos, audios, and more | |
| Recovers data from Windows PCs, laptops, USB, hard drives, etc. | |
| Supports recovery in all data loss situations and scenarios such as formatting, corruption, and virus-infection | |
| Recovers data from BitLocker encrypted drives | |
| Tech-support for software is available 24*5 via email, chat, and call |
The software is available in 5 different versions- Standard, Professional, Premium, Technician, and Toolkit. You can purchase these versions and unlock the advanced features, such as missing partition recovery, RAW drive recovery, data retrieval from unbootable or crashed Windows PCs, corrupted storage devices, Drive monitoring, Cloning, Disk Imaging utilities, etc.
#2 Recuva
Recuva is second in our list of top 5 free data recovery software. The free version of this software can recover all kinds of data from systems and storage devices, such as memory cards, external hard drives, USB sticks, and more. Though it supports advanced file recovery, there is no progress on its updates. Moreover, advanced tools such as virtual hard drive support and a formatted drive scanner are available with paid versions. Recovery from formatted, corrupted, or crashed systems and storage drives is also possible with paid versions.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Easy-to-use interface | Data recovery from damaged hard disks with the Paid version |
| Fast and reliable | Virtual hard drive recovery support only available with the Pro version |
| No data recovery limit | Automatic update and technical support only available with Pro version |
| Support for all data recovery including files, folders, photos, and more | |
| File Preview option | |
| Secure file deletion |
#3 Test Disk
TestDisk is an open-source multi-platform DIY tool, which can recover deleted or lost data. The software supports recovery from USB drives, memory cards, hard drives, CD-ROMs, digital cameras, and Windows & Mac. It enables you to retrieve data in data loss scenarios, such as deletion, formatting, etc. There is no higher version of this software, which means it only offers a limited number of features compared with other DIY data recovery software.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| No data recovery limitations | Command-line interface only |
| SupportsFAT32 boot sector recovery from its backup | No support for file repair |
| Supports a broad range of file systems | No upgrades available |
| Supports data recovery from missing or deleted partitions | No File Preview option |
| Supports fixing partition table | |
| Supports repairing of damaged partitions and file systems | |
| Supports Windows OS, Mac OS, Linux, and more |
Recoverit by Wondershare is another free data recovery software. This software enables you to extract photos, files, videos, and more in case of accidental deletion, formatting, corruption, etc. It also supports recovery from Windows PCs and external storage drives. Although it supports recovery for more than 1000 types of files and formats, you can retrieve only up to 100 MB of data with the free version.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Simple interface with good UX | Recovers data only up to 100 MB |
| Recovers all kinds of data | The Preview File feature is limited to a handful of file formats |
| Recovers data from hard drives, USB, SD cards, etc. | Multiple duplicates in the scan results |
| Supports more than 1000 file types and formats
|
Bootable media recovery is available with Standard and Advanced versions |
| File Preview option available | Video Recovery and Repair utility is available only with paid versions |
| Data recovery support for formatted, RAW, or damaged partition |
#5 EaseUs
It’s impossible to leave EaseUs Data Recovery Wizard- Free Edition out of the list of top 5 free data recovery software. This software can recover over 1000 file formats and supports recovery from Windows and Linux storage drives. Nonetheless, like Stellar Free Data Recovery Software, you can’t add any custom file type for recovery. You can preview the files but the file should be smaller than 100 MB. Overall, up to 2 GB of data can be recovered for free, but you can’t see the actual scanning time.
| Pros | Cons |
| Simple interface | Recovers data up to 2 GB |
| Supports over 1000 file formats | Doesn’t display actual scanning time |
| Preview Files option | Preview File option only works on files smaller than 100 MB |
| Restore data from PCs and storage drives | Technical assistance only for paid versions |
| Supports recovery from deleted, lost, or RAW partition |
So, these were the top 5 free data recovery software that may help you with your recovery needs. To help you decide which one you should go for, we have compiled a comparison table below. Take a quick review!
Best Five Free Data Recovery Software: A Quick Overview
| Data Recovery Software | Supported File Types | Recovery limit | File Preview | BitLocker Data Recovery | Raw Drive Recovery | Lost Partition Recovery | Bootable Data Recovery | Smart Disk Monitoring |
| Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition | Recovers all kinds of file type, feature to add new custom file type | Up to 1 GB | Yes | Yes | With Paid version | With Paid version | With Paid version | With Paid version |
| Recuva | Less than 1000 file formats/types | No Limit | Yes | With paid version | With paid version | With paid version | With paid version | No |
| TestDisk Data Recovery | Major file formats in Videos, audios, documents, etc. | No Limit | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| RecoverIt | All common file types in documents, emails, photos, etc. | Up to 100 MB | Yes | With paid version | Yes | Yes | With Pro version | Yes |
|
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
|
1000+ files in documents, videos, photos, etc. | Up to 2 GB | Yes | With paid version | Yes | Yes | No, but offers an upgrade to WinPE edition | No |
Wrapping Up
You may choose any of the above given top 5 free data recovery software according to your requirements. This software can help you recover all kinds of data from PCs and storage devices. Some of them can also help you delete the unwanted data. Out of these, we found Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition is the most reliable data recovery tool with 100% accurate data recovery results. It is also recommended by several technology platforms such as TrustPilot, TechRadar, PCmag, etc.
