10 Top BEST File Recovery Software [Top Selective Tools For 2024]

Comprehensive List & Comparison of Top File Recovery Software. Read This Detailed Review To Select The Best File Recovery Tool & Recover Your Files Easily:

Are you having trouble in selecting a File Recovery Tool? You can make the right decision after reading this review of the Top 10 File Recovery Software.

Data loss is a grave issue that harms the productivity and profitability of a company. In a survey conducted by CompTIA, nearly 93 percent of firms regarded data as critical to business success. The company’s operations can come to a standstill due to the loss of critical company data.

This article will give you a list of the most popular File Recovery Software available in the market.

Overview: File Recovery Software

File recovery software can help in recovering lost data. You can use a file recovery tool to recover data that has been deleted, damaged, or formatted in a laptop or a PC device. The file recovery tool can help in recovering lost data in USB drives, hard drive, memory cards, CD/DVD/BD discs, and other removable storage devices.

With the help of a recovery tool, you can restore deleted word documents, presentation files, photos, videos, and almost any other types of files.

The following graph reflects the cost of the unavailability of critical data or downtime for different types of firms.

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Importance of File Recovery Tools

File recovery software can be an invaluable tool for restoring files that have been deleted accidentally. The data recovery tool can help to restore files that have been lost due to hardware damage.

With the help of a file recovery tool, you can restore most, if not all, of the deleted and lost files.

The data recovery tool can effectively recover and repair damaged and deleted files. The protection of customer data is a critical part of the General Data Protection Rules (GDPR) introduced by the EU last year.

The data protection rules aren’t just about the theft of personal data but also about the loss of data due to the accidental destruction of data. Moreover, some data are critical for companies. Loss of data due to accidental deletion or hardware failure can have serious repercussions.

Fortunately, companies can use data recovery tools to recover critical files.

How Does A File Recovery Software Work?

When you delete a file or folder, the storage space used for storing the file is made available. The files are not deleted for performance reasons that make it possible for the recovery software to restore the deleted files. The recovery process depends on the type of storage system.

Every file system has a different process of deleting files.

The common NTFS file system marks deleted files and spaces as unused. In the FAT file system used in the previous versions of Windows, the file directory entries are marked as unused and the file allocation information except at the start of the file is deleted.

In contrast, in the Unix/Linux file operating system, the file descriptor that contains information about the file type, location, and size is destroyed and the disk space is marked as free.

The HFS+ and the newer APFS file system used in the Mac operating systems remove the index values of files and mark the memory location is free. In other words, the files are available even when you delete them unless the designated space is overwritten with other files.

Data recovery tools make the deleted files available by analyzing the storage spaces that are marked free or unused. File recovery software can recover deleted, corrupted, and lost files from the storage devices.

The apps can recover deleted and damaged data stored in a digital medium. The chances of successfully recovering the files using a file recovery tool are greater when you use it soon after deleting files.

General Features of File Recovery Tool

File recovery tools can help to recover deleted, damaged, and inaccessible files of any size and type. You can recover images, documents, videos, presentation files, spreadsheets, and other files using the File recovery tool. Some of the best recovery tools can also recover complete drive and partition maintaining the original folders.

Moreover, the best file recovery tools are also able to recover files from a broad range of storage media. The software features options to recover files from Memory cards, SSD drives, Optical drives, and much more.

Advanced data recovery tools feature a raw recovery feature that can help to restore damaged and inaccessible data.

Make sure that the software has an easy-to-use interface with no technical knowledge required to use the software. You should also check the minimum system requirements to ensure that the software supports your system.

Good file recovery tools support recovering most document formats including Images, Presentation files, Documents, Videos and more. Moreover, the document recovery tool should be able to restore data from any storage file.

Lastly, a good data recovery tool should allow you to preview the files on the spot before recovery. This will help to save time in retrieving the right documents with the File recovery tool.

List of Best File Recovery Software

Enlisted below are the most popular File Recovery Tools being used worldwide.

1. iMyFone AnyRecover
2. Stellar Data Recovery Software
3. Wondershare Recoverit
4. Recuva
5. System Mechanic Ultimate Defense
6. EaseUS
7. Puran File Recovery
8. UndeleteMyFile Pro
9. Wise Data Recovery
10. PhotoRec
11. Undelete360
12. PC Inspector File Recovery
13. Disk Drill
14. Orion File Recovery Software

Comparison Table Of The Top 5 File Recovery Tools

File Recovery Tool	Platform	Supported File Systems	Supported File Types	Price	Our Ratings
iMyFone AnyRecover	Windows& Mac	FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, HFS+, APFS, HFS X	1000+ file types	It starts at $59.95/device/year. Free version available.	5/5
Stellar Data Recovery	Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, etc.	NTFS, FAT, ExFAT, HFS, APFS, HFS+, etc.	Video, Audio, Photos, etc.	Free plan, Price starts at $79.99	5/5
Wondershare Recoverit	Windows & Mac	NTFS, FAT, HFS+, APFS.	Photos, Videos, Audios, emails, etc.	It starts at $59.95 per year. Free version available.	5/5
Recuva	Windows 10/8/7/Vista/ XP/2000/Serv er 2003, 2008	FAT, Ext4, Ext3, NTFS.	Pictures, music, documents, videos, emails, etc.	Free recovery software, Pro: $19.95 for a 1-year license.	5/5
System Mechanic Ultimate Defense	Windows® 10, 8, 8.1, & 7.	--	Documents, photos, emails, music, system files, etc.	$63.96. A massive 60% off, $31.98 with a coupon deal.	5/5
EaseUS	Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP/Windows Server 2003 and above MacOS 10.14 - OS X 10.6	FAT, exFAT, NTFS, NTFS5, HFS+, ReFS	Audio, video, images, compressed files, documents, and emails.	Free Windows: Pro: $89.95 (Free Trial) Pro+WinPE: $149.90 (Free Trial) Mac: Pro: $89.95 (Free Trial) Technician: $299 (Free Trial)	5/5
Puran File Recovery	Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP/2000 32/64 bit	FAT, NTFS	All file types, partitions, and formatted disks.	Free	4.6/5
Undelete360	Windows XP/VISTA, 2000, Server 2003, 2008	FAT, NTFS, NTFS5	All file types.	Free	4.5/5
Wise Data Recovery	Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP/2000 32/64 bit	FAT, NTFS	All file types and emails.	Free	4.5/5

Let’s Explore!!

#1) iMyFone AnyRecover

iMyFone AnyRecover Pricing: AnyRecover’s price starts at $49.95 for 1PC per month. For Mac, it will cost you $59.95 per month for one system. AnyRecover also offers customized plans to businesses.

You can try the platform for free. The trial version allows users to enjoy all its features and recover up to 8 files for free without limit to size.

iMyFone AnyRecover is the ultimate data recovery solution for Windows and Mac platforms. It can recover data that is lost in any scenario. It will let you recover data from any device such as USB flash drives, Hard Drives, SD Cards, Cameras, etc. You can always count on this tool in case of data loss.

Features:

• iMyFone AnyRecover can retrieve data from emptied recycle bin, formatted devices, damaged hard drive, lost partition, crashed computers, and more.
• More than 1000 file types are supported, including office documents, photos, videos and archives.
• Easy to use, anyone can restore lost files on their own.
• Able to preview the content before recovering the files.
• Secure and fast data recovery.

Cons:

• It allows recovering of a very limited number of files with the free version i.e. 8 files.

System Requirements: Windows 10/8/8.1/7/XP, Mac 10.10~11.0.

Verdict: iMyFone AnyRecover is easy to use and anyone can retrieve data in just three steps. The standard version will let you recover unlimited data. It can be used for all data loss scenarios from emptied trash to a formatted device.

#2) Stellar Data Recovery Software

Stellar Data Recovery Software Pricing: Stellar Data Recovery Software offers a free plan that will let you recover data up to 1GB. It has three more editions, Professional ($79.99), Premium ($99.99), and Technician ($149). A free trial is available for all editions.

Stellar Data Recovery Software is an advanced solution for businesses that can retrieve data from various storage devices such as hard drives, USB, SD cards, etc. It supports recovering photos, videos, and audio files.

For individuals, it offers DIY software. For businesses, it has solutions for email repair, email converter, file repair, and data recovery & eraser.

Features:

• Stellar Data Recovery Software has features to let you recover the file by its name or type.
• It provides a preview of the files before saving them.
• It has capabilities for retrieving any kind of data.
• It can recover from BitLocker® encrypted drive.

Cons:

• It is an expensive solution for individuals.

System Requirements: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, & 7 and Mac.

Verdict: Stellar Dara Recovery Software provides comprehensive file format support. All major file types and formats can be recovered by this solution. Recovering data with this solution is just a three-step process, selecting storage drive & file type, scanning the drive, and saving the recovered files.

#3) Wondershare Recoverit

Wondershare Recoverit Pricing: For the small teams (less than 5 PCs), Recoverit will cost $139.95 per year. It also offers plans for Medium to large-sized businesses, Individuals, and for Students & Teachers.

The Individual’s plans start at $59.95 per year. Recoverit offers a 7-days money-back guarantee. It also offers free data recovery software.

Recoverit by Wondershare is a comprehensive and professional solution to recover the lost data from computer disk, flash drive, SD card, etc. You can preview before recovery.

Recoverit will be easy to use. It is just a 3-step data recovery process, Select, Scan, and Preview the recovered files to get them back. It provides a technical support 24*7 for free.

Wondershare Recoverit can repair multiple videos at the same time and different formats of video files. It can rescue the data from a crashed PC.

Features:

• Wondershare Recoverit makes the use of patent technology to recover deeply hidden videos.
• It can recover deleted files like photos, videos, audios, emails, etc.
• It supports more than 1000 file formats.
• Recoverit can recover the data from PC, Mac, hard drive, USB, SD card, etc.

Cons:

• Wondershare Recoverit free version can recover the files up to a size of 100 MB only.
• It needs 56MB of space to install Recoverit Free Data Recovery software.

System Requirements: Windows and Mac.

Verdict: Recoverit is a comprehensive and professional solution for data recovery. Since 2003, it is providing service and is trusted by more than 5 million users.

#4) Recuva

Visit Here To Avail 20% Discount From Recuva

Price:

• Free Recovery Software
• Pro: $19.95 for a 1-year license (No free trial).

Recuva is a good recovery tool that lets you restore a large number of files. The tool features both a quick and detailed scan. The software displays files in tree and thumbnail view. Also, there is a simple wizard recovery tool for beginners.

Features: 

• Easy-to-use wizard.
• Portable and Virtual hard drive support.
• Automatic updates
• Premium support
• Recover up to 3TB drives.
• Preview files
• Overwrite deleted files for security reasons using Gutmann, NSA, Secure Erase, and DoD 5220.22-M methods.

Cons:

• No free trial.
• No option to toggle back normal view from the advanced view.
• Online help file
• macOS/Linux not supported.

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP/2000/Server 2003, 2008
• File System: FAT, Ext4, Ext3, NTFS

Verdict: Recuva supports basic recovery features but is not recommended for advanced recovery. This software cannot recover as many files similar to the other similar (and even lower) priced recovery tools. However, the recovery tool is great for basic file recovery.

#5) System Mechanic Ultimate Defense

System Mechanic Ultimate Defense Pricing: It offers a Coupon deal, a massive 60% off, just $31.98. Coupon code: workfromhome (New Customers Only). Valid From: Now. Valid To: October 5, 2020.

Advanced File Recovery Software, “Search and Recover” by System Mechanic Ultimate Defense can recover lost data. It makes use of powerful technology and retrieves items that many other file recovery products cannot retrieve. Accidentally deleted documents, photos, emails, music can be recovered by this software.

Features:

• Search and Recover software can recover system files and even entire folders.
• It can recover files from various types of hard drives, cameras, and other devices.
• It has features to automatically recover emails from popular email clients.
• It can recover files from certain damaged devices.

System Requirements: Windows® 10, 8, 8.1, & 7.

Verdict: System Mechanic Ultimate Defense has an easy-to-use step by step wizards, this will make recovery fast and convenient.

#6) EaseUS

Price:

• Free File Recovery Software
• Windows
  • Pro (one-time license): $89.95 (Free Trial)
  • Pro+Windows Preinstallation Environment (PE) (one-time license): $149.90 (Free Trial)
• MAC
  • Pro (one-time license): $89.95 (Free Trial)
  • Technician (one-time license): $299 (Free Trial)

EaseUS supports easy data retrieval in a 3-step process. You can preview the files before recovery and that will save time in recovering specific files. The data recovery tool supports both quick scans as well as deep scanning.

You can recover more than 1000 types of documents using the software including audio, video, images, compressed files, documents, and even emails. The advanced version lets you boot from a downloadable Windows PE when your system does not boot after a system crash.

Features:

• Easy to use
• Supports over 1000 file formats.
• Export/import results.
• Paid versions allow the restoration of unlimited files.
• Bootable from removable media for system crashes.
• Free lifetime technical support with paid versions.

Cons:

• Free version limited to recovery of 500 MB or 2GB when the software link is shared in the social media account.
• Scans only partitions instead of the entire hard drive.
• External recovery through optical storage drive is not possible.
• Linux is not supported.

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP/Server 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019; MacOS10.14 – OS X 10.6
• Minimum Storage Space: 32 MB
• CPU: x86
• Ram: 128 MB
• File System: FAT, exFAT, NTFS, NTFS5, HFS+, ReFS

Verdict: The customer reviews show that the software is good for recovering almost any file from different storage media. The software supports both quick and deep scans and shows the preview by allowing you to save time in recovering files.

Website: EaseUS

#7) Puran File Recovery

Price: Free File Recovery Software

Puran File Recovery is a free file recovery tool that you can use for private or commercial use. The tool lets you recover lost and deleted files and partitions on the hard disk and removable media including Pen drives, Mobile phones, Memory cards, and Optical drives.

A great thing about this online tool is that it can recover formatted disk as well. The tool lists full paths of deleted files for easy recovery of documents.

Features:

• Simple interface
• Deep/Full scan
• Retains path structure.
• The portable version supports the BartPE environment.

Cons:

• No support for the latest Ext3 and Ext4 formats.
• macOS/Linux not supported.
• No preview of files before recovery.

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP/2000
• File System: FAT, NTFS

Verdict: Puran File Recovery is a great tool for basic and advanced file recovery. The free tool is best for recovering files, partitions, and formatted disk with support for the Windows operating system. This tool gets top marks for being easy to use and is free.

Website: Puran File Recovery

#8) UndeleteMyFile Pro

Price: Free

UndeleteMyFile is another free file recovery software that can restore deleted files. The software can also help to recover deleted emails. With this tool, you can quickly search and easily restore files stored on the hard disk or other digital devices. You can also securely wipe out the files for security reasons.

Features:

• Easy to use interface.
• Recover files from the hard drive and removable storage.
• Retains path structure.
• The portable version supports the BartPE environment.

Cons:

• No support for Windows 10 and 8 operating systems.
• macOS/Linux not supported.
• No online support.
• It does not retain file structure.
• No preview of files before recovery.

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows 7/Vista/XP/2003/2000/Me/98/NT
• File System: FAT, NTFS

Verdict: UndeleteMyFile Pro is a free recovery tool that contains simple features to recover files stored in different storage media. The free software supports the restoration of deleted files stored in windows operating system. The software consumes less memory and utilizes low CPU resources when restoring files.

Website: UndeleteMyFile Pro

#9) Wise Data Recovery

Price: Free

Wise Data Recovery is a free online recovery tool with an easy to use interface. The software tool supports easy file recovery from different storage media. This tool can display the exact file path of the file.

Features:

• User-friendly interface.
• Recover files from Hard drive, MP3 players, USB, Camera, and much more.
• A portable version is available.
• Retains file structure.

Cons:

• macOS/Linux is not supported.
• It does not support advanced recovery.
• No preview of files before recovery.

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP/2003/2000/98
• File System: FAT, NTFS

Verdict: Wise Data Recovery is another gem of a recovery tool that is free. The recovery tool is great for basic file recovery for the Windows systems. The software supports a portable version which means you can store the program of a flash or USB drive to recover files from your hard drive.

Website: Wise Data Recovery

#10) PhotoRec

Price: Free

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PhotoRec can be used to recover lost files and archives from Hard disk, Optical drives, and Removable storage. The software can recover files even from severely damaged files. The free file recovery tool can recover files from a large number of operating systems including Linux, Windows, macOS, and others.

Features:

• Recovers files from Linux, Windows, macOS.
• Supports a wide range of file systems.
• Supports advanced file recovery.

Cons: No online/help support.

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP, 9x/Dos Windows Server 2016/2012/2008/2003; MacOS X; Sun Solaris; Linux; NetBSD, FreeBSD, and NetBSD.
• File System: FAT, exFat, ext2, ext3, ext4, NTFS, HFS+, etc.

Verdict: PhotoRec is by far the best file recovery tool that supports a plethora of file systems in multiple operating systems. The fact that the recovery tool supports a large number of storage media, helps in advanced file recovery, and above all is available for free and thereby makes it the number one file recovery tool.

Website: PhotoRec

#11) Undelete360

Price: Free

Undelete360 is one of the best and efficient file recovery software. The software can recover files that are not only deleted but also corrupted due to hardware failure or a computer virus. You can use this software to recover files from Hard disk, USB, Memory sticks, Pen drives, Smartphones, and other media.

Features:

• Recover files corrupted by a virus or system failure.
• Allows recovery from Hard disk, Pen driver, USB, Memory card and sticks, Smartphones, and more.
• Supports file and folder recovery.
• Shows folder and the file type of view.
• Supports file preview.
• Hex viewer support.
• Filtered search feature.

Cons: No support for macOS and other operating systems.

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows XP/VISTA, 2000, Server 2003, 2008.
• Minimum Storage Space: 15 MB
• CPU: x86
• Ram: 128-1024 MB
• File System: FAT, NTFS, NTFS5.

Verdict: The free software is great for retrieving files from the Windows operating system. The file recovery tool can recover lost files from different storage media. The Advanced scan feature, Hex filter, and Preview of files make it one of the best file recovery tools for Windows.

Website: Undelete360

#12) PC Inspector File Recovery

Price: Free

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The file recovery tool can recover a large number of files from the hard disk and network storage devices. This tool can be used to recover damaged partitions and files. You can use the software to recover files from a hard disk that is not recognized by the BIOS due to system damage.

Features:

• Recover files and partitions even when the boot sector is damaged or erased.
• Supports network drives.
• Recovers damaged files using the special recovery feature.
• Online help for HTML file.

Cons:

• No macOS/Linux support.
• It does not support removable drives.

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows XP/VISTA/ 2000/ ME/ NT/9x.
• File System: FAT, NTFS, NTFS5.

Verdict: PC Inspector file supports basic file recovery on Windows operating system. The software can recover damaged files easily. This software supports network drives for remote recovery of files.

Website: PC Inspector File Recovery

#13) Disk Drill

Price:

• Free
• PRO: $178 (supports 1 User and up to 3 PCs) + $29 for Lifetime upgrade.
• Enterprise: $998 (supports 10 User and unlimited PCs) + $99 for Lifetime upgrade.

Disk Drill supports advanced file recovery. The tool can search for and recover file partitions. This recovery tool supports over 300 file formats. You can preview the files to recover from the storage device. The free version allows recovery of up to 500 MB.

You must select a paid version for unlimited recovery and advanced recovery options.

Features:

• Quick and Deep search.
• Partition Search
• Supports 300+ files
• File recovery preview

Cons:

• No Linux support.
• Free version limit file recovery up to 500 MB.
• No portable option.
• It doesn’t show the quality condition of the file.

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP/Server 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019, macOS 10.8.5-10.14, 10.8.4-10.5.
• File System: FAT, NTFS, NTFS5, exFAT, HFS+, Ext2, Ext3, Ext4.

Verdict: The file recovery software supports the latest Windows and macOS operating systems. The free version supports limited file recovery. But the PRO and Enterprise software can meet the needs of most of the users. However, its lack of support for portable file recovery is a shortcoming of this software.

Website: Disk Drill

#14) Orion File Recovery Software

Price:

• Commercial: $20
• Non-commercial: $17
• Subscription: $0.83 per month

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Orion File Recovery software supports the latest Windows operating system. The software has an easy-to-use feature with a wizard recovery option that guides through the recovery process. The software supports Flash drives, Memory cards, and Hard drives.

Features:

• Supports FAT/NTFS files.
• Wizard interface
• Wipes Flash drives, Hard drives, and much more.
• Deep scan
• Filter search option

Cons: No macOS/Linux support.

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows 10/8/7/XP/VISTA/ 2000/2003/2008/2012/9x.
• File System: FAT, NTFS, NTFS5.

Verdict: Orion File Recovery is a basic tool that you can use for file recovery in the older and latest versions of the Windows operating system. However, the software is not suitable for advanced file recovery.

Website: Orion File Recovery Software

Conclusion

File recovery tools listed in this article can help in the recovery of important files. The recovery tools differ in terms of their features and pricing.

Recommended reading =>> Methods to Factory Reset Windows 10

For basic file recovery, you can select Orion File Recovery Software, Recuva, and Wise Data Recovery that have basic recovery features for Windows operating system. Out of these tools, Wise Data Recovery offers the best value as it is free.

If you want advanced file recovery options, you should select PhotoRec, EaseUS, Puran File Recovery, and Undelete360. PhotoRec is the best of the bunch, not just because it’s free, but it also offers advanced file recovery options for different operating systems i.e. macOS, Windows, Linux, and much more.

Further reading =>> Best SD Card Data Recovery tools

Have you selected the right File Recovery Software for your business?