Top 10 Hard Drive Recovery Software

Why do you need a hard drive data recovery software?

Data loss can be a distressing experience. Have you accidentally deleted a file from your hard drive and now realize you need it back? Other issues like accidental deletions, formatting errors, and system crashes can lead to data loss as well. Fortunately, hard drive recovery software can help you restore lost files, even if you don't have a backup. It is highly effective, safe, and cost-effective compared to other methods of data recovery.

Top 10 external hard drive data recovery software

There are many hard drive recovery programs available in Google. We have reviewed and listed top 10 rated data recovery software based on their features, performance, price, and our personal experience. If these disk recovery tools cannot recover your data, you can consider using a professional hard drive data recovery service.

Top 1. AOMEI FastRecovery Professional

What is the best data recovery software for Windows? AOMEI FastRecovery is an excellent choice due to its user-friendly interface, wide support for external hard drives, and powerful capability to recover data from complex loss scenarios. It's a well-known and reliable tool for Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Windows Server. Besides meeting all the requirements of top-rated data recovery software, it is popular for its additional features.

AOMEI FastRecovery Professional Price for recovering unlimited data:

Yearly: $49.95 for 2 computers/license.

Lifetime: $69.95 for 2 computers/license

Features:

AOMEI FastRecovery supports recovering data from laptops and desktops running Windows OS, as well as various storage devices such as SD cards, USB drives, internal and external hard drives, PS4/5, music/video players, drones, CCTV, and more.

Recover any file types from Windows PC and Server, such as documents, pictures, texts, compressed files, archive files, acrobat files, and database files recovery, etc.

High success rate in data recovery from complex data loss scenarios. For example, you can recover lost data from an emptied Recycle Bin, an encrypted or formatted hard drive, crashed hard disk or PC, and even virus attack.

Designed for both professionals and non-technical users, AOMEI FastRecovery offers an intuitive interface that makes data recovery straightforward. And it also supports file previews before recovery to ensure you’re restoring the right data.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery. Choose the exact partition or disk where your data lost and click Scan.

Step 2. Then, the recovery tool start to scan and search. lt will execute the “Quickly Scan" first for finding your deleted data fast, and then execute the “Deep Scan" for searching other lost data.

Step 3. Once the scan is completed, all deleted files, recycle bins and other missing files will be displayed. Please select the file you would like to recover and then click "Recover".

Step 4. Then, select a folder path to save your recovered files.

Step 5. Wait patiently for this process of recovering ends.

Top 2. Recuva

Recuva is a comprehensive data recovery solution that can handle a variety of tasks, including in-depth scanning, salvaging data from malfunctioning drives, and extracting files from portable storage devices. Our testing showed that Recuva is quite effective. It managed to retrieve all the data with the original filenames from a drive where files had been removed from the Recycle Bin.

Additionally, we utilized Recuva's "Deep Scan" option to recover a substantial 76% of the files from a drive that had been formatted after the files were initially deleted. Although some filenames were not recovered, the majority of the data was intact. Recuva's capabilities extend to recovering files from a range of sources, such as internal and external hard drives (including USB drives), optical media like BD/DVD/CD, memory cards, and even from iPod devices.

Price: $24.95 per computer per year.

Features:

Recuva is a full recovery toolkit that includes deep scanning, data retrieval from damaged drives, and file extraction from removable devices.

Recuva can be compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8 & 8.1, 7, Vista, and XP.

Its "Deep Scan" feature restored 76% of files from a drive formatted after the files were deleted.

This hard drive data recovery software can overwrite files with zeroes, making it ideal for sensitive documents.

Top 3. Wise Data Recovery

This is a free external hard drive data recovery software. If you want to recover files no more than 2GB, it can be the best  data recovery software for you. This software allows you to restore a small amount of deleted files for free and can also help recover files after hard drive damage or reformatting. Although this review covers the Windows version, there is also a Mac version called Wise Data Recovery. It works with M1, M2, and T2 chip-enabled Macs, but the free version only lets you recover up to 1GB of data. However, there is a shortcoming: most software gives you a heads-up on whether a file can be recovered before you start the process. This one doesn't, which is a bit disappointing.

Price: $39.97 for 1 Year / 1 PC, and $49.99 for 1 Year / 3 PCs.

Features:

Runs on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, and macOS.

Portable option available.

Instant search function for quick file search.

Quick and full scan options available.

Top 4. TestDisk and PhotoRec

TestDisk and PhotoRec are two separate tools that work together to recover data for internal and external hard drives. TestDisk focuses on fixing lost partitions. It might seem a bit tricky at first because it uses text commands instead of a picture-based interface. But don't worry, there's help available to walk you through using it with your drives. It works with a lot of different file systems, so it's pretty versatile.

On the other hand, PhotoRec is a tool that can be used on different types of computers and doesn't need to be installed. You can run it right from a USB drive, which is handy because it won't risk messing up the data you're trying to get back.

Price: Free

Features:

Supports recovering lost data from common scenarios like accidental deletion, formatting, or emptied Recycle Bin.

Can be run as a portable app from a USB stick, avoiding accidental overwriting of data.

A command-line tool with no graphical interface, offering support for various file systems.

Although it is free, it is recommended for experienced users to run this tool for data recovery. One the one hand, the absence of a GUI makes the tools less accessible to the average user. One the other hand, unlike some commercial software, TestDisk and PhotoRec do not offer a preview of recoverable files. Users need to manually type command lines. Without careful use, there's a risk that the recovery process could overwrite lost data, especially if the user is not well-versed in the proper procedures.

Top 5. Disk Drill

Disk Drill, a well-liked data recovery tool for macOS, now works on Windows too. It comes in both free and paid versions and can get back data from all sorts of devices, like hard drives, SSDs, USB sticks, memory cards, cameras, and even phones. In a real-life test, when someone deleted 10 files, Disk Drill was able to recover all of them, except for two that didn't have their original names. This shows that Disk Drill is really good at what it does—helping you get your lost data back.

Price: Free for 500MB, and $108 for a lifetime license without the yearly subscription option. For business users, Disk Drill offers the plan: $598 /10 licenses.

Features:

Disk Drill can be compatible with the latest version works with 64-bit editions of Windows 11 and 10, plus macOS 10.15 and newer.

It organizes deleted files by category, allows filtering by size and/or date, supports quick and deep scan modes, and works with multiple file systems.

The tool can mount and read previously unmountable drives and recover data within a short timeframe.

Top 6. AnyRecover

Although many data recovery tools are available, few match the completeness of AnyRecover. This software is compatible with Windows and Mac, and it also supports data recovery for iOS and Android devices. AnyRecover promotes itself as capable of handling over 500 data loss situations across more than 2000 different device types. Additionally, it supports recovery for over 1000 file formats, according to its website.

Price: $49.99/month, and $99.99/year. A lifetime license usually costs $159.99, but there may be discounts, such as $99.99 for a lifetime.

Features: 

Windows version supports drives formatted to FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, ReFS, and HFS+. And Mac version supports APFS, HFS+, HFS X, exFAT, NTFS, FAT16, FAT32.

Scanning process doesn't allow fine-tuning; the utility automatically chooses the best scanning method. The results are categorized by file type, including Photos, Audio, and Documents.

Free version allows previewing of certain file types.

License terms are generous, allowing installation on up to 3 devices and 2 PCs.

Top 7. Stellar Data Recovery

Stellar Data Recovery is a well-known data recovery software launched by Stellar, a company that was started in 1993 and has offices in both the US and Europe. This software's main goal is to help users get back data that they've lost due to things like deleting files, formatting hard drives, disk damage, and more. It can get back many types of files, like office papers, emails, photos, audio and video files, and more.

There are some cracked copies of Stellar Data Recovery software on the Internet, which you should be aware of. However, using such software could be illegal or pose a security risk. To keep their data safe and get official help, users should only download and buy the software through official channels.

Price: Four Stellar Data Recovery options cost from free to $99.99. Standard file recovery tools are available in the free plan, but only up to 1GB. Upgrade from within the software to retrieve larger files. 

● Paid subscriptions start from $59.99 per year for a Windows Standard plan.
● It costs $89.99 to buy Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows, and it only costs $99.99 to buy the top "Premium" tier to unlock all advanced features.
● The "Standard" version for Mac users is $69.99
● The "Technician" version for macOS costs $149.

Features:

 The software is available in various versions to cater to different user needs, including personal and business users.

Stellar Free Data Recovery Software offers up to 1GB of free data recovery for both Windows and Mac users.

The software allows users to preview files within the app, allowing for quick identification of recoverable files.

Stellar Data Recovery can recover data from various storage devices, including hard drives, external drives, memory cards, flash drives, and optical media. It also supports both non-bootable and encrypted drives, RAID and virtual drive recovery, and professional versions can repair corrupted photo and video files.

Top 8. DMDE

If you are looking for a free hard drive data recovery software, the DMDE Free Edition is an ideal choice. It is a data recovery tool known as DM Disk Editor and Data Recovery Software. It helps users recover files from their hard drives that have been lost due to accidental deletion, hard drive issues, virus attacks, or other unfortunate events. DMDE is a portable application that can run directly from a USB drive. The latest version of the software includes a tabbed interface for easier navigation, RAID parameter detection, SMART report reading, and other new features. The release notes provide full details of these updates.

Price: Free

Features: 

It is only available for personal use and can only recover files visible in the selected directory.

Recovery is limited to 4,000 files at a time, but there's no limit if the files are broken down into batches of 4,000 or fewer.

It can also be used to reconstruct RAID configurations as part of a disaster recovery program.

DMDE can recover all files successfully with intact filenames from a drive deleted from the Recycle Bin.

It handles simulations of a corrupted/damaged drive and recovers all original files including their filenames.

Top 9. UndeleteMyFiles Pro

UndeleteMyFiles Pro is a small, free program that can quickly get back files that the user deleted.Keep in mind that the creator doesn't say how often data can be safely written over. UndeleteMyFiles Pro works with internal and external hard drives, USB flash drives, CF and SD cards to recover lost data and delete files safely. UndeleteMyFiles Pro is a great free tool for getting back client files that you deleted by accident.

Price: Free

Features:

It offers a wizard for file undeletion, and it allows restoration of deleted files from system backup.

Supports search by attribute, size, etc., and permanent file deletion.

Allows to review files but restores data to a temporary folder.

Recovery process doesn't indicate if a file is recoverable.

It may not be fully compatible with your Windows OS. It was tested on Windows 8 and XP, but version 3.1 did not perform as expected on Windows 10.

Top 10. BPlan Data Recovery

Like the other programs on this list, BPlan Data Recovery can get back lost files. It might not look as powerful and efficient as other software like it, but it can get back a lot of different kinds of lost files.

This tool, on the other hand, is not as simple to use as the others. Because of how the results were set up, it was hard to tell what people were doing. Still, it was able to find and get back pictures, papers, videos, and other types of files in most cases compared to other free hard drive data recovery software.You can use the Bplan data recovery app to scan for and get back lost info. If you delete data by mistake or format a hard drive, USB disk, or partition, Bplan can help you find the data you lost. It works with Windows XP, 7, and 8. If you are using more advanced operating system like Windows 11 and 10, it is better to choose the professional data recovery software for external hard drives as they can offer more stable compatibility.

Price: Free

Features:

It can recover common deleted files, but it cannot support many too many file formats.

Can recover files from external hard drives and cameras.

Provides a wizard for recovering deleted files.

Recovery from drives not recognized by the operating system.

Conclusion

These 10 hard drive data recovery software programs perform excellently in recovering lost data. In short, paid software can handle more complex data loss scenarios like virus attacks, system crashes, and more. Additionally, they usually support the recovery of more file formats. Among these powerful software options, we particularly recommend AOMEI FastRecovery, as it is suitable for users of all technical levels to run and recover lost data easily and cost-effectively.