Use free best Mac data recovery program, you can quickly recover deleted Mac files and folders which got corrupted or formatted from the Mac based hard drive. This Mac data recovery software can supports of files from HFS, HFS+ formatted partitions. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is another one of the best data recovery Mac software applications. The developer has released three different versions: free, Pro and unlimited. The free version is limited to a maximum of 200MB of restored data.

1. Data Recovery Software Free Mac
2. Best Mac Data Recovery Software
3. Best Free Data Recovery Programs

So, you just found that you had deleted or lost some files? Maybe on your computer hard drive or an external storage device.

And you also learned that there are data recovery software might be able to recover the files.

There’s more than meets the eye, though. Some of the data recovery programs are good, some are not. Some claim to be free — but when you try to use them, you find out you have to purchase a license to fully recover or save your files.

Seriously, I hate the trick! Yes, I call it a “trick”.

How do you tell good, solid data recovery software from wallet-sucking fraudulent programs?

Here’s your answer: I’ve personally downloaded, tested 50+ data recovery programs on my Windows 10 based PC and macOS based MacBook Pro, sorted out the truly free data recovery tools and put them all in one place.

The apps listed below are 100% free, or open source, or freeware, which means there’s no catch and you can use them to scan, recover and save your files without any restrictions. No need to purchase a license!

Before you read the list though, check out these practical data recovery tips to increase your chances of recovering the data. Saving additional data to the disk drive in question could overwrite your deleted data, making it difficult to restore your lost information.

• Stop using the computer or device (or SD card, flash drive, etc.) where your lost files located.
• Try not to install a data recovery program on the same drive you want to recover files from.
• Once you are ready to export the recovered files, save them on a different volume.

Update Note (July 2018):

Hey, it’s been a while since I check this roundup post again. Sadly, a few programs in this list are no longer free. Some got acquired, some don’t work anymore due to lack of updates. For the accuracy of this post, I have to remove some programs from this list. Previously there were 20 truly free data recovery programs got featured, now much fewer.

This is unfortunate, but understandable if you stand from the developer’s point of view. These days it’s really hard for software developers to keep updating a piece of free software (especially Mac apps) to make it still work with the latest operating system.

Also, some free data recovery software are pushing users to buy their Pro versions. A good example is Recuva. I just tested the last version of Recuva on a Windows-10 based PC, and I instantly felt the maker is promoting Recuva Professional more aggressively than before though the free version should be enough to handle your data recovery needs. By the way, in case you don’t know. The maker of Recuva and CCleaner, Piriform, got acquired by Avast in 2017. Now you get the point 🙂 But Recuva is still free to use if you can spot out the catch (and I’ll point it out below).

Anyway, thanks for your attention and I appreciate your feedback on this article. Quite a few readers emailed me personally, thank you for taking the time. And if you get to know a new free data recovery tool, leave a comment or send me an email.

P.S. Okay, I get your feedback that sometimes free data recovery software just don’t work that well. If you are willing to try a paid data recovery program, I recommend Stellar Data Recovery – they have both Windows and macOS versions and support recovering data from mobile devices like iPhones and Android phones as well. Free trails are available but won’t allow you to save your files (if found after the scan). Your success rate may vary.

Also read our in-depth reviews:

1. Recuva (Windows)

If you want to get back the files you accidentally deleted from Windows Recycle Bin or USB stick, then Recuva is absolutely the first program you should try. A couple of years ago, I used it to recover most of the photos and videos for a friend in San Francisco who accidentally formatted her camera SD card. Recuva is 100% free for personal use.

You can get Recuva from its official website here. Just scroll down on the page and click the green “Free Download” button, when using the program do not be bothered by the upgrade pitch 🙂

Here’s a video tutorial you may find useful:

What I like:

• Quick to download and install. The portable version runs from flash drive.
• Easy to use. Perfect for everyone as it comes with both simple and advanced options.
• Deep Scan function could find more files though take a bit longer.
• Able to preview highlighted images before recovery.

What I Dislike:

• Many junk files are scanned and listed there. Some of those show as unrecoverable, making it a bit hard to find the files you actually want.

2. PhotoRec (Windows/Mac/Linux)

Created by Christophe Grenier, PhotoRec is a free, open source file recovery program that works amazingly well on almost every operating system. PhotoRec isn’t just a photo recovery tool (don’t be fooled by its name). You can use this powerful software to recover nearly 500 different file formats from hard disks or removable media. Here’s a tutorial on how to use PhotoRec step by step.

What I Like:

• Works on multiple platforms (Windows, macOS, and Linux).
• Updated by its developer regularly.
• Powerful recovery capability that includes a large variety of file formats.
• It’s open source (source code is released).

What I Dislike:

• Not very user-friendly, as it uses a command line tool interface.
• You may want to get some help from a techie friend to get this working properly.

3. Puran File Recovery (Windows)

Another powerful, yet free data recovery utility. Puran File Recovery works great to rescue data from practically any storage medium. The software supports ten different languages. All Puran utilities are totally free for private and non-commercial use. You can see a video tutorial from YouTube here.

What I Like:

• Deep Scan and Full Scan options for more powerful searching.
• Able to preview files once highlighted.
• You can categorize found items by file types. e.g. pictures, videos, documents, etc.
• File quality reserves after recovery.

What I Dislike:

• Not that intuitive for new users, especially when compared to some of the other options on this list.

4. Glary Undelete (Windows)

A great undelete tool similar to Recuva, Glary Undelete “unerases” items from FAT and NTFS disks. It’s simple to use: just choose a drive to scan, click “Search”, and wait for a while, depending on the volume of the disk selected. You’ll see a bunch of files found. Once you do, just navigate to the folders on the left, use the preview function to locate your targeted items, and you’re good to go! Check out more from this video tutorial (from Vimeo).

What I Like:

• Quick to download and install. Clean, logical software interface.
• Perfect for undeleting items from the Recycle Bin or an external storage device.
• Preview capability helps find files you want to retrieve.

What I Dislike:

• Many junk files are found and listed, which can feel a bit overwhelming.
• Less capable of recovering data lost to formatting or a hard disk crash.

5. SoftPerfect File Recovery (Windows)

This is another nice tool to bring your accidentally deleted files back to life. SoftPerfect File Recovery(scroll down on the page to download the program, skip the EaseUS recommendation) was primarily developed to help you rescue data that was accidentally deleted from hard disks, USB flash drives, SD and CF cards, etc. It supports popular file systems such as FAT12/16/32, NTFS, and NTFS5 with compression and encryption. The program runs under Windows XP through Windows 10.

What I Like:

• Portable, no installation required.
• 33 interface languages are available.
• Very easy to use – no unnecessary settings and screens.
• Able to restore files with “path”.

What I Dislike:

• No file preview. Scanned files are listed one-by-one without being categorized in folders.

6. Exif Untrasher (macOS)

Exif Untrasher is another totally free program that runs on Mac (macOS 10.6 or above). It’s primarily designed to recover JPEG photos that have been deleted from a digital camera. It also works if you want to get back lost JPEGs from an external drive, USB stick, SD card, etc., as long as it’s a removable disk you can mount on your Mac.

What I Like:

• Easy to download and install.
• Quick and accurate in findingrecovering erased pictures from my camera SD card.
• Quality of recovered photos is very good.

What I Dislike:

• Works only with JPEG files.
• Can’t recover photos removed from an internal Mac hard drive (you’ll notice the “Macintosh HD” option is greyed when you attempt to select the volume).

7. Tokiwa Data Recovery (Windows)

If you want to recover your lost files quickly, Tokiwa Data Recovery is a nice option. It’s a standalone application, which means little time is required for the installation process. In my case, Tokiwa found 42,709 files in less than a minute — very efficient! Tokiwa claims it can retrieve and wipe documents, archives, pictures, videos, and more from common storage media.

What I Like:

• It’s portable — no installation required.
• Fast scanning process.
• Deep scan function available after simple scan is over.
• Capable of wiping files permanently.

What I Dislike:

• I couldn’t find any settings or documentation — though it’s simple to use.
• Can’t preview images or files.
• Wipe function doesn’t allow erased items to be saved in the system drive.

8. PC INSPECTOR File Recovery (Windows)

Another super-powerful freeware, PC Inspector File Recovery helps recover deleted, formatted files from disks or partitions, even if the boot sector has been erased or damaged. The program won’t help if you have mechanical problems with your disk drive, however, and it can’t be installed on the same drive you’d like to recover files from. A video tutorial is available on YouTube here.

What I Like:

• Powerful, able to detect logical drives that other freeware can’t.
• Easier to organize recovered files, as it automatically puts them into correct file structures.
• Supports many languages, as seen in the above screenshot.
• Claims it’s freeware for good.

What I Dislike:

• Icons and instructions look a bit obsolete.
• Freezes sometimes during the recovery process.

9. Wise Data Recovery (Windows)

Another excellent freeware from the WiseClean family. Wise Data Recovery helps you recover files and folders from various devices. The software is intuitive: select the drive you want to scan, wait, then can browse the item tree to recover your precious files.

What I Like:

• Simple to set up and use.
• Speedy scanning process.
• Multiple languages available.

What I Dislike:

• No deep scan capability.
• Large percentage of files are unrecoverable.

10. UndeleteMyFiles Pro (Windows)

Don’t be fooled by the software name. While it sounds like a pro edition that requires a purchase to use, UndeleteMyFiles Pro is absolutely free, and comes with tools for data recovery and file wipe as well. Just select the drive, scan it, and you should be able to view a list of missing files. SeriousBit, the developers, says UndeleteMyFiles Pro works well for recovering deleted files from hard disks, USB, SD/CF cards, and other storage media.

What I Like:

• Quick, easy and intuitive to use.
• File preview ability for certain types of files.

What I Dislike:

• File names are missing in scanned results.
• No deep scan capability.

11. TestDisk (Windows/Mac/Linux)

TestDisk, PhotoRec’s sister program, is an extremely powerful partition recovery tool developed to help find deleted/lost partitions, make crashed disks bootable again, and a whole lot more. TestDisk is like an experienced doctor that cures most of the problems related to computer hard disks. A video tutorial about how to use TestDisk is here.

What I Like:

• Free, open source, secure.
• Can fix partition tables and recover deleted partitions.
• Rescues data from problematic partitions caused by faulty software, certain types of viruses, or human error.

What I Dislike:

• Non-GUI program — i.e. it’s not for computer newbies as it requires more tech knowledge to use successfully.

12. Undelete360 (Windows)

Like the name says,Undelete360undeletes files you accidentally removed from your computer, Recycle Bin, flash drive, digital camera, memory card, etc. You’ll see two tabs when the program is launched: “Recover Files” and “Wipe Files“. To get back your deleted items, stay on the “Recover Files” tab, highlight the disk drive, and start searching.

What I Like:

• Multiple languages available.
• The file tree is very helpful to find targeted items.
• File path, as well as the condition of the files, are indicated.
• Includes a wipe tool that securely deletes files that are beyond recovery.

What I Dislike:

• My computer hung during the scanning process.
• Quite time-consuming compared to most of the other apps listed here.

13. FreeUndelete (Windows)

As the name indicates,FreeUndeleteis freeware tool that undeletes files from any NTFS- and FAT-based volume. FreeUndelete runs on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. During my test, I found the program intuitive, and the process of data scanning is pretty fast. However, what frustrated me was that the found files and folders are not well-organized, making it hard to actually select and recover those you want to recover.

What I Like:

• Quick to download, install, and scan.
• Very intuitive – no complicated buttons or options.

What I Dislike:

• The panel on the left is kind of odd — there is no drive D: or E: on my computer.
• Found files are poorly organized. I couldn’t find the pictures I wanted to recover, whether they were recovered or not.

14. Lazesoft Recovery Suite Home (Windows)

If you are looking for an ultimately powerful windows rescue solution, then Lazesoft Recovery Suiteis the one. Besides recovering data from common disks, Lazesoft also comes with a set of utilities that rescues your Windows system when you forget your login password, or even won’t boot.

Note: the software has several editions, but only the Home Edition is free.

What I Like:

• Multiple modes (Undelete, Unformat, Deep Scan) available to choose.
• Able to preview pictures before they are retrieved.
• Many super-useful utilities are included, including password recovery, Windows rescue, disk clone, and more.

What I Dislike:

• Download is a bit slow.

15. WinHex (Windows)

WinHexis targeted more toward forensics data recovery needs. After you download the archive, unzip it and click on “WinHex.exe” to run the program. It might be a little overwhelming the first time you open it. To scan and recover data, move to “Tools” -> “Disk Tools” -> “File Recovery by Type”. TechTarget also has a detailed tutorial here.

What I Like:

• The only freeware I found for investigation and forensics usage.
• Able to edit/clone disk and recover partitions as well.

What I Dislike:

• Needs certain expertise to handle the program.

Which Free Recovery Software Is The Best?

So, what do you think of this list? Have you tried some of them? Did it work to retrieve your lost files?

I’d like to know your stories. For me, I really like Recuva for Windows and Exit Untrasher for Mac because they helped me pull back some of my deleted items.

Also, if you found another free data recovery software that I missed, please leave the comment below and let me know. I’d be happy to test it out and may feature it here as well.

Don’t forget to backup your computer and hard drive! I just did so with my MacBook, see my recent post: how to backup Mac to an external drive.

The one downside to the planner software, however, is its lack of external syncing options. It has no mobile companion app, nor does it allow you to sync things like your Google calendar to it, so you have to add calendar data to each separately and manually. Best laptop apps for college students. MyHomework is a digital student planner app where students can manage their school life online. Available on the iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire, Windows and the web, myHomework replaces the traditional student planner or paper school diary with a great experience on your favorite devices. The best planner is the one you always have access to. The myHomework Student Planner is available on a wide variety of platforms so that you can stay organized wherever you are. Power Planner is the ultimate homework planner for students, featuring online sync with iOS and Android apps, grade calculation, live tiles, automatic reminders, and more. Power Planner is built specifically for Windows 10! The free version has limitations like only 1 semester, only 5 grades per class, etc.

Either way, thanks for reading, and I wish you best of luck getting back the lost data.

Data Recovery Process Explained

Data recovery is not some black magic as it may seem when you don’t understand what’s going on under the hood. The process is actually not that complicated, and we are confident that you won’t have a problem explaining it to someone else by the time you are done reading this article. We’ll also compare some of the best data recovery software for Windows and Mac to leave you fully prepared for an unexpected loss of data.

When Is Data Recovery Useful

According to the 2013 Harris Interactive poll, 30 percent of computer users keep all their data stored in a single location. Yet, the Business Planning for Disaster Survival report from Chamber101 states that “40 percent of businesses do not reopen after a disaster”. But even when they eventually manage to reopen, the average cost of downtime is still between $74,000 and $800,000, depending on the size of the company, reports the Aberdeen Group.

For businesses, the answer is clear: data loss is something that must be avoided at all costs. On those rare occasions when it happens anyway, a reliable data recovery software could be the one thing that saves the company from bankruptcy. But what about home users? Data loss is surely not a big deal with modern cloud storage solutions, or is it?

It depends. Consider that every week 140,000 hard drives crash in the United States, leading to 31 percent of PC users experiencing a complete data loss, according to Pivotal IT. Do you really have all your data safely backed up online, or do you use a service like Dropbox or Google Drive only for a small portion of your files? And what about situations when you need to work for longer periods of time without an internet connection? Murphy’s law says the worst happens when you least expect it. It also says, “If nothing can go wrong, it will”. So, don’t think that that USB drive you like to use for backup can’t fail or become corrupted, as well. It most certainly can, and there’s someone out there right now who is in full panic mode, thinking, “how the heck will I ever get my files back”?

How Does Data Recovery Work

To understand how data recovery works, we first need to have, at least, a basic understanding of how data are stored on a storage medium. For the sake of simplicity, we won’t explain how data are physically recorded and retrieved – not only would it warrant a separate article, but the method is also different for each storage medium, such as compact disk, memory card, and solid-state disk.

Data Storage 101

What you need to know is that each storage medium comes with a small part that stores a map of all sectors, which are just small parts where information can be saved. When you need to save a new file, your operating system simply takes a quick look at the map to see which sectors are still free.

You can read a much more detailed explanation of all aspects of file systems on Wikipedia, but for our purposes, the only thing left to explain is how individual files are stored on a disk. You probably know that computers see everything as a series of zeroes and ones. In other words, a switch can be either on or off. Luckily for us, this binary system is all we need to represent text or computer processor instructions. And with them, we can fly drones, land on the moon, play video games, and talk to our friends on the other side of the world.

So, if there’s nothing but ones and zeros on your disk, how can your computer distinguish one image from another or a song from a document? Easy, each file and each file format have markers that mark where it starts and ends, known as file signatures. For JPEG, the starting sequence is “1111 1111 1101 1000” and the ending sequence is “1111 1111 1101 1001”. Spot these two sequences, and everything between them is your image — an easy job for a computer.

File System Recovery

When you accidentally format a memory card or hard disk, all that actually happens is that your operating system erases the map of sectors, marking everything as empty. This means that all your data are still exactly where they were before the format, but you just can’t get to them because your OS doesn’t see them.

Best hard drive recovery software solutions don’t care about the map, as they carefully analyze the actual disk structure and create a map of their own. If the file system is damaged due to data corruption, some of the best hard drive recovery software might be able to completely restore the map.

Recovery of an Accidentally Deleted File or Folder

Remember how we talked about sectors? When you delete a file or folder (and even empty the Recycle Bin), your operating system actually just marks the corresponding sectors as empty and leaves it at that. It’s only when some other file is stored in the exact same location that the original file or folder is gone forever.

If you act quickly enough, you should be able to get the missing file back with the help of some of the best file recovery software described later in this article. The software will look for known file signatures, allowing you to choose exactly what you want to restore. All best file recovery software work in a similar manner, but they differ in how many features they offer and how many file signatures they know.

Recovery After Physical Damage or Complete Storage Failure

The only situation where data recovery software won’t help you is in the case of physical damage or complete storage failure. 3.5” hard drives sometimes experience mechanical failures, physically preventing the head from moving. Your memory card can become damaged with repeated use, and your USB flash drive could reach the age when it wants nothing else but to join other USB drives in the silicon heaven.

It’s true that modern technology can do wonders, like when the Challenger spacecraft disintegrated upon re-entry into the atmosphere, and an Australian data recovery company, Kroll Ontrack, was still able to recover 99 percent of the data from the onboard computer. The problem is that the average 1TB recovery will cost you more than $1000 without guaranteed results, according to Gillware Data Recovery.

5 Best Data Recovery Software Tools

Now that you know how data recovery works, it’s time to look at some of the best professional data recovery software for renowned data recovery companies. We will answer the question “what is the best data recovery software” and tell you what makes the best professional data recovery software so special. Instead of paying large sums of money for data recovery done by a professional company, top data recovery software will allow you to restore your lost data yourself for free or for a very affordable price. Let’s start our list of the best data recovery software with Disk Drill.

1. Disk Drill

Disk Drill is a powerful data recovery software for Mac OS X and Windows 10/8/8.1/7/XP. 508 Software, the developers of the product and quite possibly the best data recovery company in existence, wanted to make data recovery as simple as possible, which is why they created a stylish, modern user interface that conveniently exposes all functionality to users without overwhelming with features. But that doesn’t mean Disk Drill can’t do just about everything you could wish for. You can restore deleted data from virtually any storage device, effortlessly rebuild an entire lost partition, or turn on Disk Drill’s data loss prevention features to prevent future disasters.

Pros

• Modern user interface
• Visual preview of results
• Mac and Windows support
• Data loss prevention
• Build-in backup tools
• iOS & Android support
• Extra Free Disk Tools

Cons

• Doesn’t offer phone support
• No portable option for Windows version

2. Disk Warrior

DiskWarrior from Alsoft, developers of award-winning utilities for Apple Macintosh computers and another candidate competing for the title of the best data recovery company, is another top data recovery softwarethat understands all common file formats and comes with a built-in disk defragmentation utility, which can be useful if you still use regular hard disks with rotating platters. Alsoft is renowned for their excellent customer support and an entire team of technicians that are ready to help you restore your lost or deleted data.

Pros

• Supports disk defragmentation
• Phone support

Data Recovery Software Free Mac

Cons

• Limited to Mac
• No result preview
• Lacks partition repair tools
• No native quick scan

3. Data Rescue

Data Rescue from Prosoft Engineering is a top rated data recovery software with a long legacy dating back to 2002. The software has since then proved itself as a reliable solution to the vast majority of common data loss situation, despite the lack of partition repair tools. Like most other best professional data recovery software solutions, Data Rescue is able to recover digital pictures from your camera, help you find lost documents on your HFS/HFS+ formatted drive, or make an exact copy of your Mac hard drive.

Best Mac Data Recovery Software

Pros

• Phone support
• Ability to recover bad sectors
• Allows you to filter damaged files

Cons

• Limited to Mac
• Lacks partition repair tools
• Requires a second hard drive

4. Boomerang

With its fitting name, Boomerang stands out as one of a few data recovery programs that support RAID. As such, its target audience is clearly people with deeper technical knowledge who are willing to look past its outdated user interface that is in a dire need of an update. There’s also a Windows version, but even the screenshot on the official website features Windows XP, almost 15-years old operating system, which should tell you a thing or two about how enjoyable it is to use.

Pros

• Supports RAID reconstruction

Cons

• No native quick scan
• Convoluted user interface
• Doesn’t offer phone support

5. R-studio

This truly multi-platform data recovery software can run on Mac, Windows, and Linux. R-studio recovers files from HFS, HFS+, FAT, NTFS, ReFS, UFS1, UFS2, Ext2, Ext3, and Ext4 file systems. It stands out with its ability to perform network data recovery, but it unfortunately fails to meet our expectations for usability. The user interface is very barebones, and the online manual reads like a badly written thesis. After all, it has 246 pages full of technical details aimed at seasoned system administrators.

Pros

• Supports network recovery
• Build-in backup tools
• Phone support
• Supports Windows, Mac, and Linux

Cons

Best Free Data Recovery Programs

• No native quick scan
• Demo limited to very small files
• Convoluted user interface
• Help features are missing