10 Best Data Recovery Software of 2019

Data recovery software is your best hope of getting lost files back. Check this best utilities for both Macs and PCs.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery

MSRP: $99.00 ($99 at Stellar Information Technology Private Limited)

• Pros: High-powered, fast, full-featured file recovery. Exceptionally lucid and helpful interface. In-app previews of recovered files. Recovers from CD/DVD drives. Creates disk image. Securely wipes data.
• Cons: Recovers slightly fewer deleted files than OnTrack or Prosoft's products.

For beginners and non-technical users, Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is the obvious first choice among data recovery software. A beautifully designed, efficient interface makes the program a pleasure to use.

Prosoft Data Rescue (for Mac)

MSRP: $99.00 ($99 at Prosoft Engineering)

• Pros: Excellent file recovery. Integrated chat button, available call center, and physical recovery lab. Generous licensing. 
• Cons: Without advanced filtering, it can be difficult to sift through results. Hides some valuable features.

After fifteen years in the business, Prosoft Data Rescue continues to offer one of the most powerful and accessible tools for data recovery.

Alsoft DiskWarrior (for Mac)

MSRP: $119 ($118.99 at Amazon)

• Pros: Repairs and rebuilds Mac directories to improve system reliability and performance. Useful hardware and maintenance tools. Effective for traditional hard disk and solid-state drives. Easy to use. Affordable. 
• Cons: The OS X Recovery partition complicates booting into the utility.

While other data recovery utilities can scan disks to recover lost or deleted files, DiskWarrior is unrivaled in its ability to repair and rebuild the Mac directory.

Prosoft Data Rescue PC4

MSRP: $69.00 ($99.00 at Prosoft Engineering)

• Pros: High-powered file recovery. Fast and efficient scanning. Saves file-scan data for use in later sessions. 
• Cons: Over-complex, under-informative interface. Option to create disk-copy clones rather than faster, more manageable disk images. Licensed to five drives only.

Prosoft Data Rescue is among the best when it comes to raw data-recovery power, but it's burdened by a complex, clumsy interface.

Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery (for Mac)

MSRP: $99.00 ($99.00 at Stellar Information Technology Private Limited)

• Pros: Recovered more original file names than competitors. Simple to use.
• Cons: Repairing volumes requires the utility's Platinum edition. Would benefit from advanced filtering. License transfer is onerous. Ineffective for recovering files on solid-state hard drives.

While it doesn't provide the most sophisticated tools for filtering recovery results, Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery offers an easy on-ramp to Mac data recovery.

CleverFiles Disk Drill Pro (for Mac)

MSRP: $89.00 ($89.00 at CleverFiles)

• Pros: Excellent file recovery with best-in-class file signature support. Superb filtering. Unique features, including data protection and iOS recovery. Affordable. 
• Cons: Ineffective for recovering files on solid-state drives. Some features less useful than others.

If you have Mac with a traditional hard drive, Disk Drill Pro offers one of the most advanced data recovery utilities available.

Kroll Ontrack EasyRecovery

MSRP: $79.00

• Pros: Impressively fast, extremely thorough data recovery. Rich in technically advanced options. Includes secure-delete feature. Backed up by Ontrack's mail-in disk recovery. 
• Cons: Unclear interface. Lacks built-in previewer. No option to create a disk image from a failing disk.

Kroll Ontrack EasyRecovery is the most powerful, thorough data recovery software we've tested, and it's blazing fast, too. Its only real drawback is a sometimes-daunting interface.

Recuva Data Recovery

Free at Piriform

• Pros: Low price. Free version available. Beautifully clear interface design. Preview screen. 
• Cons: Can't recover as many files as high-priced rivals.

Recuva is attractively priced and easy to use, though it can't dig in quite as deeply as higher-priced data recovery software.

Seagate Premium File Recovery Suite (for Mac)

MSRP: $99.00

• Pros: Good results. Fast scanning. Parallel Mac/Windows experience. Available in-house data recovery lab and insurance policies (Rescue Plans). No learning curve. 
• Cons: Some glitches with STX server during testing. Stingy licensing. Ineffective for recovering files on solid-state hard drives.

While it's not as feature-rich as some competing tools, Seagate Premium File Recovery Suite provides a simple, fast, and capable utility backed by one of the largest names in data recovery.

Seagate Premium Recovery Suite

MSRP: $79.99

• Pros: Spacious, clear interface. Thumbnail previews for recovered files. Direct link to Seagate's in-lab recovery service. 
• Cons: Restrictive license. Recovered fewer files than competitive products. Lacks CD/DVD recovery option. No disk-image creation. Lacks secure-delete feature.

Seagate is a major player in the disk drive industry, but its Premium Recovery Suite consumer-level data recovery software has a very restrictive licensing model.



Source: PCmag.com / Edward Mendelson