Data recovery software scans a failing or wiped drive, memory card or disk image for files that are still on it. Vendors sell it as perpetual licences, yearly subscriptions or monthly keys, usually with a free scan or capped recovery.
This guide ranks twelve products on setup effort, the price after the right edition is added, exit and independence.
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In short
What data recovery software does
Data recovery software reads storage media directly, rebuilds lost directory structure or carves files by signature, and copies the recovered data to a different drive without writing to the original.
In this order: setup effort, what it really costs, how your data comes back out, whether
you can leave, and who each data recovery tool is built for. One rule sits on top of those tests:
Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. Why those five, and why there is no
score out of ten, is on the how we work page.
Free version; Professional licence published at a low one-off price
Yes
Home users undeleting files from a PC or memory card
Anyone recovering from RAID arrays, NAS devices or Mac disks
Country is where the vendor is headquartered or contracts from, which is a
different question from where your data is hosted. Where the two tell different stories, the
entry says so.
One-developer recovery tool with a free tier and three licence levels
Ranked #1 of 12 in Best Data Recovery Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingEurope
DMDE passes the independence test cleanly: it runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and the Standard licence is perpetual with lifetime updates. The free edition is the real trial, since the 4,000-file cap applies per folder per request with no limit on requests.
Plan for an afternoon of learning the scan modes. Anyone recovering for clients must buy Professional, because Standard covers only your own organisation.
What stands out
Free edition
Perpetual licence
Windows, macOS, Linux
Where it costs you
Refunds are refused for activated licences, including when the recovery turns out incomplete
The interface grew out of a disk editor and shows directory trees and sector detail early
Right for
Home users and small offices wanting to test recovery on their own files first
Wrong for
Buyers who want a guided wizard with no technical vocabulary
SpainFree edition with a file cap; paid editions published, from a one-year licence to a perpetual one
Windows-only recovery with preview before purchase and lifetime licences
Ranked #2 of 12 in Best Data Recovery Software in 2026.
Published pricingElsewhere
The 7-day Limited Life key is the unusual part: a one-off rescue costs less than a lifetime licence, and the Ultimate edition adds Linux, Mac and NAS filesystems.
Setup looks short, since the page describes a preview of recovered data before you buy. The weak point is independence from the network: the vendor states that a PC without internet cannot use it. Refunds need a technical fault, not a missing file.
What stands out
Lifetime licence
Preview before buying
Windows host only
Where it costs you
Runs only on Windows, so Mac disks must be attached to a Windows PC
Needs an internet connection during recovery, which rules out locked-down networks
Right for
Windows or NAS owners wanting a simple tool and a one-off lifetime licence
Wrong for
Mac users without access to a Windows computer
Not stated by the vendorPublished prices; lifetime and 7-day licences, evaluation version with preview
Perpetual per-platform licences with a trial that has no time limit
Ranked #3 of 12 in Best Data Recovery Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
The company lists an entity in Kyiv and a UK company, and sells a ladder from Standard through RAID to Network RAID that you can climb only as the job demands.
Expect to spend the first days reading the manual if you touch RAID. Updates are free for 360 days from purchase, which a long-lived team should factor into its plan.
What stands out
Perpetual licence
Windows, macOS, Linux
NAS and RAID editions
Where it costs you
A licence covers one operating system only, so a mixed Windows and Mac shop buys twice
The trial copies only files smaller than 768 KB, which limits a proper test
Right for
IT staff handling NAS, RAID or virtual disks alongside ordinary drives
Wrong for
Occasional home users who need a single quick undelete
UkrainePublished perpetual licences per operating system; trial with no time limit
Open source partition and file recovery from one personal project
Ranked #4 of 12 in Best Data Recovery Software in 2026.
Free tierOpen sourcePublished pricingEurope
This is the lowest-cost route and the easiest to exit, since nothing is licensed and the programs do not connect to the internet.
The price is time: the documentation runs to more than 60 pages and the manual walks through the program menu by menu, so expect to read before you run. The site belongs to one person, Christophe Grenier, so check the release date (7.2, February 2024) against your filesystem.
What stands out
Open source
Partition repair
Many operating systems
Where it costs you
Carving by signature loses the original file names and directory structure
Support is a forum and documentation, not a vendor support desk
Right for
Technicians and Linux users who want a free recovery toolkit with no licence
Wrong for
Anyone who needs a guided interface and a support contact
FranceFree of charge under the GNU General Public License
DIY recovery covering ZFS and Btrfs, sold by a single developer
Ranked #5 of 12 in Best Data Recovery Software in 2026.
Published pricingElsewhere
Few tools here detect ZFS pool layout, which makes it a specialist pick for storage administrators. The evaluation runs every function except copying files out, so test on the actual disk before buying.
Licences work indefinitely for the versions released in their year, and the vendor sells updates for 49 or 99 USD. There are no discounts, and commercial recovery work needs the Commercial licence.
What stands out
ZFS pool recovery
Btrfs and F2FS
Personal and commercial licences
Where it costs you
No standalone version: an internet connection is needed to work
A licence covers versions released within a year, with paid updates afterwards
Right for
Administrators recovering ZFS pools or Btrfs disks from a Windows host
Wrong for
Anyone who wants an offline tool or a discount on the licence
RussiaPublished per-version licences; updates for one year; evaluation version that does not save files
Read-only Windows recovery with a single price and lifetime updates
Ranked #6 of 12 in Best Data Recovery Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Runtime Software lists a Hawaii address and a fixed price with lifetime updates, so the cost does not change after year one. A boot medium option exists for machines that will not start.
Exit is simple because the licence is a key entered into the demo. The thin spot is support: email only, with a stated response time under 24 hours, weekdays.
What stands out
Lifetime updates
Read-only design
Windows host only
Where it costs you
Runs on Windows only, even for Linux and Apple volumes
Support is by email only, with weekday office hours in Pacific time
Right for
Windows technicians who want one fixed price and no yearly renewals
Wrong for
Mac-only users and teams that need chat or phone support
United StatesPublished single price with free lifetime updates; free to try
Technician-grade recovery with RAID reconstruction and network recovery
Ranked #7 of 12 in Best Data Recovery Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
The edition table separates FAT-only, NTFS-only, standard, Corporate, Technician and T80+ licences, each ticking a different list of features, so read the row for your filesystem before paying.
Budget a week to learn disk imaging before touching a failing drive. Backup and deployment imaging is sold separately as R-Drive Image, so check whether you need that product as well. Licences are permanent. Licences are permanent.
What stands out
RAID reconstruction
Disk imaging
Windows, macOS, Linux
Where it costs you
The demo cannot recover files above 1,024 KB, so large files cannot be tested
Edition choice takes care, with six editions and different file system coverage
Right for
Data recovery businesses and administrators facing damaged RAID arrays or failing disks
Wrong for
Home users who want a simple one-click undelete
CanadaPublished permanent licences by edition; demo limited by file size
Mac and Windows recovery with a lifetime licence and a free scan
Ranked #8 of 12 in Best Data Recovery Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
The same PRO key covers macOS and Windows and three devices, which suits households. The free edition shows recoverable files before you pay, so the refusal of refunds matters less if you preview first.
Businesses wanting a custom price are pointed to a separate Disk Drill Enterprise offer. The Recovery Vault backup feature only protects files you enable it for, so switch it on before the next loss.
What stands out
Mac and Windows
Lifetime or yearly
Recovery Vault
Where it costs you
PRO purchases are non-refundable except where consumer law requires a refund
The yearly plan renews automatically unless cancelled
Right for
Mac and Windows users who want one licence across both systems
Wrong for
Linux workstations and buyers who want a refund window
United StatesPublished lifetime or yearly licences covering three devices; free edition scans and previews
Tiered Windows recovery with a 1 GB free allowance
Ranked #9 of 12 in Best Data Recovery Software in 2026.
Published pricingAsia-Pacific
Stellar is based in Gurugram, India, with a Dutch entity in Utrecht and a US one. The page shows euro and dollar prices side by side and discounts them, so check the figure at checkout.
Real cost depends on edition: Standard handles deletion, but partitions need Professional. Plan on a scan with the free allowance before choosing a tier, and keep the free recovered files on a second drive.
What stands out
Three editions
1 GB free recovery
India, Netherlands and US offices
Where it costs you
Lost-partition and non-bootable recovery need Professional or higher, so a wrong first purchase costs twice
Mac, Windows and RAID work are separate products and separate purchases
Right for
Buyers who want a tiered ladder and an office in Europe
Wrong for
Anyone who wants one licence for Mac and Windows
IndiaPublished tiers from Standard to Technician; free download recovers a limited amount
Wizard-style recovery sold by month, year or lifetime
Ranked #10 of 12 in Best Data Recovery Software in 2026.
Published pricingAsia-Pacific
The buy page runs a promotional banner, a student plan and bundles with backup and iPhone tools, so the sticker price shifts. Remote assistance is included in every licence on the buy page, which cuts setup time for non-technical buyers, and a 30-day money-back guarantee applies.
Plan the first ninety days around one scan and one decision. Compare the lifetime price against Disk Drill and MiniTool before committing to either.
What stands out
Free up to 2 GB
Monthly to lifetime
Remote assistance
Where it costs you
The one-month licence costs nearly half the lifetime licence
Windows and Mac are separate licences with a separate bundle price
Right for
One-off rescues where included remote assistance saves hours for non-technical buyers
Wrong for
Teams wanting one perpetual licence across Windows and Mac
ChinaPublished monthly, yearly and lifetime licences; free edition recovers up to 2 GB
Windows recovery with a 1 GB free limit and per-PC licences
Ranked #11 of 12 in Best Data Recovery Software in 2026.
Published pricingElsewhere
The vendor lists offices in Vancouver and Hong Kong and does not name a headquarters. The business Technician licence covers 299 machines at one price, which suits repair shops.
For one person the three-PC perpetual Ultimate licence is the sensible buy, since the monthly option costs more than half of it. Check which edition includes the bootable builder before paying.
What stands out
1 GB free recovery
Perpetual business tiers
WinPE bootable builder
Where it costs you
Monthly and annual licences renew automatically unless cancelled
The free edition stops at 1 GB, a lower cap than some rivals
Right for
Small offices that need a per-PC ladder up to a technician licence
Wrong for
Users who want a Mac or Linux build from the same product
Not stated by the vendorPublished monthly, yearly and perpetual licences; free edition limited to 1 GB
Windows undelete tool from Gen Digital with a free version
Ranked #12 of 12 in Best Data Recovery Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
Recuva sits at the shallow end of this market, which fits a lost folder on a Windows laptop or a camera card. Gen Digital, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona with a Prague office, owns it and sells it beside CCleaner bundles, so read the cart before paying.
Professional adds virtual hard drive support, automatic updates and priority support, and the page does not list a different scan.
What stands out
Free version
Windows only
Secure overwrite
Where it costs you
Windows only, with no Mac or Linux version listed
No RAID or NAS recovery is listed on the product page
Right for
Home users undeleting files from a PC or memory card
Wrong for
Anyone recovering from RAID arrays, NAS devices or Mac disks
United StatesFree version; Professional licence published at a low one-off price
Data recovery software reads storage media directly, rebuilds lost directory structure or carves files by signature, and copies the recovered data to a different drive without writing to the original. The differences that matter are rarely in the feature list, so this is
the order we would work through them.
01
Decide whether you need a published price
12 of the 12 tools here publish what they cost; the other 0 quote per organisation. The ones you can compare without a sales call: DMDE, ReclaiMe File Recovery, UFS Explorer Standard Recovery, TestDisk and PhotoRec, Klennet Recovery, GetDataBack Pro, R-Studio, Disk Drill, Stellar Data Recovery, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, MiniTool Power Data Recovery, Recuva.
02
Decide how much the jurisdiction matters
These 12 vendors are established in 9 countries across 4 regions (North America 4, Europe 3, Elsewhere 3, Asia-Pacific 2). That decides whose disclosure law applies to what the vendor holds, wherever the servers are.
03
Consider whether you want the source
1 of these are open source: TestDisk and PhotoRec. Hosting one yourself trades a subscription for maintenance.
Free scan, capped recovery or demo: what a trial actually proves
A trial is only useful if it lets you verify the exact files you need. DMDE recovers up to 4,000 files per folder for nothing, with unlimited repeats. Disk Drill scans and previews free, and its Windows page offers up to 100 MB of free recovery. MiniTool stops at 1 GB, Stellar Data Recovery gives 1 GB without registration and EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard gives 2 GB.
R-Studio lets the demo recover only files below 1,024 KB, and UFS Explorer limits its trial to files below 768 KB. Klennet Recovery shows results but saves nothing. A cap measured in files and one measured in megabytes test different things, so match the limit to the files that matter to you, since a recovered video that will not play is not a recovery at all.
Open one recovered file of each type you need during the trial.
Check whether the cap is per folder, per file or in total.
Note what the vendor says about refunds after activation.
Perpetual, yearly or monthly: the real price of one rescue
Most people buy recovery software once, so the licence shape matters more than the sticker. DMDE sells a one-year Express licence and a perpetual Standard one. GetDataBack Pro sells one price with free lifetime updates. ReclaiMe File Recovery sells a 7-day key as well as lifetime ones. Disk Drill offers lifetime or yearly, and the yearly plan renews automatically.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard sells monthly, yearly and lifetime keys with the monthly one priced at nearly half of lifetime. Klennet Recovery covers one year of versions and charges for updates after. Ask what happens at the end of the term and whether a new operating system, as with UFS Explorer, means a second licence.
Compare the one-off price with the lifetime price for your case.
Check whether the licence covers one computer, three, or more.
Find out whether updates stop after a year.
Windows host, RAID and NAS: which platform the tool runs on
The disk you recover from and the computer running the tool are separate questions. ReclaiMe File Recovery and GetDataBack Pro run only on Windows, even for Linux and Apple volumes. Recuva is Windows only too. DMDE and TestDisk and PhotoRec run on several systems, and R-Studio ships builds for Windows, macOS and Linux.
For arrays, R-Studio rebuilds RAID parameters, UFS Explorer has separate RAID and network RAID editions, and Klennet Recovery rebuilds ZFS pools. Stellar Data Recovery sells RAID work in its Technician edition. A NAS owner should check the filesystem list before buying, because ext4, XFS and Btrfs coverage differs between products, and a tool that runs on the wrong host forces you to move the disks.
List the filesystem on the failing disk before you shortlist.
Check whether the tool must run on a Windows host.
Ask which edition includes RAID or NAS support.
Support, refunds and who owns the product
Refund terms are narrow across this market. DMDE refuses refunds for activated licences, and ReclaiMe File Recovery refunds only a technical malfunction. Disk Drill makes PRO purchases non-refundable except where law requires. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard promises a 30-day money-back guarantee. Support also differs: GetDataBack Pro answers by email on weekdays, TestDisk and PhotoRec rely on a forum, and EaseUS includes remote assistance.
Ownership matters for continuity, since Recuva belongs to Gen Digital while DMDE, Klennet Recovery and TestDisk and PhotoRec are run by individuals. A single developer can disappear, and a corporate owner can reshape the product line. Read the refund and support terms before the scan, not after.
Read the refund policy before activating any licence.
Check support hours and channel in the vendor's time zone.
Find out who owns and maintains the product.
What goes wrong most often when buying data recovery software
Installing the recovery tool on the same drive that lost the files, which can overwrite exactly what you wanted back.
Buying a licence before testing recovery of the specific files, then finding that a refund is refused after activation.
Choosing the cheapest edition and discovering that lost partitions, RAID or non-bootable systems sit in a higher tier.
Treating a monthly or yearly key as a purchase and being billed again when it renews automatically.
07
Frequently asked questions
7 answers
What is the best data recovery software in 2026?
DMDE leads our ranking of 12. DMDE lets you scan and recover up to 4,000 files per chosen folder for nothing, as often as you like, so you can open the recovered files before paying.
Paid editions split into a one-year Express licence and perpetual Standard and Professional ones. The catch is the layout: the tool began as a disk editor for professionals, and a refund is refused once a licence is activated.
Which data recovery tools publish their pricing?
12 of the 12, with the pricing model each one publishes:
DMDE: Free edition with a file cap; paid editions published, from a one-year licence to a perpetual one.
ReclaiMe File Recovery: Published prices; lifetime and 7-day licences, evaluation version with preview.
UFS Explorer Standard Recovery: Published perpetual licences per operating system; trial with no time limit.
TestDisk and PhotoRec: Free of charge under the GNU General Public License.
Klennet Recovery: Published per-version licences; updates for one year; evaluation version that does not save files.
GetDataBack Pro: Published single price with free lifetime updates; free to try.
R-Studio: Published permanent licences by edition; demo limited by file size.
Disk Drill: Published lifetime or yearly licences covering three devices; free edition scans and previews.
Stellar Data Recovery: Published tiers from Standard to Technician; free download recovers a limited amount.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard: Published monthly, yearly and lifetime licences; free edition recovers up to 2 GB.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery: Published monthly, yearly and perpetual licences; free edition limited to 1 GB.
Recuva: Free version; Professional licence published at a low one-off price.
The other 0 quote per organisation.
Is there a free data recovery tool?
DMDE, TestDisk and PhotoRec, Recuva offer a free tier or a free self-hosted edition.
Where are these data recovery software vendors established?
In 9 countries across 4 regions: North America 4, Europe 3, Elsewhere 3, Asia-Pacific 2.
DMDE: Spain.
ReclaiMe File Recovery: Not stated by the vendor.
UFS Explorer Standard Recovery: Ukraine.
TestDisk and PhotoRec: France.
Klennet Recovery: Russia.
GetDataBack Pro: United States.
R-Studio: Canada.
Disk Drill: United States.
Stellar Data Recovery: India.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard: China.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery: Not stated by the vendor.
Recuva: United States.
Which data recovery tools are open source?
TestDisk and PhotoRec.
What should you use instead of DMDE?
ReclaiMe File Recovery and UFS Explorer Standard Recovery are the next two on this page.
ReclaiMe File Recovery is for Windows or NAS owners wanting a simple tool and a one-off lifetime licence; UFS Explorer Standard Recovery is for IT staff handling NAS, RAID or virtual disks alongside ordinary drives.
Who should not buy DMDE?
Buyers who want a guided wizard with no technical vocabulary. Refunds are refused for activated licences, including when the recovery turns out incomplete.
If your data recovery software product belongs among these 12, tell us what it does and who it is for. Inclusion is an editorial call; what a listing is and is not is set out under software advice.
