The Best Data Recovery Software for 2022: The Highest-Rated Solutions on the Market
Individuals and businesses can find themselves in the unfortunate situation of needing data recovery software for restoring data that is stored on hard drives regardless of the operating system (macOS, Windows). Software recovery data can be a real challenge, especially if the data is critical to saving a deal and your window of time is closing.
To help you out, we’ve compiled an overview of the best data recovery software solutions on the market that resolve data recovery challenges, and in particular, PDF document repair.
Table of contents
Top 5 data recovery software tools
1. Disk Drill
Disk Drill Data Recovery is one of the best data recovery software solutions available for both operating systems — macOS and Windows. This tool can recover deleted files from your PC, laptop, iOS, or Android device even if it is failing, unreadable, or a partition has been lost. Unlike other data recovery tools, Disk Drill also offers its users video recovery capabilities by enabling them to recover RAW video & photo formats.
Disk Drill allows you to recover various types of data, including deleted photos, videos, music, documents, SD cards, and more.
There are three payment plans available:
- Free. You can recover up to 500MB of data and prevent data loss with Recovery Vault. This plan supports all storage types and file systems.
- Pro. You have unlimited data recovery and can use all recovery methods — Quick & Deep Scan, Rebuild HFS+, and more. This plan costs $89 with lifetime upgrades for $29. It is only available for one user that can do up to three simultaneous activations.
- Enterprise. With the enterprise plan, you can have up to 10 users with unlimited activations. You also get several bonuses like priority technical support and forensic data exports. This plan costs $499 with lifetime upgrades for $99.
Disk Drill offers a bunch of useful features:
- Data loss prevention with two different functions — Recovery Value (adds a layer to the Recycle Bin and keeps a backup reference for all deleted files) and Guaranteed Recovery (keeps a copy of each file moved to a previously selected folder).
- Opportunity to create image files in various formats like ISO, IMG, or DMG. As a result, users can conduct data searches in a clone without taking any risk with the original file.
Disk Drill is a data recovery software that non-technical users can utilize since it’s comprehensive and easy to use.
2. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is another data recovery software with a user-friendly interface. It comes in the form of a three-step file recovery process:
- Step 1. Select a location to start. Find the location where your data was lost and start searching.
- Step 2. Scan your computer or device. Scan to retrieve your data. You can pause your recovery temporarily and resume it later. It’s possible to use filters to locate files faster.
- Step 3. Preview and recover lost files. Filter what you want to recover from the scanning results. Preview specific recoverable files before recovery.
This data recovery software solution offers three payment options — monthly ($89.95), annual ($119.95), and lifetime upgrades ($169.95).
This solution is free for recovering up to 500MB of data (for the time being). The EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard supports a number of file formats, including document, video, photo, music, and so on. The tool is available for macOS and Windows. You can also recover data from the following storage devices — MacBook, iMac, PC, hard drive, memory card, USB drive, camera, SD card, video player, and more.
The EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard offers features such as:
- Scan mode combines quick and deep scanning into the straightforward process to help load files faster.
- File filter to help you quickly locate lost data from long lists of scanned results. Enter keywords, sort the exact files you hope to recover and save them to a safe place.
- File preview to look through the recoverable files, including photos, videos, and documents, to ensure the files that are identified are what you intended to recover.
- Data protection to safeguard essential files. Once protected files are deleted, you can find and restore all of them directly.
3. TestDisk
TestDisk is a free data recovery software you can use to recover lost partitions and/or make non-booting disks bootable again.
With TestDisk, you can:
- Fix partition table, recover deleted partition
- Recover a FAT32 boot sector from its backup
- Rebuild a FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 boot sector
- Fix FAT tables
- Rebuild NTFS boot sector
- Recover NTFS boot sector from its backup
- Fix MFT using MFT mirror
- Locate ext2/ext3/ext4 Backup SuperBlock
- Undelete files from FAT, exFAT, NTFS, and ext2 filesystem
- Copy files from deleted FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ext2/ext3/ext4 partitions.
This data recovery software is available for three operating systems — Windows, Linux, and macOS. It also supports a number of file systems such as Compressed File System and Linux GFS2.
On the other hand, this tool isn’t appropriate for the needs of average users. The functionality of this software can cause additional damage to potentially recoverable data when used by individuals with insufficient training.
4. Minitool Power Data Recovery
Minitool Power Data Recovery is a comprehensive data recovery software solution that supports over 100 different file types, including photos, video, audio, documents, and more. This tool deep scans hard drives, memory cards, SSDs, and more. Unfortunately, it’s only available for Windows-based devices and can recover data lost by human errors and system crashes.
This data recovery solution offers several payment plans:
- Free. You can use the free version with a 1GB data recovery limit. The functionality is also limited. For example, using the free version, you can’t load previous scan results or load .rss results manually.
- Personal. It’s a monthly subscription for $69 with an unlimited data recovery limit, but for only one PC. This plan provides access to every feature, including the file previewer, the ability to recover files when a system crashes, and more.
- Personal. This subscription plan is similar to the previous one since it offers the same functions, but it’s an annual subscription for $89.
- Personal ultimate. You can get a lifetime subscription for $129. With this plan, you can have 3 PCs and lifetime free upgrades.
5. pdfFiller
pdfFiller is an online editor, so you don’t need to worry about recovering your important files. All your files are stored in the cloud so that you can access them from any device and operating system.
With pdfFiller, you can forget about PDF recovery. With a few clicks, you can solve all your PDF problems.
pdfFiller features desktop applications for macOS and Windows. You can also download apps for your mobile devices that run iOS and Android. You just need to install the desktop app and start editing, signing, and storing documents securely in the cloud.
pdfFiller offers various payment plans:
- Basic. You have many opportunities to fill, edit, and store documents for $8 per month. You can convert PDFs to various formats and access documents from anywhere. This plan is only available for one user.
- Premium. This plan allows you to invite four more users to work in pdfFiller. A Premium account only costs $15 per month, and you get various features like the ability to create reusable templates and instant customer chat support.
- airSlate Business Cloud. You can get access to several tools — pdfFiller (powerful PDF editor), airSlate (document workflow automation), signNow (enterprise-grade eSignature), and US Legal Forms (an online library of state-specific legal forms and documents).
With cloud-based solutions, you can forget about data recovery. Such software allows you to access your files from various devices no matter your location. All you need is an internet connection.
How to choose the best data recovery software
Before pulling the trigger on a data recovery software, you need to carefully analyze your business needs and requirements. If you primarily work with documents and worry about accidental deletion or system crashes, it’s better to choose a cloud-based solution like pdfFiller. If you need to recover video or audio files, then pay attention to solutions like Disk Drill.
When selecting a software solution, you need to consider the following criteria:
- Supported file system and formats. Some apps can only recover data from certain file systems and file formats, so you need to consider supported file systems (USB flash drives and memory cards) and available file formats (documents, video, audio, and more).
- Operating system supported. If you need a desktop application, you need to consider your OS. Fortunately, almost every OS features solutions for macOS and Windows.
- Features. Let’s face it — you’ll need to pay for most data recovery software solutions. So, the tool you choose needs to have all the required features. It’s better to look through all the available features before purchasing an application.
- Security. Last but not least is security. The last thing you need is to install an infected tool or solution that can’t recover files securely. It’s better to stick to popular solutions on the market with a bunch of positive reviews and satisfied customers.
We did this research to help you get through the complicated process of finding the best data recovery software. Simply choose a few solutions and browse their website or contact sales to determine if they meet your needs and requirements.
