Photo Recovery Software Mac is easy to run and even you don't need any prior technical training to operate this tool. Photo Recovery Software Mac uses capable disk scanning mechanism to search and recover all deleted files from memory card storage media. For better knowing the features and functionalities of this proficient tool just download. Once you download the app on Mac, launch Recoverit. You can either choose your digital camera or memory card storage. After selecting the storage location, click on 'Start' to begin the process.
Apr 30,2020 • Filed to: Photo Recovery • Proven solutions
It can be very irritating to lose a photograph, whether through sheer accident or a moment of intense passion. Only after it's all been said and done do we realize that we've lost a precious piece of memory that cannot be replaced. There is good news though: whatever photos have been deleted can actually be retrieved, and all it requires is a little of your time for photo recovery on Mac and Windows and patience.
Part 1. Top 10 Photo Recovery for Mac
Apple is known for ensuring the delivery of topnotch products to its customers, so when it comes to data recovery, it doesn't fail to impress. Here is a list of the top ten Mac data recovery software to recover deleted photos, or other files.
With four modes, Recoverit (IS) for Mac provides a safe and reliable platform to recover not only lost photos but also videos, emails, documents, etc. You can recover that treasured picture from your USB stick, memory card and other devices. Its user-friendly interface will accommodate the most amateur of computer-users.
Step-By-Step Guide to Complete Photo Recovery on Mac
Step 1 Download and install Recoverit (IS) software. Run the software. You will be greeted with the following window.
Step 2 Choose the drive you've lost the files on, then click 'Scan'. This will begin the process of scanning the drive for lost files. If your drive is not listed, click on 'Refresh Drives'. Your drive should come up.
Step 3 Once scanning is completed, you'll be greeted with a list of all the files that Recoverit has managed to pull up. Preview the files here and select the ones you wish to recover. Do this by clicking on the file(s), then clicking on 'Recover' at the top.
Recoverit Photo Recovery is easy to use and comes with a Deep Scan option as well. You can scan files by type, and can even save scan progress if the scanning is taking too long – you can resume scanning any other time. Recoverable files are shown with their respective 'health'. Raw Data Recovery can scan files by their signatures and Partition Recovery can help resurrect and entire partition. However, Recoverit Photo Recovery restricts the copying of protected files. Also, if you choose to use the Raw Data Recovery mode, the original file names and folders will be lost.
The Basic version of Disk Drill is free and the Pro version is paid. This software can scan all sorts of devices, from iPads and iPods to Kindle readers. The interface may be a little tricky, but the attached tutorials should be a huge help. It doesn't aid much in video or music recovery, but has a 99 percent success rate at recovering lost files and formatted disks.
Price: $89.00
Winner of the Gold Award on Top Ten Reviews, Data Rescue assists in recovering videos and pictures from a Mac hard disk. It is fully featured and works just as well on external drives and storage devices as it does on your computer. It is able to recover almost any file type and is noted for striking a balance between efficiency and effectiveness. The Clone feature backs your drive up prior to scanning and recovering in case any problems are encountered. Without paying, you can't access the unlimited data recovery feature, and the interface isn't as user-friendly as, say, that of Recoverit.
Price: $99.00
This software can recover deleted files via their original file names, recover lost and deleted HFS, HFS+, FAT, ExFAT and NTFS volumes, plus files from corrupted hard drives. You can pause and resume scan progress, and akin to Recoverit, it is incredibly user friendly. There is also a full hard disk scan option in case the initial scan overlooked some files. It is possible for you to be fazed by the various supported file types, but there should be no questions the help option cannot answer. Beware though; the software may put a bit of a dent in your pocket.
Price: $99.00
One of the cheapest recovery software out there, Cisdem is an excellent choice for SD data recovery. It can handle 200 plus file formats so don't hesitate to use it when you're looking for virtually any file type. It is quite easy to use – it takes just three simple steps to retrieve that missing data! It has very high HDD and SSD scan speeds, outperforming its peers. However, it is recommended to use Cisdem for light scans and recoveries. Its success rate is not appreciable.
Price: $49.99
This is an incredibly powerful tool that can recover lost or corrupted partitions and even allows making non-bootable disks bootable again. You can rebuild the NTFS boot sector, fix or recover a partition, undelete files, and copy files from erased partitions. If your Mac was exposed to crashing issues, viruses or human errors, Test Disk is the best option. Amateurs beware: this software is for the more hardcore computer users out there.
Price: Free
When it comes to recovering photographs, this 99 percent success rate software should be given significant weightage. It is amazingly easy to use with a preview of all the files that can be recovered. It should be noted that although it recovers photos excellently, its performance is lacking in retrieving videos and music files. It also can't retain original file names, and is a bit pricey.
Price: $99.00
Again, if you're looking to recover photographs, this software should be one of your priorities. It manages to outperform fellow data recovery software in photo recovery, but falls behind in getting back lost documents or other file types. Therefore, if your focus is only photographs, go for Apple XSoft.
Price: $99.95
The recovery success rate is quite high with R Studio. With high scan speeds and quick customer feedback, its interface may daunt a few users. This means you may have to go through quite a few user guides before deciding to use this software. Otherwise, it is reliable and will get the job done.
Price: $79.99
With a 1 GB limit for free usage, or $79 for no-barred retrieval, MiniTool is not one of the cheapest products on the market. It does have super-fast scan speeds though. It has a few snags, such as not being very efficient in recovering videos and music. Use this for documents and photographs. The interface is very user friendly as well.
Price: $79.00
Part 2. Comparison of These 10 Photo Recovery for Mac
| Software | Price | Pros | Cons |
| Recoverit (IS) for Mac | $79.95 | - Easy interface - 4 Photo Recovery Modes - Preview option - Deep and Quick scans | None |
| Disk Drill Pro | $89.00 | - Scan all sorts of devices - Expert at lost files and formatted drives | - Complicated interface - Not efficient in music or video recovery |
| Data Rescue 4 | $99.00 | - Efficient in recovering almost any file type - Clone option backs drives up | - Not very user friendly - Payment needed to access full features |
| Stellar Phoenix | $99.00 | - Can recover files via their original file names - Recover lost and corrupted files, partitions and drives - User friendly | - The many file options may confuse the average user |
| Cisdem Data Recovery | $49.99 | - Can support 200 plus file formats - Cheap - Highest HDD and SSD scan speeds - Quick to use | - Low success rate |
| Test Disk | Free | - Free of cost - Very powerful - Can work on boot sectors as well | - For expert users only |
| Mac Data Recovery Guru | $99.00 | - Efficient at recovering photographs | - Can't retain original file names - Inefficient |
| Apple XSoft File Recovery | $99.95 | - Efficient at recovering photographs | - Inefficient at recovering lost documents or files other than photos |
| R Studio | $79.99 | - High scan speeds - Quick customer feedback - Highly reliable | - Not user friendly |
| MiniTool Power Data Recovery | $79.00 | - User friendly - Fast scan speeds - Efficient at recovering documents and photographs | - Inefficient at recovering videos and music |
Part 3. Top 10 Photo Recovery for Windows
We've all been in a situation where we did something that was completely unintentional, or was done with the best of intentions only to be regretted later. This includes deleting files and documents that would have played a major role in your life someday. It doesn't matter if it was the most embarrassing photograph ever; only when it is gone do we realize the true value of that lost file. If you're a Windows user, data loss should not be a big deal. There is plenty of software out there that can effectively recover data that has been lost because of corrupted drives or viruses, or accidental deletion.
Did you accidentally click on ‘Delete' when you meant to just rename the file? Have you misplaced important work documents that may mean a dock in your pay now? Or perhaps you were caught in a moment of extreme embarrassment and decided to erase a picture that was actually a cornucopia of memories? Don't worry about it, Recoverit (IS) for Windows shall solve the issue in a jiffy. It is a simple, quick and powerful solution to one of life's most frustrating problems. With four modes, it offers a friendly user-interface that beginners can use comfortably. You can also preview files before recovering them, as well as pausing and resuming the scan for missing files at ease.
Step-By-Step Guide to Complete Photo Recovery on Windows Computer
Step 1 Download Recoverit (IS) for Mac and install it on your PC. Run Recoverit. The following window will appear. Click on the file types you want to recover. A window should come up displaying the drives on your computer.
Step 2 Choose whichever drive you lost your file from and click 'Start'.
Step 3 When Recoverit Photo Recovery for Windows has scanned the drive, a list of all the files will be displayed. They will be categorized according to file type and path. You can preview these files before selecting which ones to recover. Once chosen, click on 'Recover'. Choose a path other than the drive on which you lost the file (preferably).
You can also opt for a Deep Scan. You can save scan results and statuses show whether the file is healthy enough to be retrieved. Other modes include Wizard Recovery Mode, Lost File Recovery, Partition Recovery, Raw File Recovery and Resume Recovery.
Kroll's Ontrack software is especially designed to recover Microsoft Office files. It is a quick and easy tool that is easily one of the best data recovery software out there. It has the best SSD and HDD scan speeds. It recovers a high percentage of photos, documents, videos and music files, and managed to retrieve almost all data from reformatted drives. It doesn't support Windows 10 though and may fail to identify some file formats.
Price: $79.00
Supporting over 550 file formats, Wondershare is user-friendly and fast. It has a great recovery percentage and offers deep scanning. You can also recover data from other drivers and devices, and there is the preview option of course. To narrow down the choices, you can scan by file type.
Price: $39.95
The files that are scanned and shown here are shown in a folder structure that is unique to Windows Explorer, which is great news for frequent Windows users. Files may be recovered internally and externally. The install is quick and clean and you can recover many files simultaneously. It also comes with a portable version. However, files might not remain in their initial folder structure.
Price: Free
Finding data recovery software is easy enough, but what about software that can recover data to get an unbootable PC up and running again? There is no need to install Paragon, you just execute it. You are presented with various recovery options, and in case you've misplaced your password, the Password Cleaner shall reset it. You can also back up your system or restore it via a virtual disk. Beware: this is for advanced users.
Price: Free
Seagate has been made especially for recovering files from a Windows disk or a USB memory stick. It has two modes: file search mode (analyses tables in discovered partitions), and disk scan mode (scans whole or part of a disk). It is an above average software that performs well, especially when it comes to lost files from HDD and SSD. It also holds an edge in recovering data from micro SD cards. Despite this, you can't connect to or recover files from other computers on the network.
Price: $99.00
This is a do-it-yourself software that caters to Windows users especially. You can recover data from hard drives, USB drives, etc. It is a wizard-based process that is able to retrieve data from drives of sizes up to 3 terabytes. Recovery rates are strong; however, it is not good with complex data recovery tasks. Filters allow you to track files by their types.
Price: $49.00
Like the mythical creature it is named after, the Stellar Phoenix software brings your files back to life from their ashes. It is incredibly powerful with one of the best preview facilities out there. The advanced features may be daunting for less-than-advanced users. The interface is even said to be baffling for some, causing interface glitches. It also lags behind in some features that are present in fellow recovery software. It also takes long to scan drives.
Price: $99.00
Created by Piriform, this software is highly agreeable when it comes to interface. If there is still something you don't understand, the built-in wizard can help you out. Just answer the questions posed by the wizard and get your hands on that precious data in a bit. You can recover all sorts of files, from photos to videos, and documents to emails. It is best for scanning cameras, MP3 players and flash drives. It does take a long time to scan and retrieve files though.
Price: Free
Though highly advanced, GetDataBack should be given credit for trying to make its interface more user friendly. It provides options like ‘I don't know, use default settings'. It is a very thorough software which explains the steep price. It has a good success rate and restore files with the directory structure. The deep scan option allows you to recover other lost partitions or files that may have been overlooked initially. Users may be disappointed by the messy look of the interface.
Price: $79.00
Part 4. Comparison of These 10 Photo Recovery for Windows
| Software | Price | Pros | Cons |
| Recoverit (IS) for Windows | $29.95 | - Easy to use interface - Five modes - Preview option - Can pause and resume scan | None |
| Ontrack Easy Recovery | $79.00 | - Quick and easy - Best SSD and HDD scan speeds | - Doesn't support Windows 10 - May not be able to recognise certain file formats |
| Wondershare Data Recovery | $49.95 | - Supports over 550 file formats - Quick and user-friendly - Preview option | - Doesn't support photo recovery as well |
| Wise Data Recovery | Free | - Especially for Windows users - Internal and external file recovery - Recover multiple files simultaneously - Clean install | - Files may not remain in initial folder structure. |
| Paragon Rescue Kit | Free | - Works on a PC that cannot be booted - Can back up and restore from a virtual drive - Various recovery options | - For advanced users only |
| Seagate File Recovery | $99.00 | - Free of cost - Has an edge in recovering data from micro SD cards - Above average software with high success rate | - Can't recover or connect to other computers on the network |
| BitRecover | $49.00 | - Caters especially to Windows users - Has a wizard recovery tool - Good recovery rates - Filter options | - Does not work well with complex recovery tasks |
| Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery | $99.00 | - Extremely powerful - One of the best preview features available | - Takes relatively longer time to scan drives - Complex interface may baffle some beginner users |
| Recuva | Free | - Very user-friendly - Great interface - Very efficient in recovering data from MP3 players, cameras and USB drives | - Takes long to scan and retrieve files |
| GetDataBack | $79.00 | - Very thorough - Great success rate - Restores files with their original folder structures - Deep scan option allows you to recover files that may have been initially overlooked | - Requires a more advanced user - Messy looking interface may baffle some users |
Nov 18, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
It is possible to recover permanently deleted files from Mac for free. This post offers reviews on the top 10 Free Mac Data Recovery software. Read on and pick up the most suitable one for you to rescue Mac data without paying anything. It is the best way to recover deleted files from Mac.
Top 10 Free Data Recovery Software for Mac
1. Recoverit Mac Data Recovery
When it comes to the free data recovery software for Mac, Recoverit Mac Data Recovery is reckoned to be the best one. With a 96% recovery rate, it enables you to recover lost or deleted data on Mac without any effort and knowledge. It is a 100% safe and reliable free Mac file recovery program to help you retrieve any data from Mac hard drive or any external device on Mac.
Features:
Apple File System (APFS) is now the default file system for the latest macOS, coming with safer data storage, faster write-and-read speed, and larger space available. However, the encryption feature makes data recovery more difficult and even impossible on iMac and MacBook. Recoverit is the software for you to recover lost data from APFS-based Mac. Even more, it supports the Mac data recovery from other different file systems, like HFS, HFS+, FAT/exFAT, and NTFS.
Besides, it supports to recover data from various devices in different situations, such as accidental deletion, power failure, computer shutdown, damaged and corrupted hard disk drive, formatted hard drive, virus attack, lost partition or other data loss scenarios.
On top of that, the best free data recovery tool for Mac is capable of recovering data from a variety of data storage devices, for example, Mac hard drive, external hard disk, USB flash drive, SD card, media players, digital cameras, Drone cameras, camcorders, Android phone, etc. That's why you can be reassured no matter where you lost your Mac data.
Overall Reviews: ★★★★ (5-star rating)
Advantages: all-around scan and deep scan; thumbnails and preview of lost files; recover 1000+ formats of files for free in all situations; intuitive interface.
Improvement: RAID hard drive recovery is not supported; recover 100 MB Mac files for free.
2. Ontrack EasyRecovery Home for Mac
Ontrack EasyRecovery is a user-friendly program for you to perform Mac file recovery precisely under different data loss scenarios, especially for accidentally deleted files. The free Mac file recovery version, with a 1 GB limit, supports you recovering lost data from Mac-based device or recovering deleted backup files from Apple Time Machine for free.
Features:
You can use the free version of this Mac data recovery tool to recover hundreds of file types on different macOS like macOS 10.15, 10.14, 10.13, 10.12, 10.11, and legacy OS. The quick scan and deep scan options search through the storage device more effectively, including internal hard disk, removable media, and RAID hard drive.
Moreover, the free Mac data recovery software claims that it can recover lost data from a hard drive that is encrypted or password protected. After the test, we find that it does sometimes. Like Recoverit Mac Data Recovery, EasyRecovery for Mac also provides the preview function of recoverable files and recovers files with the original file names.
Overall Reviews: ★★★★ (5-star rating)
Advantages: hundreds of supported files, data preview function, a full version of the software available for use in the trial version.
Improvement: low success rate, time-consuming recovery process.
3. Mac Free Any Data Recovery
Mac Free Any Data Recovery can help you reclaim a variety of files from the depths of damaged drives. It is one of the first free data recovery software that provides free trials for users - this data recovery solution is one of the few that allows users to experience the full version of the software for free. This Mac data recovery software is easy to use and kept simple with two scanning modes: quick and deep.
Features:
The common files can be recovered with the free data recovery software for Mac, including photos, videos, music, emails, PDF documents, Office documents, RAR/ZIP files, game files, system data, and so on. It supports the Mac data recovery on Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) or later. So if you want to recover your lost data from Mac OS X 10.8, it is not the option for you.
Overall Reviews: ★★★★ (5-star rating)
Part 2. Comparison of These 10 Photo Recovery for Mac
| Software | Price | Pros | Cons |
| Recoverit (IS) for Mac | $79.95 | - Easy interface - 4 Photo Recovery Modes - Preview option - Deep and Quick scans | None |
| Disk Drill Pro | $89.00 | - Scan all sorts of devices - Expert at lost files and formatted drives | - Complicated interface - Not efficient in music or video recovery |
| Data Rescue 4 | $99.00 | - Efficient in recovering almost any file type - Clone option backs drives up | - Not very user friendly - Payment needed to access full features |
| Stellar Phoenix | $99.00 | - Can recover files via their original file names - Recover lost and corrupted files, partitions and drives - User friendly | - The many file options may confuse the average user |
| Cisdem Data Recovery | $49.99 | - Can support 200 plus file formats - Cheap - Highest HDD and SSD scan speeds - Quick to use | - Low success rate |
| Test Disk | Free | - Free of cost - Very powerful - Can work on boot sectors as well | - For expert users only |
| Mac Data Recovery Guru | $99.00 | - Efficient at recovering photographs | - Can't retain original file names - Inefficient |
| Apple XSoft File Recovery | $99.95 | - Efficient at recovering photographs | - Inefficient at recovering lost documents or files other than photos |
| R Studio | $79.99 | - High scan speeds - Quick customer feedback - Highly reliable | - Not user friendly |
| MiniTool Power Data Recovery | $79.00 | - User friendly - Fast scan speeds - Efficient at recovering documents and photographs | - Inefficient at recovering videos and music |
Part 3. Top 10 Photo Recovery for Windows
We've all been in a situation where we did something that was completely unintentional, or was done with the best of intentions only to be regretted later. This includes deleting files and documents that would have played a major role in your life someday. It doesn't matter if it was the most embarrassing photograph ever; only when it is gone do we realize the true value of that lost file. If you're a Windows user, data loss should not be a big deal. There is plenty of software out there that can effectively recover data that has been lost because of corrupted drives or viruses, or accidental deletion.
Did you accidentally click on ‘Delete' when you meant to just rename the file? Have you misplaced important work documents that may mean a dock in your pay now? Or perhaps you were caught in a moment of extreme embarrassment and decided to erase a picture that was actually a cornucopia of memories? Don't worry about it, Recoverit (IS) for Windows shall solve the issue in a jiffy. It is a simple, quick and powerful solution to one of life's most frustrating problems. With four modes, it offers a friendly user-interface that beginners can use comfortably. You can also preview files before recovering them, as well as pausing and resuming the scan for missing files at ease.
Step-By-Step Guide to Complete Photo Recovery on Windows Computer
Step 1 Download Recoverit (IS) for Mac and install it on your PC. Run Recoverit. The following window will appear. Click on the file types you want to recover. A window should come up displaying the drives on your computer.
Step 2 Choose whichever drive you lost your file from and click 'Start'.
Step 3 When Recoverit Photo Recovery for Windows has scanned the drive, a list of all the files will be displayed. They will be categorized according to file type and path. You can preview these files before selecting which ones to recover. Once chosen, click on 'Recover'. Choose a path other than the drive on which you lost the file (preferably).
You can also opt for a Deep Scan. You can save scan results and statuses show whether the file is healthy enough to be retrieved. Other modes include Wizard Recovery Mode, Lost File Recovery, Partition Recovery, Raw File Recovery and Resume Recovery.
Kroll's Ontrack software is especially designed to recover Microsoft Office files. It is a quick and easy tool that is easily one of the best data recovery software out there. It has the best SSD and HDD scan speeds. It recovers a high percentage of photos, documents, videos and music files, and managed to retrieve almost all data from reformatted drives. It doesn't support Windows 10 though and may fail to identify some file formats.
Price: $79.00
Supporting over 550 file formats, Wondershare is user-friendly and fast. It has a great recovery percentage and offers deep scanning. You can also recover data from other drivers and devices, and there is the preview option of course. To narrow down the choices, you can scan by file type.
Price: $39.95
The files that are scanned and shown here are shown in a folder structure that is unique to Windows Explorer, which is great news for frequent Windows users. Files may be recovered internally and externally. The install is quick and clean and you can recover many files simultaneously. It also comes with a portable version. However, files might not remain in their initial folder structure.
Price: Free
Finding data recovery software is easy enough, but what about software that can recover data to get an unbootable PC up and running again? There is no need to install Paragon, you just execute it. You are presented with various recovery options, and in case you've misplaced your password, the Password Cleaner shall reset it. You can also back up your system or restore it via a virtual disk. Beware: this is for advanced users.
Price: Free
Seagate has been made especially for recovering files from a Windows disk or a USB memory stick. It has two modes: file search mode (analyses tables in discovered partitions), and disk scan mode (scans whole or part of a disk). It is an above average software that performs well, especially when it comes to lost files from HDD and SSD. It also holds an edge in recovering data from micro SD cards. Despite this, you can't connect to or recover files from other computers on the network.
Price: $99.00
This is a do-it-yourself software that caters to Windows users especially. You can recover data from hard drives, USB drives, etc. It is a wizard-based process that is able to retrieve data from drives of sizes up to 3 terabytes. Recovery rates are strong; however, it is not good with complex data recovery tasks. Filters allow you to track files by their types.
Price: $49.00
Like the mythical creature it is named after, the Stellar Phoenix software brings your files back to life from their ashes. It is incredibly powerful with one of the best preview facilities out there. The advanced features may be daunting for less-than-advanced users. The interface is even said to be baffling for some, causing interface glitches. It also lags behind in some features that are present in fellow recovery software. It also takes long to scan drives.
Price: $99.00
Created by Piriform, this software is highly agreeable when it comes to interface. If there is still something you don't understand, the built-in wizard can help you out. Just answer the questions posed by the wizard and get your hands on that precious data in a bit. You can recover all sorts of files, from photos to videos, and documents to emails. It is best for scanning cameras, MP3 players and flash drives. It does take a long time to scan and retrieve files though.
Price: Free
Though highly advanced, GetDataBack should be given credit for trying to make its interface more user friendly. It provides options like ‘I don't know, use default settings'. It is a very thorough software which explains the steep price. It has a good success rate and restore files with the directory structure. The deep scan option allows you to recover other lost partitions or files that may have been overlooked initially. Users may be disappointed by the messy look of the interface.
Price: $79.00
Part 4. Comparison of These 10 Photo Recovery for Windows
| Software | Price | Pros | Cons |
| Recoverit (IS) for Windows | $29.95 | - Easy to use interface - Five modes - Preview option - Can pause and resume scan | None |
| Ontrack Easy Recovery | $79.00 | - Quick and easy - Best SSD and HDD scan speeds | - Doesn't support Windows 10 - May not be able to recognise certain file formats |
| Wondershare Data Recovery | $49.95 | - Supports over 550 file formats - Quick and user-friendly - Preview option | - Doesn't support photo recovery as well |
| Wise Data Recovery | Free | - Especially for Windows users - Internal and external file recovery - Recover multiple files simultaneously - Clean install | - Files may not remain in initial folder structure. |
| Paragon Rescue Kit | Free | - Works on a PC that cannot be booted - Can back up and restore from a virtual drive - Various recovery options | - For advanced users only |
| Seagate File Recovery | $99.00 | - Free of cost - Has an edge in recovering data from micro SD cards - Above average software with high success rate | - Can't recover or connect to other computers on the network |
| BitRecover | $49.00 | - Caters especially to Windows users - Has a wizard recovery tool - Good recovery rates - Filter options | - Does not work well with complex recovery tasks |
| Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery | $99.00 | - Extremely powerful - One of the best preview features available | - Takes relatively longer time to scan drives - Complex interface may baffle some beginner users |
| Recuva | Free | - Very user-friendly - Great interface - Very efficient in recovering data from MP3 players, cameras and USB drives | - Takes long to scan and retrieve files |
| GetDataBack | $79.00 | - Very thorough - Great success rate - Restores files with their original folder structures - Deep scan option allows you to recover files that may have been initially overlooked | - Requires a more advanced user - Messy looking interface may baffle some users |
Nov 18, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
It is possible to recover permanently deleted files from Mac for free. This post offers reviews on the top 10 Free Mac Data Recovery software. Read on and pick up the most suitable one for you to rescue Mac data without paying anything. It is the best way to recover deleted files from Mac.
Top 10 Free Data Recovery Software for Mac
1. Recoverit Mac Data Recovery
When it comes to the free data recovery software for Mac, Recoverit Mac Data Recovery is reckoned to be the best one. With a 96% recovery rate, it enables you to recover lost or deleted data on Mac without any effort and knowledge. It is a 100% safe and reliable free Mac file recovery program to help you retrieve any data from Mac hard drive or any external device on Mac.
Features:
Apple File System (APFS) is now the default file system for the latest macOS, coming with safer data storage, faster write-and-read speed, and larger space available. However, the encryption feature makes data recovery more difficult and even impossible on iMac and MacBook. Recoverit is the software for you to recover lost data from APFS-based Mac. Even more, it supports the Mac data recovery from other different file systems, like HFS, HFS+, FAT/exFAT, and NTFS.
Besides, it supports to recover data from various devices in different situations, such as accidental deletion, power failure, computer shutdown, damaged and corrupted hard disk drive, formatted hard drive, virus attack, lost partition or other data loss scenarios.
On top of that, the best free data recovery tool for Mac is capable of recovering data from a variety of data storage devices, for example, Mac hard drive, external hard disk, USB flash drive, SD card, media players, digital cameras, Drone cameras, camcorders, Android phone, etc. That's why you can be reassured no matter where you lost your Mac data.
Overall Reviews: ★★★★ (5-star rating)
Advantages: all-around scan and deep scan; thumbnails and preview of lost files; recover 1000+ formats of files for free in all situations; intuitive interface.
Improvement: RAID hard drive recovery is not supported; recover 100 MB Mac files for free.
2. Ontrack EasyRecovery Home for Mac
Ontrack EasyRecovery is a user-friendly program for you to perform Mac file recovery precisely under different data loss scenarios, especially for accidentally deleted files. The free Mac file recovery version, with a 1 GB limit, supports you recovering lost data from Mac-based device or recovering deleted backup files from Apple Time Machine for free.
Features:
You can use the free version of this Mac data recovery tool to recover hundreds of file types on different macOS like macOS 10.15, 10.14, 10.13, 10.12, 10.11, and legacy OS. The quick scan and deep scan options search through the storage device more effectively, including internal hard disk, removable media, and RAID hard drive.
Moreover, the free Mac data recovery software claims that it can recover lost data from a hard drive that is encrypted or password protected. After the test, we find that it does sometimes. Like Recoverit Mac Data Recovery, EasyRecovery for Mac also provides the preview function of recoverable files and recovers files with the original file names.
Overall Reviews: ★★★★ (5-star rating)
Advantages: hundreds of supported files, data preview function, a full version of the software available for use in the trial version.
Improvement: low success rate, time-consuming recovery process.
3. Mac Free Any Data Recovery
Mac Free Any Data Recovery can help you reclaim a variety of files from the depths of damaged drives. It is one of the first free data recovery software that provides free trials for users - this data recovery solution is one of the few that allows users to experience the full version of the software for free. This Mac data recovery software is easy to use and kept simple with two scanning modes: quick and deep.
Features:
The common files can be recovered with the free data recovery software for Mac, including photos, videos, music, emails, PDF documents, Office documents, RAR/ZIP files, game files, system data, and so on. It supports the Mac data recovery on Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) or later. So if you want to recover your lost data from Mac OS X 10.8, it is not the option for you.
Overall Reviews: ★★★★ (5-star rating)
Advantages: very speedy scan, retrieve a wide range of files, preview files before Mac recovery.
Improvement: recover 20 files for free only, need to upgrade to the paid version for all features.
4. Cisdem Data Recovery
This Mac data recovery tool provides a free trial for you to scan and preview lost files due to hard drive crash or corruption, formatting, unintentional deletion, improper operation, factory reset, macOS upgrade, and virus attack. It provides five recovery options: Basic Data Recovery, Mac Trash Recovery, External Drive Recovery, Formatted Drive Recovery, and Advanced-Data Recovery. But, after our test, we think that you can directly use the option of 'Advanced-Data Recovery' to make sure your files will not be further damaged after the repeated scan.
Features:
It is an easy-to-use software that allows you to recover a wide range of files quickly. Like Recoverit, the well-recognized powerful data recovery software, it requires you to take 3 steps only for recovering lost data on Mac, that's choosing a data loss scenario, scan and preview recoverable files and finally choose the files to recover. The simple recovery process simplifies your job in Mac data rescue and does save much time.
Overall Reviews: ★★★ (5-star rating)
Advantages: intuitive design, easy-to-use, powerful recovery capacity, preview before recovery.
Improvement: free version only allows files scan and preview, not compatible with other types of operating systems, and has no filtering option for scanning.
5. Data Rescue 5
This Mac hard drive recovery software that allows you to search for and restore data that are lost from damaged drives and accidental deletion from the disk they are stored in. Its free version allows you to recover 2GB of data and it can perform a quick scan, deep scan, deleted files scan, and clone recovered file.
Features:
It comes with 4 options at the beginning to meet your different needs, namely, Start Recovering Files, View Previous Scan Results, Clone, and Create Recovery Drive. The data rescue software for Mac can recover data backups from Time Machine, recognize the duplicate files, and eliminate the recovery of duplications.
Overall Reviews: ★★★ (5-star rating)
Advantages: Intuitive interface, offers a low entry-level pricing plan (PaperByte?) for those who do not need to recover massive amounts of data.
Improvement: slow scanning and recovery speeds, need to fill in an application form to use the free version, only scan and preview available with the free version, only support 100+ file types.
6. Disk Drill
Disk Drill Mac is a great Mac data recovery software that does not only provide data recovery solutions but also data protection capabilities with its Recovery Vault feature. This will prevent accidental deletion and backup failing disks. Like most great data recovery software, it allows users to preview files to help you decide which files to recover.
Features:
The same as many other Mac data recovery tools, it provides a quick scan and deep scan options. With the quick scan, you can recover missing files on Mac in a quick way, while the deep scan technology can dive deeper into your device for lost data. Also, like Recoverit, it supports you recovering files from emptied Mac trash easily and quickly.
It works well with Mac 10.8 or later OS and allows you to filter files and recover data selectively. The drawback is that only 200 different file types are available for data rescue through the Mac file recovery software, including pictures, videos, and documents.
Overall Review: ★★★ (5-star rating)
Advantages: comes with a SMART disk to monitor your hardware's disk status, a preview of files, Recovery Vault feature.
Improvement: free version only allows files scan and preview, difficult to navigate, scan result does not show original file names and folder paths.
7. M3 Mac Data Recovery Free
This free Mac data recovery software is one of the many freeware available to recover deleted data and lost files on your Mac. You will be able to apply the tools to a wide range of file formats that have been compromised by a corrupted hard disk, virus attack, system error, power failure, etc. It can be used on non-Apple products as well.
Features:
It is the free undelete Mac software, compatible with Mac OS 10.7 through High Sierra. What makes it stand out from other Mac data recovery software is the Bitlocker Recovery feature. It allows you to recover Mac data from a deleted or lost Bitlocker encrypted partition. The drawback of the feature is that you have to offer the password for decrypting data.
Overall Review: ★★★★ (5-star rating)
Advantages: high success rate, easy-to-use user interface, full version available for a free trial.
Improvement: slow scan speed, can only use a free trial for a limited amount of time.
8. Lazesoft Data Recovery
It is one of the truly free data recovery software out there that offers data recovery capabilities of the OS X operating system. You can scan and recover an unlimited amount of data using this tool.
Features:
Adobe flash cc download mac mediafire. You can recover data from resized partitions, formatted hard drives, memory cards, and iPods. You can also recover photos, videos, music, documents, and applications on Mac HFS/HFS+/FAT/NTFS file systems.
Overall Review: ★★★★ (5-star rating)
Google Photos Mac Os App
Advantages: completely free, easy-to-use user interface.
Improvement: does not allow you to preview files, not support the newest Mac OS.
9. PhotoRec
PhotoRec Data Recovery is a free data recovery tool for your Mac. It can recover data that was lost due to a variety of reasons. It offers users 8 recovery modes for users to support you restoring Mac files lost due to deletion, formatting, lost partition, virus attack, and system crash.
Features:
Different types of data can be recovered on Mac, including photos, videos, audios, and emails. The recovered data remains intact in the original condition. The biggest drawback is that it is very hard for even an experienced person to use the Mac data recovery tool. Recovering Mac files with PhotoRec is a little like using the computer command line to perform the recovery process. And it is very easy to do wrong operations and cause further damage to your data.
Overall Reviews: ★★★★ (5-star rating)
Advantages: The ability to preview files before recovering data on Mac, free Mac data recovery without any limit.
Improvement: slower than average scan and recovery speeds, not user-friendly, need professional skill
10. Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery Software
The Mac data recovery tool is one of the best software users can use to get back deleted or lost files from your Mac machines. The name of this app is very significant as it equates to recovered files with a phoenix rising from the ashes!
Overall Review: ★★★ (5-star rating)
Advantages: fast, reliable, easy-to-use.
Improvement: no automated previewer, the free version is for scan and preview only.
Comparison of the Best Free Data Recovery Programs for Mac
| Software | Recovery success rate | Price | Supported macOS | Preview before Recovery | Support devices |
| Recoverit Data Recovery | ★★★★★ | Free/$79.95 for unlimited files recovery | macOS 10.10 ~ macOS 11 | Yes | Mac/HDD/SSD/USB/Memory card |
| Ontrack EasyRecovery | ★★★★ | Free for 1GB data/$99 for full version | macOS 10.15 supported | Yes | SSD/HDD/USB/Memory Card |
| Mac Free Any Data Recovery | ★★★ | Free | Mac OS X 10.7 - 10.10 | Yes | Mac/USB drive/iPod |
| Cisdem Data Recovery | ★★★★ | Free trial/$49.99 | Mac OS X 10.10 - 10.15 | Yes | Mac/hard drive/USB drive/Memory Card |
| Data Rescue 5 | ★★★★★ | Free demo/$399.00 for professional license | macOS 10.12- 10.15 | Yes | Startup drive/External storage |
| Disk Drill | ★★★★ | Free trial/$89.00 | Mac OS X 10.8.5+ and later | Yes | Internal/external drive/Android/iOS |
| M3 Mac Data Recovery | ★★★★ | Free for 1GB data/$89.95 | Mac OS X 10.7 - 10.15 | Yes | Macintosh HD, hard drive, external hard drive, USB/SD card |
| Lazesoft Data Recovery | ★★★★ | Free | Mac OS X 10.5 - 10.9 | Yes | Internal/external hard disk, USB drive, memory cards, iPods |
| PhotoRec | ★★★ | Free | Mac OS X | Yes | Hard disks, CD-ROMs, memory cards, DD raw image, USB drive |
| Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery | ★★★★ | Free trial/$79.99 | Mac OS X 10.7 - macOS 10.15 | Yes | SSD, HDD, SD card, USB drive |
Video Tutorial on How to Recover Deleted Files on Mac
FAQ About Free Data Recovery Software for Mac
How can I recover permanently deleted files from Mac without the software?
Although there is a free file recovery software for Mac, you may wonder if there is a way for you to recover deleted files on Mac without any software. To be honest, it is very nearly impossible to recover permanently deleted files without software. However, if your files are not permanently deleted from the Mac, you can try to restore the deleted files without software by using Terminal.
Open Terminal;
Enter cd.trash;
Type mv xxx ./ and replace the xxx part with the name of the deleted file; Hit Enter;
Now you can open Finder and search for the deleted files by name. The deleted file will appear.
Is there any completely free data recovery software for Mac?
You might have noticed that although there are lots of 'free' Macintosh file recovery programs, they are not completely free. Most of the free Mac data recovery programs offer the free version with limited features or provide a free trial of the full version with limits.
You can find some open-source data recovery tools that enable you to recover deleted files for Mac completely free, but open-source tools can be modified freely and are not supported by professional developing teams. Most of the completely free data recovery programs have been updated for years. Therefore, using completely free recovery tools is not safe and might fail to get back the files you need.
How does data recovery on Mac work?
Data recovery is trickier for Mac computers than Windows since SSDs are more commonly-used in MacBook and there is System Integrity Protection (SIP) on OS X El Capitan and later. With SIP enabled on your Mac, applications are unable to access the essential data in the system disk, which is a must for accessing the deleted files.
To use data recovery software on a Mac, you need to disable SIP first. Although SIP is disabled, it doesn't necessarily mean that the deleted files can be recovered. What a data recovery program does is to detect the bits of the deleted files from the hard drive and piece them back together. That's why the data recovery program usually takes hours or days to deeply scan the hard drive. Data Recovery is a time-consuming process.
How to select your Mac data recovery software?
After testing and reviewing the 10 best free Mac data recovery software, we can conclude all the key attributes that a piece of powerful Mac data recovery software should have.
Google Photos To Mac Photos
- Support a wide range of files. There are so many types and formats of data we need and use every day. So Mac data recovery software needs to recover almost all kinds of data, at least photos, videos, music, audios, and Office documents.
- Support for Mac data recovery in all situations. Data loss can happen due to numerous factors, such as accidental deletion, virus attack, emptied Mac trash, hard drive corruption, formatting, and lost partitions.
- Support a variety of devices. We need different electronic devices to help us keep data preserved and protected, especially digital cameras, Mac computers, external hard drives, cell phones, flash drives, and so on.
- Straightforward interface. Not everyone is an expert in computer running algorithms or data recovery technology. So for an ideal Mac data recovery program, ease of use is necessary.
- Free Mac data recovery. As we can see, not all free Mac data recovery software can help you recover files on Mac free. If the software comes with only free scan and preview functions. It is not recognized as a free one.
What is the best free data recovery software for Mac?
After viewing the above content, we think that everyone has their own choice. You can choose your software according to your own needs. For example, if you are a professional computing expert, you can choose PhotoRec Data Recovery. It needs professional skills and has a very complicated recovery process, but it can help you recover files on Mac for free. However, if you want to recover Mac data more quickly and easily, it might be not a good option.
In contrast, Recoverit can help you recover lost or deleted files on Mac in 3 steps. It requires no professional skills in computing and technology. It also enables you to preview different types and formats of data on Mac.
The Bottom Line:
The QuickBooks app for Mac is here - QuickBooks. All the free Mac data recovery software above mentioned can help you recover lost data on Mac. If you want an easier and effective way to recover your deleted or lost data, we recommend Recoverit Data Recovery software. It is a reliable and safe Mac data recovery program. Download and try it for free now
