Top 6 Expert-Approved RAID Data Recovery Software Solutions

Usability

Disk Drill’s expertly-refined user interface doesn’t pose a challenge for any user to navigate and use. All of its features are prominently displayed and clearly labeled so you don’t have to put in any guess-work. The entire recovery process is optimized so it only takes a few clicks before you get to see what files you can recover. Furthermore, the recovery results screen comes with some handy filters to narrow down the search results if you need to sift through thousands of files.

Recovery performance

Disk Drill’s recovery performance is why it’s our top pick regarding RAID data recovery. The program uses an efficient all-in-one scanner that incorporates quick, clever, and signature scanning modes to pull as much data from your RAID array as possible. Not only that, but it supports over 360+ file formats and allows you to submit a request for any file format not currently supported. Common RAID file systems, like NTFS and EXT4, are fully supported by all scan modes. Furthermore, it works when you need to recover files from a corrupted hard drive on Mac and Windows, as well as RAW disks.

Value

Many of Disk Drill’s additional features, like Drive Backup and Data Protection, are available completely for free. For data recovery, you can recover up to 500 MB for free on the Windows version before you need to upgrade to a Disk Drill PRO license for a one-time payment of $89. Better yet, when you purchase a Disk Drill license for Windows, you also get one for macOS (and vice versa). Overall, in terms of value, you’re getting a fully-equipped recovery tool that works in almost any data recovery situation for a reasonable price point.

Usability

Usability is one of DiskInternal’s weak areas. The program uses a very basic interface, with much of what’s being displayed being very spread out (especially at higher resolutions). Its RAID Wizard is probably the easiest way to recover data for beginners, as it takes you through a guided procedure, but even that requires a lot to be desired (at least visually).

Recovery performance

What DiskInternals lacks in usability, it makes up for in recovery performance. So much so that it’s willing to claim a 90% chance of successful RAID recovery on its homepage. There are two scan modes you can use: fast recovery mode or full recovery mode. The fast recovery mode, as the name suggests, performs a quick scan of your RAID array to see what data is available to recover. If the files you were looking for aren’t found in fast recovery mode, you can use full recovery mode to perform a deeper scan that will yield more results.

Value

If you’re looking for a cost-effective solution, you should look elsewhere. DiskInternal’s cheapest license is $249, which will get you a Lite license. If you have more than 3 disks, you’ll need to get a Standard license instead, which is $499. Since the number of disks you have in the RAID array determines what license you need, you’re looking at a cost upward of $899 for 10 or more disks. Therefore, you should pay close attention to what your license includes, as all sales are final.

Usability

Although it offers a large selection of advanced recovery features, R-Studio has some work to do in the usability department, as its unintuitive user interface is painful to navigate. It’s highly technical and prefers function over aesthetics. The simple task of running a scan and previewing the files is hard if you’re not familiar with the program already. However, it does include a lot of quality-of-life features under the hood, like multiple preview modes, the automatic use of various scans without user interaction, and advanced results sorting.

Recovery performance

During our testing, we were thoroughly impressed with the results of R-Studio. Seeing as it’s a recovery solution aimed at data recovery professionals and enthusiasts, it comes with full support for all major file systems supported by Windows, Linux, and macOS. Its performance was fairly consistent across all of its scan modes, with only fairly minor concerns over its inability to recover some modern file types. The ability to create full disk copies is also useful in cases where you need to fix a corrupted hard drive and don’t want to risk the loss of your data during the repair.

Value

The cheapest license available for R-Studio is $49.99, but this is for the R-Studio FAT license which only supports recovery from FAT-formatted disks. Most users will instead opt for the R-Studio license for $79.99, a perpetual license that allows you to recover data from other file systems and supports the auto-detection of all major RAID levels.

Usability

Heman RAID Recovery employs an interface that closely emulates the familiar layout of the Windows File Explorer. At first, you may think this is a positive since you’re likely already familiar with navigating File Explorer. However, it quickly becomes confusing because you’re used to certain actions producing certain responses. Instead, you need to take additional time to understand what you need to click to produce the results you need.

Recovery performance

For RAID reconstruction, there is a dedicated feature called RAID Constructor, which can be used to automatically or manually reconstruct the RAID array. In automatic mode, the software will do its best to find a compatible RAID configuration and rebuild it. If it can’t, you can restore the structure yourself with manual mode. Once the RAID is reconstructed, you can scan it for recoverable files and preview them. In order to start recovery, though, you must upgrade to a paid plan.

Value

Hetman RAID Recovery is a hard sell due to its expensive pricing. The price you pay is directly tied to how many disks you plan to recover from. The cheapest license, Home, costs $247.95 and supports recovery from up to 3 disks. Office is $497.95 and supports up to 5 disks, and anything more will require a Business license for $997.95. Unfortunately, you can only preview files with the free version, so you don’t get to test the program’s recovery abilities before purchase.

Usability

UFS Explorer RAID Recovery is very easy to use. Although the user interface is quite basic, all information is neatly organized, and the application makes it clear what your next step is. You’re able to preview your data before recovery, though the program may take a second or two to load the preview. The recovery results can be filtered, and a search function is included if you need to find specific files.

Recovery performance

The program supports recovery from most RAID levels. Additionally, you can recover data from encrypted drives, like those encrypted with BitLocker on Windows or FileVault on macOS. Recovery is also possible from combined logical volumes created using Windows’ Storage Spaces and Apple’s Fusion Drive. The recovery process itself could be a bit easier, but the tool at least gives you a lot of ways to customize the scan, like choosing the start sector and what file systems you’d like to search.

Value

Unlike some previously mentioned software tools, UFS Explorer RAID Recovery is quite fairly priced. The license you get isn’t tied to how many disks you need to recover from, but instead how many users will have access to the software, how many computers are supported, and what environment it will be used in. The cheapest license is the Personal License which goes for a one-time payment of $139.95 and comes with 360 days of free updates. However, bear in mind that your license will only cover the operating system you choose, and you will need to buy a separate license for any other operating systems you plan to use it with.

Usability

Usability is one of Klennet Recovery’s weak points. The GUI is very outdated and cluttered, to the point where even choosing the right disk to scan can be confusing. It’s also lacking fairly basic features like automatic updates and the ability to search for recoverable items by file name. In addition to the high RAM usage during certain processes, the application takes a very long time to open if you have a variety of disk types, oftentimes upward of 20 minutes.

Recovery performance

Klennet Recovery works with Apple (HFS/HFS+, APFS) and Windows (FAT32, exFAT, NTFS) file systems, with great support for the latter as it was able to recover most of our lost data with relative ease. Linux’s EXT4 file system is also supported, although performance is quite poor. The number of file signatures it supports is very limited. Worse yet, it doesn’t support a lot of modern file formats. The software supports RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 5 arrays, and its built-in RAID analyzer can automatically detect the block size and order on RAID 0 and RAID 5 setups. However, other RAID levels are not supported at this time. Overall, its ability to recover data using various scanning algorithms isn’t boastworthy, but it’s definitely better than some alternatives.

Value

Klennet Recovery can be downloaded for free, but it is only able to preview your data. To recover anything, you will need to purchase one of three licenses. The cheapest license, Klennet Recovery Lite, requires a one-time payment of $79 and allows recovery from FAT16/32, exFAT, and NTFS file systems. Klennet Recovery Full is $199 and supports all supported file systems, and above that is Klennet Recovery Commercial for $499 which allows commercial use. All versions come with free upgrades for a year. The price isn’t all that bad (considering they’re all lifetime licenses), but once you take into consideration its recovery performance, you must determine for yourself whether you think the price is fair.