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- Top 15 Best Data Recovery Software for macOS
Top 15 Best Data Recovery Software for macOS
Data recovery software is something that you hope you never have to use. Unfortunately, many computer users will need to avail themselves of the power of this type of program at some time. We are going to review the top 15 data recovery software applications for the Mac to help you get your data back.
Our complete ranking
06:33 • 29194 views
Key features analysis
Why We Chose These Data Recovery Software Products
There are many data recovery software solutions available for computers running macOS. If we tried to evaluate all of them, you’d be reading this article for the next several days. We didn’t think you’d like that, so we reduced the size of the list. You might be wondering why we selected these particular solutions. Following are the characteristics that we considered when making our selections:
- Features
The feature set of a data recovery tool is where we began our evaluation. The tools had to have the capability to successfully recover data in a variety of situations for us to include it in our list.
- Versatility
We looked for recovery tools that can help users restore files from diverse data loss scenarios.
- Popularity
We wanted to look at the most popular recovery solutions and see if that popularity is justified by the tool’s functionality and feature set.
- User reviews
The user community is a great place to look for information on software solutions. We tried to evaluate the tools that received the best reviews and left users satisfied with their experience.
We looked at over 35 different solutions before settling on the products contained in this article. Once we determined the solutions that made the cut, we concentrated on testing their functionality under real-world conditions.
Top 15 Best Data Recovery Software for Mac
#Let’s see which data recovery software applications have the best rating.
1. Disk Drill for Mac
Pick of the month
4.79 • Best choice for Mac users – Disk Drill for Mac combines ease of use with excellent data recovery capabilities and many extra features that greatly increase its overall value.
macOS Windows
Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Free preview
$89...$598
Disk Drill is one of the best data recovery software applications for Mac users. It is a full-featured and comprehensive data recovery tool that offers advanced features to raise the level of data protection on your computer and peripheral devices. Using this powerful tool, you can recover files on just about any type of external media, including iOS and Android devices.
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Two for one
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Abundance of extra utilities
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Structured scan results
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Mount results as a virtual disk
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RAID recovery capabilities
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Phone support
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No disk cloning
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Bootable drives
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Recovery over a network
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Video and photo repair
2. R-Studio for Mac
Popular among professionals
3.70 • Capable but potentially intimidating – There’s a good reason why R-Studio for Mac is loved by professionals, but regular home users have different priorities.
macOS Windows Linux
Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Recover files smaller than 256KB
$79.99...$899
R-Studio for Mac can recover deleted data from all types of file systems using advanced scanning algorithms, restore formatted partitions and drives, and create an image file of a disk with bad sectors to facilitate recovery.
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Runs even on old Macs
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Extensive file system support
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RAID reconstruction module
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Good scanning performance
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Network recovery
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Limited previews
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Complicated
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Unintuitive scanning process
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Very complex scan results
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S.M.A.R.T
3. PhotoRec for Mac
Popular among tech-savvy users
3.31 • Excellent value in a not-so-appealing package – PhotoRec for Mac delivers decent data recovery performance, but the lack of a graphical user interface makes it more difficult to take advantage of it.
macOS Windows Linux
Free All features are provided free of charge, and the software can be used, studied, and modified without restriction.
None
Free
PhotoRec is a free and open-source data recovery application capable of recovering much more than simply photos from your hard drive as well as a wide variety of peripheral storage devices.
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Completely free
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Open source
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No installation required
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Good signature scanner
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Ability to narrow down scan results
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Command-line user interface
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Rarely updated
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No auto-update
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Scan automation
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Source selection
4. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac
Decent recovery results
3.81 • Respectable free data recovery limit – Thanks to its generous free data recovery limit, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is worth trying despite its shortcomings.
macOS Windows
Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Recover up to 2 GB for free
$89.95...$499
This powerful data recovery tool supports macOS 10.9–12.0, and its notable features include the ability to create an emergency bootable USB drive and recover lost data from a Time Machine backup drive.
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Detailed scan results
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Great scanning speed
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Bonus recovery
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Responsive tech support
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Scan settings
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Toxic in-app analytics
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Product updates
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Bad time estimates
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Limited support of formats for preview
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Basic usability issues
5. Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac
Decent recovery results
3.30 • Not as stellar as its name suggests – Stellar Data Recovery for Mac may be one of the most popular data recovery applications for Mac, but it’s certainly not the best one.
macOS Windows
Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Recover up to 1 GB for free
$69.99...$399
Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac is a data recovery tool that enables you to restore deleted files on your Mac computer. It can help you recover many types of files, including photos, documents, and videos from accidental deletion or a mistakenly formatted HDD.
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S.M.A.R.T
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Preview in safe mode
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Backup creation
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Learning new signatures
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Search settings
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Long disk refreshes
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Automatic updates in the free version
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Loses license information
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Slow previews
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Preview limits
6. Data Rescue for Mac
3.26 • Oldie but not goodie – Data Rescue for Mac is among the oldest applications of its kind, but its age is starting to show in multiple not-so-favorable ways.
macOS Windows
Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Preview only
$19...$399.96
Data Rescue is a data recovery tool for Mac OS X 10.12 or later. It can recover data from your hard drives as well as external drives, SD cards, solid-state drives, and other devices.
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Mail alerts
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Hex editor
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Virtual RAID
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Specify the starting point for scanning
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Passwordless launch
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Inability to scan system disks
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Unreliable bootable recovery
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Needs the internet at all times
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Scanning duration
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Limited number of saved sessions
7. Wondershare Recoverit for Mac
3.43 • Not as wonderful as it may seem at first. – Even though the software doesn’t look like it, it’s actually a one-trick pony that can be recommended mainly to those who want to recover damaged video files.
macOS Windows
Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Recover up to 100 MB for free
$75.99...$449.96
This application by Wondershare is designed to allow you to recover lost or deleted data, including videos, photos, music files, documents, and many other types of files, on a computer running macOS 10.10–12.0 (macOS Monterey).
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Dedicated video search mode
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Modern interface
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Bootable disk creation
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Video repair
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High scanning speed
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Doesn’t scan Macs with T2 or Apple Silicon chips
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Bootable disk creation limitations
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Fake scan types
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No results when scanning formatted APFS and HFS
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No recovery time estimation
8. Ontrack EasyRecovery for Mac
1.98 • Suitable for basic data recovery tasks – We’re still testing this software. Wait until we’re done for our final verdict!
macOS Windows
Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Recover up to 1 GB for free
$85...$299
Ontrack’s EasyRecovery application performs precision data recovery following accidental deletion or formatting of data from your storage media. You can use it to recover lost data from your main hard drive or just about any external storage device.
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Fast data recovery tool
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Can recover from damaged optical media
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Repairs damaged and corrupted photo and video files
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Recovers up to 1 GB of data free
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Multiple versions make it challenging to find the correct tool
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Cannot create a disk image to be used for recovery
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Less intuitive interface than competitive tools
9. MiniTool Mac Data Recovery
1.56 • Suitable for basic data recovery tasks – We’re still testing this software. Wait until we’re done for our final verdict!
macOS Windows
Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Recover up to 1 MB for free
$79...$499
Minitool Power Data Recovery is a popular freemium data recovery application that should be more than able to satisfy the needs of most Mac users who have recently lost or accidentally deleted an important file and would like to restore it on their own.
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Easy to use
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Useful search function
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Capable of recovering lost partitions
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Comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee
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Below-average performance recovering video and music files
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Free version makes it possible to recover only 1 MB of data
10. iBoysoft Data Recovery
2.99 • Suitable for basic data recovery tasks – We’re still testing this software. Wait until we’re done for our final verdict!
macOS Windows
Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Recover up to 1 GB for free
$89.95...$99.95
iBoysoft Data Recovery is free data recovery software compatible with all recent versions of macOS and previous versions of Mac OS X. It supports recovery of over 1000 file types and can restore lost data from encrypted APFS drives. The tool addresses many data loss scenarios such as accidentally formatted SD cards and data lost from emptied Trash bins.
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Up to 1 GB free data recovery
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Compatible with new M1 and T2 Macs
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Free scan and preview of recoverable files
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Scan results can be saved and reloaded
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The license model is expensive
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Need to wait until a scan finishes to perform the recovery
11. Cisdem Data Recovery for Mac
3.02 • Suitable for basic data recovery tasks – We’re still testing this software. Wait until we’re done for our final verdict!
macOS
Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Preview only
$69.95...$149.95
This versatile recovery program enables you to recover just about any type of deleted, damaged, or formatted file in your Mac machine or peripheral device. The three-step recovery process lets you choose a data loss scenario, scan and preview recoverable files, and then perform the actual data restoration.
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30-day money back guarantee
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5 specific recovery modes to address data loss scenarios
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Free lifetime updates
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No pre-scan filtering options
12. Softtote Data Recovery for Mac
1.51 • Suitable for basic data recovery tasks – We’re still testing this software. Wait until we’re done for our final verdict!
macOS
Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Preview only
$59.99...$69.99
Even though Softtote Mac Data Recovery doesn’t support the latest version of macOS, it still deserves the attention of all Mac users who are looking for a data recovery software application that provides a guided approach to data recovery.
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Software wizards to assist with partition, file, and photo recoveries
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Simple user interface with clear descriptions
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Above-average recovery results
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The limited set of supported file types
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Doesn’t support the latest version of macOS
13. Lazesoft Mac Data Recovery
2.72 • So old it doesn’t work properly anymore – Lazesoft Mac Data Recovery illustrates why you shouldn’t focus only on price when selecting data recovery software.
macOS
Freeware All features are provided free of charge without any limitations.
None
Free
Lazesoft Mac Data Recovery is a freeware application that offers users a free method of recovering deleted files from Mac machines. You can use the tool to recover from damaged or deleted partitions, and the software allows you to restore data from a variety of external devices.
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Free
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Scans non-mounted disks
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Selective scanning
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Recovery during scanning
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Recovery chances
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Outdated
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Three default signatures
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Limited to 50 MB per file by default
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Limited maximum file size
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Settings are not saved
14. Tenorshare 4DDiG Mac Data Recovery
3.21 • Suitable for basic data recovery tasks – We’re still testing this software. Wait until we’re done for our final verdict!
macOS Windows
Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Preview only
$55.95...$499
Tenorshare 4DDiG for Mac provides a real-time preview of the recoverable data so you can easily select which files to restore. You can recover your data with a simple three-step process that employs advanced scanning algorithms.
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Supports recovery of over 550 file formats
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Simple and intuitive interface
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Can recover iPhone data
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Does not log recovery data
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No filtering to recover specific folders or data
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Some reports of slow recovery performance
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Doesn’t support NTFS
15. Techtool Pro
0.23 • Suitable for basic data recovery tasks – We’re still testing this software. Wait until we’re done for our final verdict!
macOS
Paid Commercial software can be used only with a valid license.
No trial
$159.99...$289.99
TechTool Pro is designed to help you test and repair a number of problematic conditions that you may experience with your Mac. Using this tool, you can perform drive testing and repair, monitor your network and connectivity, conduct memory tests, and more.
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Can recover deleted APFS files
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Offers many features beyond that of data recovery
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SMART drive check to alert you of potential drive failures
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Stand-alone hard disk repair tool Mac users can run from a bootable device
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Offers comprehensive hardware diagnostics
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Required to purchase additional licenses for application upgrades
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Can be difficult to control startup parameters
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Some reports of issues with the eDrive creation feature
Honorable Mentions
The following products did not make our list of the best data recovery software solutions for a variety of reasons. We feel that these tools do not represent your best choices when searching for reliable data recovery software.
It’s hard to tell which is the original product here, but iBoysoft and M3 are almost identical tools with different names. But this is no longer relevant since apparently M3 Data Recovery has been completely replaced with iBoysoft in August of 2021.
When you download the iBeesoft data recovery tool you get what appears to be a white-labeled clone of EaseUs data recovery. We don’t like cloned software products and tend to keep them off our lists of recommended solutions.
his software appears to be a clone of Wondershare RecoverIt under a different name. White labeling another product is usually enough of a reason to leave a tool off our recommended list, as is the case in this instance.
This software tool has reasonably good recovery capabilities that are somewhat hindered by a less than friendly interface. With so many more user-friendly tools on the market, we chose to leave this off our list of recommended products.
We don’t consider this tool to be very user-friendly unless you like the look of antiquated Windows systems. The interface is outdated and is not as easy to use as many of the other data recovery products on the market.
This recovery tool has some advanced features and a somewhat difficult user interface. It is very similar to R-Studio and may be a white-labeled copy of that software. We suggest you are better off using R-Studio instead of this cloned solution.
This is another tool that we could not recommend based on its poor user interface that makes it difficult to recover lost data. It also looks suspiciously like a clone of UFS Explorer, which is another reason to keep it off our list.
As with several of the data recovery tools we have looked at, this one appears to be a clone of another product. In this case, it looks like EaseUS data recovery is being marketed under a different name and we have excluded it from our recommendations.
We cannot recommend this tool as it is a dead project that does not support current versions of macOS. It may be suitable for users with old operating systems, but its lack of updates makes us skeptical of this product.
Conclusion
Even if you follow best practices and regularly backup your machine, there are a number of reasons that you may need to recover deleted or missing files.
Your computer’s hard drive can experience physical or logical damage causing files to disappear. Operating system or software application upgrades can also result in inadvertently lost or deleted files. Plain old human error, such as remembering you needed a file right after you emptied the trash or recycle bin, is always a possibility.
Whatever the reason, if you experience deleted or lost files you will need to use some file recovery software for Mac. The key is not to panic and to stop using the drive where you will be attempting a data recovery as soon as possible. Continued use of your drive or partition can lead to your files being overwritten before they can be recovered, so stop using it and download and install data recovery software on another disk or partition.
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Comparison table
#The comparison table below provides an overview of all data recovery software applications that have made our list.
| Feature | Disk Drill | R-Studio | PhotoRec | EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard | Stellar Data Recovery | Data Rescue | Wondershare Recoverit | Lazesoft Mac Data Recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Score Free Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque. | 100% | 77% | 69% | 80% | 69% | 68% | 72% | 57% |
| Requirements | macOS 10.15-12.x | macOS 10.5-12.0 | macOS 10.6-12.0 | macOS 10.9-12.0 | macOS 10.11-12.0 | macOS 10.12-12.0 | macOS 10.10-12.0 | macOS 10.5-10.9, 10.10-10.14 (unofficial support) |
| Clever in-depth scan | ||||||||
| Quick scan | ||||||||
| Distributed as | Freemium | Freemium | Free | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | Freeware |
| Trial version available | ||||||||
| Trial version limitations | Free preview | Recover files smaller than 256KB | Freeware. No limits | Recover up to 2 GB for free | Recover up to 1 GB for free | Preview only | Recover up to 100 MB for free | Freeware. No limits |
| Starting price | $89.00 / Perpetual | $79.99 / Permanent | Free | $89.95 / 1 month | $69.99 / 1 year | $19.00 / 1 file | $75.99 / 1 month | Free |
| See Plans & Pricing | Pricing details | Pricing details | Pricing details | Pricing details | Pricing details | Pricing details | Pricing details | Pricing details |
| Raw photo recovery | ||||||||
| Video formats recovery | ||||||||
| Document formats recovery | ||||||||
| S.M.A.R.T. | ||||||||
| Helpdesk support | ||||||||
| Live chat | ||||||||
| Phone support |
Frequently Asked Questions
Data recovery can take a variable amount of time depending on the scope and type of recovery to be performed. If a deep scan is required to identify recoverable data, more time will be expended in the restore. The quantity of data being restored will also impact the speed of the recovery.
Data recovery works by taking advantage of the way modern operating systems perform deletions. Deleted files are marked as inaccessible and their storage space made available to the system if needed. The files are still physically present on the disk and can be recovered with specialized software.
Most of the quality data recovery applications for macOS offer a free trial during which you can get the functionality of the product. You may need to purchase the full program to actually perform data recovery on your machine. The program may provide a preview of files that it can recover.
Recovery mode is a feature of macOS that is used to help restore your computer if you are experiencing problems. You boot your computer into macOS Recovery mode to take advantage of the macOS utilities that can address the issues you are facing by restoring from Time Machine or reinstalling the OS.
Here is a list of the five best data recovery software applications for macOS:
- Disk Drill Data Recovery for Mac;
- EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac;
- Softtote Mac Data Recovery;
- Wondershare Data Recovery for Mac;
- Stellar Data Recovery Professional.
Jeff Cochin is a data management and recovery professional, who has been with Pandorarecovery for nine years and has always been an essential part of the team. Jeff also works as a technical writer at Macgasm, being a first hand in testing, trying and writing about big and small tech software.
Frisco, Texas, United States
Yevgeniy Tolkunov is Hardware Engineer at ACE Data Recovery. Yevgeniy has a Master's Degree in Physics, Information Technology; 15+ years of experience.