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Top 7 Best Partition Recovery Software in 2022

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top best partition recovery software

Uh oh! Did you just find out that you’re missing irreplaceable data on your hard drive? Whether you’ve accidentally deleted a partition or reformatted your entire hard drive, there is still hope for getting your files back! We’ve compiled this list of the 7 best partition recovery software for Windows and Mac users so you can restore your lost files ASAP.

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Comparison Table

Key features analysis

Brief selection
1
disk drill windows icon
Disk Drill
Platform:  macOS Windows
Distributed as: Freemium
2
testdisk icon
TestDisk
Platform:  macOS Windows Linux
Distributed as: Free
3
easeus partition master icon
Acronis Disk Director
Platform:  Windows
Distributed as: Freemium
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What Is Partition Recovery Software And Why Do You Need It?

Partition recovery software is a special tool used to restore partitions and data on computer hard drives when it is accidentally deleted due to user error, reformatting, overwriting, file corruption, and hardware damage.

Partition recovery software uses a variety of methods to find missing data and partitions that usually still exist on your hard drive, but no longer have a “label” to tell the computer what’s there. Even if your computer doesn’t see your partition or deleted files, this type of software can find them on your drive and, in most cases, restore them to their original format so you can see and use them again.

Our Method For Choosing The Best Partition Recovery Software

The factors we consider to choose the best partition recovery software for Windows and Mac users includes the following:

  • Performance

    Does it actually work? Do people usually have success recovering their files, and, if so, with what frequency? Can it recover encrypted files?

  • Usability

    How easy or hard is it to navigate the interface? Is it a straightforward process to recover files? Is the user interface (UI) pleasant to use or does it look like something out of an 80's hacker movie terminal or do you feel like you should be hearing dialup internet sounds?

  • Machine Support

    Does it support more than one OS—Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone? Can you install it and use it on more than one machine at a time or is it license limited?

  • Cost

    Is it expensive? Does a one-time fee allow for lifetime access or do you have to pay for each new version? Do you have to pay a subscription? Is there a free trial?

  • Cause Of Data Loss

    Which types of data loss does the partition recovery software support? Does it include accidental deletion as well as reformatting and factory restores?

  • Customer Service

    If something doesn’t work, is there someone you can contact quickly? Are they friendly? Can you actually get a refund?

Top 7 Best Partition Recovery Software For Windows and macOS in 2022

 #

Let’s see which partition recovery software tools have the best rating.

Disk Drill Logo

1. Disk Drill

Top pick

3.84 • Best choice for Windows users – The Windows version of Disk Drill empowers regular users to reliably recover all kinds of lost data with a few simple clicks.

Read full Disk Drill review
Platforms

Windows macOS

Distributed as

Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest

Limitations

Recover up to 500 MB for free

Price range

$89...$598

Free Download Visit Website
Overview

Disk Drill is a partition recovery software for Windows and Mac that easily “undeletes” partitions as well as recovers partitions lost due to corruption, damage, power outages, failed installations, malware, firmware, partition table corruption, etc. It also supports Android and iPhone.

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Disk Drill for Windows – Gallery
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disk drill for windows drive backup
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disk drill for windows general settings
disk drill for windows smart settings
Top Disk Drill Pros

  • Two for one

  • Visualization of the scanning process

  • Mount results as a virtual disk

  • File previews

  • Raw photo support

Top Disk Drill Cons

  • Phone support

  • Linux and Apple file systems

  • RAID

  • Bootable disks

  • Recovery over a network

Overall experience

We like Disk Drill for its broad array of uses and easy interface. It has versions for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iPhone, and can recover data from memory cards, cameras, and other external media.

Specifically for partition recovery, Disk Drill differentiates itself in another way by supporting all types of partition recovery types including master boot record (MBR), GUID partition tables, primary, logical, and extended partition tables.

The process to recover partitions and files is very straightforward with Disk Drill — you just launch the app, scan for recoverable files, and hit “recover” on anything it finds that you want to restore. The UI isn’t flashy or ultra-modern but it isn’t unattractive either.

The affordability of Disk Drill is better than competitors for users who have more than one device or who are willing to make the one-time $29 lifetime upgrade. They also offer a range of discounts for upgrading users, users who are coming from competing solutions, and education, nonprofit, and government users.

TestDisk Logo

2. TestDisk

Open-source solution

0.69 • Ugly file system repairman – TestDisk offers an excellent value, but its real-world file recovery performance is limited.

Read full TestDisk review
Platforms

Windows macOS Linux

Distributed as

Free All features are provided free of charge, and the software can be used, studied, and modified without restriction.

Limitations

None

Price range

Free

Free Download Visit Website
Overview

TestDisk is a free and open-source advanced data recovery tool that can find deleted partitions, make disks bootable, undelete files, recover and rebuild boot sectors, and lots, lots more.

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TestDisk for Windows – Gallery
testdisk create log file
testdisk select disk to scan
testdisk select partition table type
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testdisk partition quick scan All screenshots
testdisk partition deep scan
testdisk view found files
testdisk restoring files
Top TestDisk Pros

  • Completely free

  • Open source

  • Portable

  • Lightweight

  • Supports raw and dismounted disks

Top TestDisk Cons

  • Slow speed of scanning and recovery

  • Complicated command-line user interface

  • Manual step-by-step scanning process

  • Destructive recovery

  • No technical support

Overall experience

TestDisk is an open-source software application designed to recover data from DOS, Windows, Linux, -BSD, SunOS, and macOS. The two best parts about this software are that it is totally free and that it is very, very powerful and robust software with a lot of technical intricacies for knowledgeable users.

There’s not a lot that TestDisk can’t do which is totally unbeatable for the price. The biggest cost you’ll have with TestDisk is, at least if you’re a newer user or less technologically-inclined, is your time. While the software does have features for novice users, many of its features are tailored for experts and geeks, as evidenced by its massive list of supported filesystems that even includes esoteric options like CramFS, Wii WBFS, and BeFS.

If you’re technically-inclined, TestDisk is 100% worth a shot. If it works for you, you can always consider a donation on their wiki homepage to help support the project or get involved yourself in its development.

Acronis Disk Director Logo

3. Acronis Disk Director

Comprehensive disk management solution

• Hasn’t been fully tested yet – We’re still testing this software. Wait until we’re done for our final verdict!

Platforms

Windows

Distributed as

Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest. 

Limitations

Basic disk management

Price range

$19.95...$69.95

Free Download Visit Website
Overview

Acronis Disk Director 12.5 is a suite of tools that includes partition recovery software that can be booted from a USB drive or disk so you don’t accidentally overwrite the files you’re trying to recover.

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Acronis Disk Director for Windows – Gallery
easeus partition master main window
easeus partition master clone
easeus partition master disk converter
easeus partition master partition recovery
easeus partition master bootable media All screenshots
easeus partition master toolkit
Top Acronis Disk Director Pros

  • Partition and resize disks of any size

  • Easily clone a disk or partition

  • Convert a partition or disk to another file format

  • Manage dynamic volumes

  • Create a WinPE bootable disk

Top Acronis Disk Director Cons

  • Subscription based pricing model

Overall experience

Acronis Disk Director 12.5 is a software package that includes tools for managing and manipulating drives via splitting, resizing, converting, and merging volumes. It allows for easy cloning and partitioning and comes with a simple but powerful recovery tool that can find and restore lost data in the event that it is accidentally deleted, corrupted, containing bad sectors, or rendered inaccessible by a power outage or other event.

The best thing about this tool is that it has a bootable version so you can still get your files back (without destroying them!) even if it is your main hard drive that is problematic.

While it’s not anything special to look at, it does do most everything needed from a disk management tool and comes with a solid 30-day free trial and optional business packages with added support and updates. We like that they give a steep discount for a bundle of three licenses (one per machine), more than halving the price per license for people who maintain more than one computer.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Logo

4. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

Decent recovery results

3.01 • Popular for its trial recovery capabilities – Easy to use and capable of delivering solid results, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is good at what it does.

Read full EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard review
Platforms

Windows macOS

Distributed as

Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest

Limitations

Recover up to 2 GB for free

Price range

$69.95...$499

Free Download Visit Website
Overview

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro is a robust partition recovery software for Windows and Mac that can recover RAW partitions and partitions that have been deleted, reformatted, corrupted, with bad sectors, damaged by viruses, and other scenarios that make it inaccessible.

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EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Windows – Gallery
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easeus data recovery wizard disks and partitions list
easeus data recovery wizard scanning process
easeus data recovery wizard preview found files
easeus data recovery wizard thumbnail mode All screenshots
easeus nas recovery
easeus select nas for recovery
easeus data recovery wizard refreshing drive list
Top EaseUS Pros

  • Scan results

  • Scan speed

  • Free recovery

  • Support

  • Labeled results

Top EaseUS Cons

  • Pop-up ads

  • Inaccurate time estimations

  • Limited preview capabilities

  • Limited preview size

  • Recovery speed

Overall experience

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro makes our list for its track record—it’s been around since 2004—and it performs well on all of our other test parameters as well. It’s available for both Windows and Mac with a free trial to verify whether or not it’s able to find your data before you pay anything.

A particularly attractive feature of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro is its ability to recover partitions in such a wide variety of data loss scenarios including invalid command scenarios, filed OS upgrades, reformatting, and even “wannacry” ransomware encryption. It is able to recover RAW partitions as well so users can restore them to a file system usable for reading and writing.

We like that it has a history of reliability as well as a “technician” subscription option for people who manage multiple systems as well as its straightforward, three-step recovery process and simple user interface.

MiniTool Partition Wizard Logo

5. MiniTool Partition Wizard

• Suitable for basic data recovery tasks – We’re still testing this software. Wait until we’re done for our final verdict!

Platforms

Windows

Distributed as

Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest. 

Limitations

Basic disk partition management

Price range

$59...$699

Free Download Visit Website
Overview

MiniTool Partition Wizard is a partition recovery tool that can recover data lost due to failed OS updates, accidental deletion, and many other data loss causes. While it isn’t for Mac or other devices, it does have a strategic differentiator in that it works on Windows servers, not just desktop machines.

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MiniTool Partition Wizard for Windows – Gallery
minitool partition wizard main window
minitool partition wizard data recovery
minitool partition wizard disk benchmark
minitool partition wizard copy disk wizard
minitool partition wizard wipe disk
Top MiniTool Pros

  • Use on Windows servers

  • Supports dynamic disk and RAID

  • Has a lifetime upgrade

  • Bootable option

Top MiniTool Cons

  • Windows-only

  • Expensive for one-year subscriptions

Overall experience

MiniTool Partition Wizard is a recovery tool that has some features that aren’t supported by competitors, the most obvious of which is its ability to recover partitions in Windows servers. With it, you can convert dynamic disks to basic disk as well as MBR to GPT. Its bootable media option means you can access your recovery software and recover your partitions even in the event of a main hard drive failure and without running the risk of overwriting important files.

This tool is specifically designed for Windows and leans slightly more toward technical users than very basic home users, which is reflected in its RAID support as well as its price tag.

A one-year subscription to the pro version costs $99 per license at the time of this writing, but you can upgrade to a lifetime license for a $129 total price which is higher than most competitors who support multiple operating systems. The server edition costs $159 and $259 respectively.

Stellar Data Recovery Logo

6. Stellar Data Recovery

2.19 • Frequently recommended – Stellar Data Recovery is a good example of data recovery software that doesn’t to anything exceptionally wrong nor exceptionally right.

Read full Stellar Data Recovery review
Platforms

Windows macOS

Distributed as

Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest

Limitations

Recover up to 1 GB for free

Price range

$49.99...$599

Free Download Visit Website
Overview

Stellar Data Recovery is a popular program you can use to recover pictures, music, documents, videos, or any other types of files on your hard drive, memory cards, floppy disks, iPod or MP3 player, or USB sticks.

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Stellar Data Recovery for Windows – Gallery
stellar data recovery select what to recover
stellar data recovery choose disk
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stellar data recovery preview found data
stellar data recovery restore process All screenshots
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stellar data recovery advanced settings updates
stellar data recovery advanced settings software upgrade
Top Stellar Pros

  • Support

  • Repair of photos and videos

  • S.M.A.R.T

  • Preview in safe mode

  • Backup creation

Top Stellar Cons

  • Updates in the free version

  • Lost license information

  • Slow previews

  • Preview limits

  • Scanning speed

Overall experience

What sets Stellar Data Recovery apart from its competitors is its ability to recover data from large-sized sectors on 4k hard drives. It also has dual-monitor support, which, while that may seem kind of silly on the surface, no one wants the frustration of a pinched neck or tiny workspace when you’re already dealing with the frustration of lost data. This is doubly so if data recovery is part of your job, and they do have a business package to support that as well.

Stellar Data Recovery comes with hard drive health monitoring and repair options for corrupted and distorted videos and photos. Their highest-tier plan comes in at just under $100 at the time of this writing, and it offers all of their features including repair.

The process of using Stellar Data is straightforward and on-par with most of their competitors. They use a familiar three-step process to search for specific file types, choose storage location, and scan and recover. The interface is minimalist with a file explorer that mimics the one in windows and has a preview option.

Additionally, they gain our trust for having a laundry list of awards, recognition, and reviews from major tech outlets over the course of decades, making them a safe and reliable option that is likely to persist into the future.

Wondershare Recoverit Logo

7. Wondershare Recoverit

2.39 • Can it really recover it? – Wondershare Recoverit comes with an intuitive user interface, but subpar recovery capabilities that struggle to deliver.

Read full Wondershare Recoverit review
Platforms

Windows macOS

Distributed as

Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest

Limitations

Recover up to 100 MB for free

Price range

$59.99...$449.96

Free Download Visit Website
Overview

RecoverIt is a partition recovery software for home and business with a sleek, minimalist user interface, easy file previews, and a hefty number of reviewing users that support its effectiveness.

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Wondershare RecoverIt Photo Recovery for Windows – Gallery
wondershare recoverit hard drives and locations
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wondershare recoverit preview found file
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wondershare recoverit recovering files All screenshots
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Top Recoverit Pros

  • Modern interface

  • Create bootable disks

  • Video Repair

  • Fast scanning speeds

  • Preview images

Top Recoverit Cons

  • False positives for bad sectors on Bitlocker devices

  • Scanning Bitlocker-encrypted devices

  • Confirming Bitlocker status

  • No end time was given

  • Resizing of the program

Overall experience

RecoverIt is a data recovery software application with both Windows and Mac versions that are backed by millions of happy customers. Their tiered subscription plan can be a bit offputting in that the bottom tier does not offer advanced video recovery, blue screen of death solutions, or computer crash recovery as well as no option to create bootable media—opening lower-paying customers to the risk of overwriting their data, especially if they are not aware of the consequences.

On the plus side, the full individual plan that does offer those features also offers two licenses at a price that is notably lower than most competitors on the market.

The biggest strategic differentiator in this software is its advanced ability to recover video, scan for video fragments, and repair corrupt video—offerings that exist because the company also makes specialized video recovery and repair software.

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Comparison table

 #
FeatureDisk DrillTestDiskEaseUS Data Recovery WizardMiniTool Power Data RecoveryStellar Data RecoveryWondershare Recoverit
Total Score Free Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque.
Disk Drill 100% - Disk Drill

100%

TestDisk 18% - TestDisk

18%

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard 78% - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

78%

MiniTool Power Data Recovery 56% - MiniTool Power Data Recovery

56%

Stellar Data Recovery 57% - Stellar Data Recovery

57%

Wondershare Recoverit 62% - Wondershare Recoverit

62%

RequirementsWindows 7-11Windows XP-10, 11 (unofficial support)Windows 7-11Windows 7-11Windows 7-11Windows 7-11 (x64 only)
Clever in-depth scan
Quick scan
Distributed as Freemium Free Freemium Freemium Freemium Freemium
Trial version available
Trial version limitations Recover up to 500 MB for free Freeware. No limits Recover up to 2 GB for free Recover up to 1 GB for free Recover up to 1 GB for free Recover up to 100 MB for free
Starting price$89.00 / PerpetualFree$69.95 / 1 month$69.00 / 1 month$49.99 / 1 year$59.99 / 1 month
See Plans & Pricing 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

Key Points for Successful Partition Recovery

Follow these recommendations for the best chance of performing a successful recovery.

  • Stop using the device:

    The most important step you can take to improve the chances of a complete recovery is to stop using the device as soon as you realize data has been lost. Using it for any reason risks overwriting the data you want to restore.

  • Recover to a different drive:

    You need to perform the recovery by using a different storage device to hold the recovered data. Saving files to the device with the lost partition can result in files being overwritten or corrupted during recovery.

  • Choose a reliable solution:

    A lost partition can contain a lot of valuable data. Make your recovery efforts count by using reliable partition recovery software. Using inferior or untested methods risks the permanent loss of your formatted partition.

The Winner Is…

The winner is entirely dependent upon your needs as a user. How were your files lost? Do you have a complex situation with a 4k drive, a Linux drive, a less-commonly seen filesystem, encryption, or a lot of potentially-damaged video and photo media? Do you have more than one system you need to support? What is your budget? Was it your primary partition that failed?

All of these things will influence your decision to use any of the above-listed software because each has pros and cons for different users. However, any of these options will be a reliable one once you’re sure of which features you actually need to recover your deleted or damaged partitions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Lost partition recovery is the process by which you employ data recovery software or other means to restore the data from a deleted or incorrectly formatted partition. If the data has been overwritten, data recovery software will not work and your best bet is to use a previously taken backup.

No. System Restore is designed to restore operating system files to a previous point in time. The tool does not recover user data, which is usually what initiates the recovery effort. It can recover the system on the deleted partition, but the remaining user data cannot be restored with this tool.

Yes. If the partition was simply deleted or only had a quick format performed on it, you can recover its data. A full format or using the partition before attempting recovery will overwrite the data and make its restoration impossible. Avoid all use of the partition unit recovery is complete.

There are many partition recovery software applications available for Windows and macOS. Here is a list of seven of the best solutions:

  1. Disk Drill
  2. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro
  3. AcronisDisk Director
  4. MiniTool Partition Wizard
  5. Recoverit
  6. TestDisk
  7. Stellar Data Recovery
cas proffitt
Cas Proffitt
Author

Cas is a B2B disruptive technology content marketer with C-level experience and a focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning. She is the founder of Supmantek Industrial Marketing which serves the companies at the intersection of technology with supply chain, manufacturing, and logistics. Cas has also written for portals like DisruptorDaily in the past.

Yevgeniy Tolkunov
Yevgeniy Tolkunov
Approver

Yevgeniy Tolkunov is Hardware Engineer at ACE Data Recovery. Yevgeniy has a Master's Degree in Physics, Information Technology; 15+ years of experience.