A Data recovery software is nowadays an
essential tool for professionals and organizations who need an instant
mechanism to recover lost data from their Mac devices. The software scans the
system to locate lost files and then restores them. There are a number of data
recovery software available in the market, for different type of data recovery
needs.
In this post, we will look at the top 5
free Mac recovery software.
1) Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition
for Mac
Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac
is a free data recovery software, purpose-built to recover any type of file
from your Mac system or any storage device. An advanced DIY tool, Stellar Data
Recovery retrieves all kinds of data such as files, folders, documents, photos,
videos, audio, etc. from all kinds of storage devices such as Mac hard drives,
external hard drives, memory cards, SSD drives, SD cards, etc.
One of the best data recovery software in
the market, Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac is
available for free download. This version allows you to preview your lost files
after the software scans the system and recovers a limited amount of lost or
deleted data from your Mac devices.
Special
features:
●
1 GB free
data recovery
●
Preview
before you recover
●
Comprehensive
scan feature (quick and deep scan) to locate any file. In addition, you can
also scan multiple file systems at the same time
Image 1: Stellar Mac Data
Recovery Free Edition interface
Pros
- Recovers lost
or deleted documents, photos, videos, audio, email & more
- Recovers data
from all loss scenarios
- Recovers data
even from encrypted devices
- Recovers files lost due to Startup disk formatting or
drive corruption
Cons
- Only 1 GB of data can be recovered in the Free
version.
Pricing:
Free version includes scan and preview of
lost files. You can also recover up to 1 GB of the lost files. To recover
unlimited data, you need to purchase the professional plan worth $79.99. Other
paid plans are Premium and Technician. Click here (go to compare editions) to compare
the pricing and features of Stellar Mac data recovery editions.
2)
Disk Drill for Mac
Disk Drill is a premier Mac data recovery
software designed to recover partitions or deleted files from Mac systems. In
addition to data recovery feature, Disk drill is also packed with other tools
such as diagnostics, cleanup, duplicate finder, etc. It is suitable for both
professionals and home users.
Image 2: Disk Drill for
Mac Window
Special
Features
●
Recover
Protected Data
●
Undelete
protected data using Disk Drill software-paid version.
●
Existing
files allocation
●
Disk drill
reports the drive as unformatted when the finder fails to read data. The
software can then scan the partition and recover the data from Mac.
Pros
- Supports more
than 200+ file formats
- Multi-level
scans
- Smart UI and
Preview feature
- Additional toolkits like cleanup and diagnostics adds
to the value proposition.
Cons
- In the free version, you can also see the preview of
the data recovery process. Similarly, Recovery vault and Guaranteed
Recovery are not available with the Free version.
Pricing
Free to download. You can upgrade to the
Pro version for $89
3)
PhotoRec
PhotoRec is a free image recovery tool
which recovers lost images from computers, digital cameras, mobile devices and
other storage media. In spite of its name, PhotoRec works on other file formats
as well. You can even upload a corrupted file for online diagnosis; this way
you can check if the restoration can be done.
For corrupted file systems, PhotoRec checks
the device sector by sector. It uses the first 10 files it had found to
calculate the size of the cluster; this way it can identify and recover more
lost files.
Image 3: Command line
interface of PhotoRec
Pros
- An open source
software
- Supports all major OS (Mac, Windows, Linux etc.)
Cons
- PhotoRec isn't
very efficient in recovering all files
- You need technical knowledge to use the software as it
requires writing of command lines.
Pricing
Free
4) TestDisk
for Mac
TestDisk is an open-source file recovery
software which is designed to recover partitions, fix boot issues and recover
lost files.
Special
Features
●
It supports
most file formats (despite being totally free), including FAT16, FAT32, exFAT,
NTFS etc.
●
A multi-purpose
file recovery software, TestDisk also fixes boot issues and recover partitions.
Image 4: Command line
interface of TestDisk
Pros
- 100% open
source and totally free
- Produces reliable recovery results
Cons
- Difficult user
interface. You need to access it via command lines.
- More suited for expert professionals.
Pricing
Free
4) Recoverit
Data Recovery for Mac
A product of Iskysoft, Recoverit Data
recovery for Mac restores files of different formats such as docs, images,
audio, etc. on Mac OS. It is well-built to recover data from any disaster
scenario and works even on encrypted APFS file system.
Read Also: Recover Permanently Deleted Files from Pen Drive
Special
Features
●
It has an
extremely intuitive interface which makes the data recovery process very easy.
●
It supports
a variety of devices and file systems such as APFS, HFS X, exFAT, HFS+, FAT
(FAT16, FAT32), NTFS.
Image 5: RecoverIt Mac
Recovery Interface
Pros
- Dynamic and
very easy-to-use interface
- Supports many
languages
- Reliable tool to recover variety of file formats.
Cons
- The free version allows recovery of only 1 GB of data
Price:
Download the software for free. The
Essential version can be bought for $79.95
Conclusion
When you encounter a
loss of data on your Mac, the software demonstrated above can help you recover
lost files effectively. Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac is a highly
recommended software, which efficiently restores any type of lost data. The
free version of the software allows you to scan and preview all the files you
have lost. Plus, a limited amount of data can be recovered with the free
edition. For unlimited data recovery, you can opt for paid versions of Stellar
Data recovery software. If you wish to recover only images, then PhotoRec is a
reliable option, although it requires technical expertise to operate.
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