Top 10 Free Data Recovery Software for Mac | macOS Sonoma

This article covers the top 10 free client data recovery software for Mac, which differ in features and performance but share one common trait: they're all free.

Compare the best free Mac data recovery software closely and choose the one that suits your needs most.

1. 1. Mac Free Data Recovery Wizard 2. 2. Stellar Mac Data Recovery 3. 3. Disk Drill 4. 4. Lazesoft Mac Data Recovery 5. 5. PhotoRec 6. 6. TestDisk 7. 7. Recuva 8. 8. Ontrack EasyRecovery Home for Mac 9. 9. Softtote Mac Data Recovery 10. 10. Puran File Recovery

How to Test Free File Recovery Software for Mac

To find the best free data recovery software for Mac, we tested 20 programs and selected the top 10. Here's an overview of our testing results.

Standard	Details
Number of Testing Tools	10
Duration of Testing	4 weeks
Operating System Versions	macOS 12.0, macOS 13.0, Mac OS X 10.11
Minimum Cost	Free
Average Cost	$70
Storage Device	Seagate Solid State Drive (128GB)
Number of Files	200+ files

Top 10 Absolutely Free Data Recovery Software for Mac

When you lose data from your Mac due to accidental deletion, formatting of partitions/hard drive, system crash, macOS upgrade, or file system or hard drive corruption, stay calm and seek help from one of the recommended data recovery software below.

1. Free Mac Data Recovery Wizard

Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Free is a free and practical Mac data recovery software that can retrieve deleted files from Mac computers, laptops, desktops, hard drives, USB drives, SD cards, memory cards, digital cameras, and more. It works with internal APFS/HFS+/HFS X disks and FAT/FAT32/exFAT/NTFS file systems used on USB flash drives and external hard drives connected to your Mac.

Key Features of Free Mac File Recovery Tools:

?1. User-friendly software with strong compatibility

This Mac data recovery software is fully compatible with the latest macOS versions, including 14.0 (Sonoma), 13.0 (Ventura), 12.0 (Monterey), 11.0 (Big Sur), 10.15 (Catalina), 10.14 (Mojave), and all previous Mac OS X from 10.11 to 10.9. It allows all Mac users to recover any lost data in just 3 steps: Scan > Preview > Recover.

?Potent data recovery capabilities

The Mac Data Recovery Wizard can restore deleted or lost files under various severe conditions. It supports deletion recovery, lost partition recovery, formatted Mac hard drive recovery, virus attack recovery, and OS crash recovery. It can recover files from various storage devices like internal or external hard drives, SSDs, USB flash drives, external hard drives, memory cards, and digital cameras.

?3. Encrypted Drive Recovery

Another major update to Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is its ability to help Mac users recover data from encrypted hard drives by guiding them through the process of password-decryption and drive unlocking.

?4. Comprehensive SD Card Recovery Solution

Equipped with advanced algorithmic technology, Mac file recovery tool possesses powerful SD card data recovery feature to scan and restore maximum files from different brands of cameras like Sony, Canon, Nikon, and Panasonic.

?5. Extra Video Repair Tools

Aside from data recovery, the Mac Data Recovery Wizard also offers a video repair feature to help you fix any damaged, unplayable, or mute videos. It can repair corrupted videos in formats like MP4, MOV, AVI, 3GP, and more.

Advantages:

• Supports recovery of over 200 file types on Mac, including undeleting unsaved Word documents, as well as Excel/PPT files, photos, videos, music files, emails, archive files, and more.
• Quick and deep scanning techniques greatly enhance the likelihood of recovery.
• Real-time preview function lets you preview found files during scanning and before data recovery.
• Lossless recovery restores lost photos and videos to their best condition without quality loss.

Improvement:

• The full free version is limited to recovering up to 2 GB of data (the excellent free Windows Data Recovery also offers 2 GB of free file recovery).

Editor's Review:

Editor's Note:

Mac Data Recovery Wizard offers a comprehensive and user-friendly solution for retrieving lost or deleted data on macOS and Mac OS X systems. It excels in recovering data from APFS, HFS+, NTFS, FAT, and exFAT hard drives. With its intuitive wizard-based guidance, both individuals and businesses can easily restore lost files without requiring specialized technical knowledge.

Did Mac Data Recovery Software solve your problem? Help others find it by sharing on social media.

? Three-Step Guide: Recover Files with a Mac Data Recovery Tool

To help more Mac users get their lost files back as soon as possible, we will show you a 3-step free Mac data recovery tutorial. If you are eager to retrieve lost files from your Mac or external storage device, turn to the short and innovative tool – Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Free.

2. Star-rated Mac Data Recovery

Stellar Data Recovery for Mac is a DIY tool to retrieve data from all types of internal or external storage drives on Mac. This Mac data recovery software helps recover photos, videos, documents, and other files from all Mac HDD, SSD, thumb drives, memory cards, etc.

Key Features:

?1. Recover Lost Data from Unbootable Systems

No need to boot macOS to retrieve your data. Stellar Data Recovery for Mac helps you get back your Mac files without even entering the system.

?2. SMART Drive Monitor and Clone

The app also checks various attributes of your drives, such as their performance, health, and temperature, which can help guard against future data loss.

Advantages:

• Free to use with up to 1GB of data recovery
• Data can be recovered from any storage device
• Includes many advanced features

Improvement:

If you use more than 1 GB of data, you have to pay for the software.

Editor's Review:

Editor's Review: Stellar Data Recovery for Mac is an excellent file recovery software that swiftly rescues your data! It boasts impressive scanning speeds, extensive support for various file formats, and a user-friendly graphical interface that simplifies the data recovery process. You can selectively preview and efficiently recover specific files.

3. Hard Drive Drill

Disk Drill is a popular data recovery app for Mac that retrieves lost partitions or files from both internal and external Mac hard drives. Moreover, its free version includes Recovery Vault and Guaranteed Recovery features that monitor file deletion activities and preserve metadata for swift file restoration.

Prominent Features:

?1. Restore Protected Data (not available in the free version)

Similar to the Data Protection feature in Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, Disk Drill also includes a feature to protect your data from deletion, which needs to be enabled beforehand with Recovery Vault and Guaranteed Recovery.

With both features enabled, Mac users can quickly recover files from the Trash or from user-designated folders' shadow copies.

?2. Allocate existing files

When the Finder can't read the data, Disk Utility reports the disk as unformatted. Disk Drill can scan the partition and recover data from Mac.

Advantages:

- Compatible with all Mac OS X and macOS versions. - Recovers over 200 different file types. - Offers free and useful disk utilities for all users. - Intuitive user interface for easy recovery of lost files.

Improvement:

• The free version only allows you to preview data recovery.
• The free version does not include the Recovery Vault or Guaranteed Recovery features.

Editor's Review:

Editor's Review: Disk Drill is an excellent data recovery software for Mac, boasting a user-friendly interface and outstanding recovery capabilities. It supports a wide range of file types, including photos, videos, documents, and archives. In addition to data recovery, Disk Drill offers other free tools such as disk health checks, Mac cleanup, data protection, and backup features. Highly recommended!

Please share this reliable Mac file recovery tool on social media to help others discover it as well.

4. Lazesoft Mac Data Recovery

Lazesoft Mac Data Recovery is a comprehensive data recovery software specifically designed for users to retrieve lost or deleted data from MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and other Mac devices. It features a user-friendly interface that enables users of all levels to easily recover files, making it highly popular. The software supports the recovery of various types of files, including documents, photos, and videos.

Key Features:

?1. Multiple Recovery Modes to Retrieve Data

Lazesoft Mac Data Recovery offers file recovery and disk recovery methods to restore deleted files from Mac OS 10.9 Mavericks, Mac OS 10.8 Mountain Lion, Mac OS X Lion 10.7, Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6, Mac OS 10.5 Leopard, and Mac OS Server 10.5 Leopard. Its Quick Scan and Deep Scan modes ensure a higher chance of successful data recovery.

?2. Recover files from various devices and allocate existing files

In addition to recovering data from internal and external hard drives, SSDs, USB flash drives, and memory cards, you can also recover data and files from your iPod Nano, Shuffle, or Classic by enabling “Use as Disk” in iTunes.

Advantages:

• Works with all versions of Mac OS X
• Recovers files from formatted, damaged, or lost exFAT partitions
• Recovers files from HFS/HFS+, FAT, FAT32, NTFS, and other file systems
• Free technical support provided

Improvement:

• Limited deep scan capabilities, which might affect the recovery of severely damaged files
• Lacks advanced features like data recovery from RAID disks

Editor's Review:

Editor's Note:

Lazesoft Mac Data Recovery is a free data recovery software for Mac users that allows the retrieval of unlimited data. It is compatible with common file systems such as HFS/HFS+, FAT, FAT32, NTFS, and EXFAT (new). This tool boasts powerful disk recovery capabilities, enabling the restoration of lost data from formatted, deleted, or damaged partitions. However, it is not applicable to the latest macOS versions, including macOS Ventura and macOS Monterey.

5. PhotoRec

PhotoRec is a free and open-source program that works well for data recovery on older operating systems, like OS X, Linux, Free BSD, Net BSD, Open BSD, and Windows.

It allows users to recover the most common files such as photos, audio, documents, ZIP archives, and more from digital cameras, memory cards, USB flash drives, and partitions/hard disks, whether internal or external.

Key Features:

✅1. Advanced File Engraving

PhotoRec starts by looking for the size of the data blocks or clusters. If the file system is not damaged, the program quickly loads the value from the ext2/ext3/ext4 superblock or the FAT/NTFS volume boot record. If the file system is damaged, PhotoRec will check the device at the sector level and use the size of the first ten files it finds to compute the block or cluster size, so it can locate and find more lost files.

2. Recovery at the block or cluster level

It reads the Mac volume or cluster by cluster, and by comparing different file signatures, it recovers useable files.

Advantages:

• Supports cross-platform data recovery, such as Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, and more.
• 100% open-source software, including both the program itself and its source code.
• Excellent tool for personal file recovery.

Improvement:

It's not very user-friendly for the average computer user, requires some technical skills, it operates through command line.

Editor's Review: PhotoRec is an impressive data recovery tool that offers a free solution for everyone. Despite its name including "Photo," it can recover not only pictures but also documents, videos, and files. Although its command-line interface might seem intimidating, it's not too difficult to use if you have some computer literacy. Its deep scanning capabilities and cross-platform compatibility make it a versatile choice.

6. TestDisk

Like PhotoRec, TestDisk is an open-source and free utility that can recover various types of files.

It mainly focuses on partition recovery, allowing users to retrieve deleted or lost partitions by fixing the partition table that has been damaged due to software crashes, virus attacks, or accidental formatting.

Key Features:

?1. Partition Recovery

When partitions on Mac get lost or disappear, Mac users can utilize TestDisk to rebuild and repair the damaged partition table due to corruption.

2. Repair the Boot Sector

When a bootable Mac drive won't start up, it fixes the problem of an unbootable drive.

Advantages:

• Completely free and open source.
• Runs on multiple operating systems, including macOS and Mac OS X variants.
• Recovers lost partitions and reconstructs partition tables.

Improvement:

• Data recovery through command line.
• Lacks a user-friendly interface for casual computer users.

Editor's note:

TestDisk is a safe and reliable data recovery tool for anyone in need of retrieving lost files. It can recover files from various storage devices, even when they're damaged or formatted. Though TestDisk and PhotoRec operate through a command-line interface that might seem intimidating, their step-by-step instructions are clear and easy to follow. Plus, it's an open-source tool, making it very friendly for those who prefer entirely free software.

7. Recuva is a data recovery tool.

This free Mac data recovery program is one of many free software options available for retrieving deleted and lost files on a Mac. You can use these tools to recover various file types that have been lost due to hard drive failure, malware attacks, system errors, power outages, and more.

Key Features:

?BitLocker Recovery

What sets it apart from other Mac data recovery apps is its BitLocker recovery feature. It can help you recover data from a Mac when it's deleted or lost from a BitLocker encrypted drive.

Advantage:

• Multiple recovery options.
• Supports a variety of storage devices, including CF cards, iPods, USB flash drives, and more.

Improvement:

• Deep scan takes a long time.
• There's no Recuva for mobile devices.

Editor's Note:

Editor's Note:

Recuva is a safe recovery tool available in both free and professional versions. PC Magazine rates Recuva at 3.5/5, highlighting its low cost and good value for money. The application's user interface is straightforward, with essential information to ensure effective use by users with lower technical proficiency.

8. Ontrack EasyRecovery Home for Mac

Ontrack EasyRecovery is a user-friendly tool that accurately recovers Mac files in various data loss situations, especially for files lost accidentally. The free Mac file recovery version has a 1 GB limit, allowing you to recover lost data from Mac-based devices.

Key Features:

?RAID Recovery

The Quick Scan and Deep Scan options search your storage devices more thoroughly, including internal hard drives, removable media, and RAID arrays.

Advantage:

• Professional Recovery
• Comprehensive and Efficient

Improvement:

Slow scan

Editor's Rating: We weren't particularly impressed with its speed (especially compared to Ontrack's comprehensive Windows and Mac recovery tools), and it feels like it hasn't been updated in a while.

9. Softtote Data Recovery for Mac

Softtote Mac Data Recovery excels in handling various logical data loss scenarios and boasts an above-average success rate. Though it's incompatible with the latest macOS Ventura, it serves as a viable alternative for Mac users running Mac OS X 10.7 - 10.14.

Prominent Features:

Lost Partition Recovery

Softtote Data Recovery provides a user-friendly interface with three wizards: File Recovery for restoring deleted Mac files and documents; Photo Recovery for retrieving any type of photo; and Lost Partition Recovery for restoring lost, overwritten, damaged, or formatted partitions.

Advantages:

• Straightforward user interface
• Support for macOS 10.14 and Mac OS X 10.7.
• Preview of recoverable files.

Improvement:

- Incompatible with the exFAT or encrypted APFS file systems. - Not supported on Macs with T2 or M1 chips.

Editor's Note: Softtote Data Recovery is much cheaper than many other Mac data recovery tools, and you can preview recoverable files before committing. However, be aware that Softtote Mac Data Recovery does not support more sophisticated file systems like exFAT or APFS.

10. Puran File Recovery

Puran File Recovery can help you recover deleted or lost files. Almost any device that is recognized as a drive can be scanned, regardless of the file system. Unlike other file recovery utilities, Puran Data Recovery can recover data from damaged disks, CDs, DVDs, or any other media supported by Mac and restore it to a specified location.

Key Features:

Data Recovery from Damaged Devices

Puran File Recovery is a simple tool that helps you recover lost or deleted data from your system. The fact that its official website hasn't transitioned to encrypted connections might make users think that the tool is unsafe.

Advantage:

- Works with almost all devices. - Recovered files retain their original paths. - The software automatically skips bad sectors while recovering files.

Improvement:

• No preview of the results is available. • You cannot select specific files to recover.

Editor's note: Puran Data Recovery is straightforward to use: when copying file data, it ignores bad sectors it detects and continues copying until the file is complete, so you can recover your data in the best possible state.

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How to Choose the Best Free Data Recovery Software for Your Mac

Which is the best free data recovery tool for Mac users among the many options available? To help you find the top data recovery software, we've compiled a comparison table of the top 10 free data recovery tools and their features. Choose the one that best suits your needs and start recovering lost data on your MacBook Pro, iMac, or any other Mac device as soon as possible.

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Tool	Free Version	File Systems	File Types	User Friendliness	Speed	Recovery Rate	File Filter	File Repair
Tool	2 GB	APFS, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, HFS+, HFS X	1000	Simple	Fast	High	✔	✔
Disk Drill	500 MB	FAT, exFAT, NTFS, HFS+, APFS	400	Moderate	Fast	High	✔	✘
Stellar	1 GB	FAT, exFAT, NTFS, ReFS	200	Moderate	Average	Moderate	✘	✔
Lazesoft	Free	HFS/HFS+, FAT32, NTFS, EXFAT (New)	100	Moderate	Average	Average	✘	✘
TestDisk	Free	FAT, NTFS,ext2	10	Difficult	Average	Average	✘	✘
PhotoRec	Free	FAT, exFAT, NTFS	20	Difficult	Average	Average	✘	✘
Recuva	Free	FAT, NTFS,ext2	100	Moderate	Slow	Average	✘	✘
Ontrack	1 GB	FAT, exFAT, NTFS, ReFS	200	Moderate	Average

The bottom line is that Europe's leaders must recognize that their monetary union has become a debt union.

This page recommends 10 totally free data recovery software for Mac – Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Free, Disk Drill, PhotoRec, TestDisk, and Stellar Data Recovery. These programs can help you effectively restore lost files when your Mac encounters unexpected data loss.

If the amount of data you lost is less than 2 GB, we highly recommend the powerful yet easy-to-use free tool – tools Data Recovery Wizard Free .

Frequently Asked Questions about Free Data Recovery Software for Mac

Some Mac users might still have questions about Mac file recovery. Here, we've gathered the four most common ones and provided brief answers below. Check them out and find your answer here.

1. Is Mac data recovery free?

It depends. If you moved the deleted files to the Trash, you can restore them from there for free.

When you lose files from your local Mac hard drive or an external storage device, you can turn to free Mac data recovery software like Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Free for help.

Taking it to a local data-recovery center would be expensive.

2. What is the best free data recovery software?

• You may refer to the top free SD card data recovery software for Windows users.

The recommended software also performs perfectly well in data recovery on Windows OS, and you can easily find the most suitable one to apply and retrieve your lost files.

If you're on a Mac, the tools we recommend on this page – Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Free, Disk Drill, PhotoRec, TestDisk, and Exif Untrasher – can all help.

Are there any free data recovery software options available?

Of course! Many data recovery software manufacturers have launched free data recovery software. Here, we've gathered some for you to choose from and apply to protect your data.

Top 10 Free Data Recovery Software for Windows Users:

1). Data Recovery Wizard Free Tool 2). Recuva 3). Stellar Data Recovery 4). Disk Drill 5). R-Studio 6). Acronis Revive 7). Remo Recover 8). Recover My Files 9). Puran Data Recovery 10). TestDisk

Top 10 Free Data Recovery Software for Mac: (Revealed on this Page)

1). Mac Free Data Recovery Wizard 2). Disk Drill 3). PhotoRec 4). TestDisk 5). Exif Untrasher

How can I recover deleted files on my Mac for free without software?

There are two ways to recover deleted files for free on your Mac without using data recovery software.

One way is to recover deleted files from the Mac trash.

If you accidentally deleted files to the Trash on your Mac but didn't empty it, you can recover them for free from there.

Another way is to try to recover the deleted file from a Time Machine backup of your Mac.

If you regularly back up your Mac with Time Machine, you can quickly restore any deleted files from a Time Machine backup. Learn how to restore files from a Time Machine backup in our guide.