Despite the best efforts of disaster recovery teams, data loss events sometimes occur. Open source software is an affordable and widely available option to recover lost data.
While the effectiveness of these tools might vary depending on the extent of the data loss, there are many different open source software options available.
In order to be included in this software roundup, the software in question had to meet several criteria. First and foremost, it had to be free or open source, though vendors were not excluded for having a paid tier. Second, it had to be compatible with Windows, which is currently the most widely used operating system for home and business. However, some of the tools discussed also work with other platforms.
Third was that the tool had to be general purpose in nature. For example, the tool could not focus solely on recovering photos or on recovering documents. Additionally, tools were only considered if they offered a GUI interface.
Products are unranked and listed in alphabetical order.
Disk Drill
Disk Drill is a data recovery tool for Windows and Mac. This tool has earned several awards, including a No. 1 ranking by Pandora Recovery and an Excellent rating from Trustpilot, and was considered the “best complete disk recovery solution” by TechRadar in 2024. It is designed to work on a variety of devices and handles data loss caused by several circumstances, including accidental deletion, faulty formatting and a failed hard disk.
In addition to its file system recovery capabilities, Drill Disk recognizes numerous file types and is often able to recover recognized files even if those files are no longer referenced by the file system. Disk Drill also includes a Recovery Vault feature that can be used to back up files before data loss occurs, guaranteeing that those files are recoverable.
The free Windows version of Disk Drill can recover 500 MB of data. The free Mac version can only recover files that have been protected by the Recovery Vault or Guaranteed Recovery features. The paid version currently sells for $89.
FreeRecover
FreeRecover is a free data recovery tool for Windows. There is no paid version, and all its capabilities are available under a GNU General Public License.
FreeRecover is specifically designed to recover lost data from NTFS volumes. Users scan a disk for deleted files and then choose what they want to recover. The software enables batch recovery to a directory. It’s worth noting, however, that the software’s dependency on NTFS means it probably won’t be able to recover data from a system where the file system has been corrupted.
Kickass Undelete
Kickass Undelete is a free data recovery utility for Windows. This tool is designed to work on both NTFS and FAT32 volumes and is simple to use. Users scan the drive and then select the files they want to recover. Additionally, Kickass Undelete gives users the ability to filter by file name or by extension, making it easier to locate specific data that has been accidentally deleted.
PhotoRec
PhotoRec is a file recovery tool for Windows, DOS, Linux and Mac. Although PhotoRec specializes in recovering lost photos, it is included in this list because it also offers general file recovery capabilities. One of the things that makes PhotoRec different from some of the other recovery tools is that it works independently of the file system. PhotoRec bypasses the file system and instead examines the storage itself, looking for files that can be recovered. This approach means PhotoRec can be used even if the file system has been damaged or destroyed.
PhotoRec is designed to work alongside another free tool called TestDisk, which is designed to fix low-level disk problems such as corrupt boot tables and deleted partitions.
Recoverit
Recoverit is a data recovery tool from Wondershare that works on Windows and Mac. Recoverit Data Recovery is a commercial data recovery tool with a free option. Practically speaking, however, users will need one of the paid versions to recover any data. The free version identifies recoverable data, but does not let users recover that data. Paid versions include a monthly option for $59.99, a yearly option for $69.99 and perpetual use for $129.99.
The thing that sets Recoverit apart from some of the other open source data recovery software tools is the sheer number of recovery options it provides. Recoverit supports over 2,000 different types of storage devices, including PCs, Macs and digital cameras. Additionally, it recognizes over 1,000 different file formats.
Recuva
Recuva from CCleaner is a tool for recovering files from Windows systems. Like some of the other tools above, CCleaner offers both free and paid versions of Recuva. The free version fully supports advanced file recovery. The paid version costs $24.95 and offers additional capabilities such as support for virtual hard drives.
Recuva recognizes most common file formats and can recover them from any media type, even if the disk has been damaged. Recuva also offers a deep scan mode for lost files that prove to be elusive. Somewhat ironically, Recuva also comes with a secure delete function for those situations when users want a file to be permanently deleted with no chance of ever being recovered.
Brien Posey is a 22-time Microsoft MVP and a commercial astronaut candidate. In his more than 30 years in IT, he has served as a lead network engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense and a network administrator for some of the largest insurance companies in America.