Recover Mac Data
Summary - After we tried several data recovery software for Mac and took all things into consideration, we will show you the best data recovery software for Mac to recover lost or deleted files, regardless of what storage device they were on. Below is the quick navigation.
Softtote Data Recovery Mac. Softtote Data Recovery Mac is an all-in-one Mac data recovery software for your lost or deleted files, formatted drives, and missing partition. The tool recovers data from corrupt or erased HDD, USB flash drive, camera, memory card, and MP3 or MP4 player. Softtote Mac Data Recovery. Softtote is a paid Mac data recovery application that allows users to recover up to 1 GB of data for free. Softtote is a simple to use data recovery app that uses intuitive wizards to guide users through the process of restoring lost files and partitions.
Lost Precious Data? What You Can Do
It’s really a great pain for us to lose important files from Mac or other storage devices due to many situations, but no one can avoid. Now, you’ve lost precious data, how to get it back?
If you always backup data, you can recover it from Time Machine or other backup locations. Otherwise, you’ll need a piece of Mac data recovery software that aims at recovering deleted or lost data from your storage device.
But why can data recovery software recover them? In fact, the files deleted from your computer are not permanently removed. They still remain on the hard drive as long as they are not overwritten with new data. So you still have chance to get them back.
There are many data recovery tools in the market, what is the best data recovery software for Mac users? So here, we’ll show you things you need to know before performing data recovery, how to select best data recovery software, and an in-depth review of the best data recovery software for Mac.
Before Using Data Recovery Software…
- After you lost files, don’t add any new data to the hard drive where you want to recover files. Further writing to the hard drive may overwrite the files you are trying to recover.
- Do not install the data recovery software on the drive and also be sure to save the recovered files someplace other than the drive.
- There is no guarantee that you can recover all files. There are many things like encryption, secure erase, file corruption, etc., can prevent data recovery software from successfully recovering the files. So it is possible that the deleted or lost files cannot be recovered.
- Results may vary. When attempting an advanced recovery, you will usually get files back with different names, formats.
- Beware of free data recovery software. Developing and distributing the data recovery software for free is in fact an easiest way to spread viruses, worms and Trojans. Usually these programs are used to access codes to bank accounts, email and other online services accounts, obtrusively advertise products and to illegally access your system's resources. Not every free service or software is bad. But it is always good to check the things twice in order to protect your data and sensitive information.
How to Choose Best Data Recovery Software for Mac
As a piece of best data recovery software for Mac, it should have capabilities as below:
- Security. Best data recovery software shouldn’t have adware or malware attached to it. And it should be downloaded from https protocol website.
- Easy of Use. It should be very user-friendly and can be handy for novices.
- Scan & Recovery Speed. It’s hard to find any correlation between speed and the percentage of successfully recovered files but in fact a high scanning speed simply means that you’ll recover your lost data faster.
- Recover All Types of Data. It should support the recovery of file types such as Photos, Videos, Documents, Audio, Emails, Archives and many more.
- Support Storage Devices. As data loss can always happen to external devices, so best data recovery software must be able to recover data from internal as well as external drives like pen drive, SSD, USB drive, SD card, etc.
- Support File Systems. No doubt that Mac data recovery should be compatible with file systems such as HFS and HFS+. And a better one can also support other file systems like NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, ext4 and more.
- Help & Support. The best data recovery software should come with exceptional support like FAQs, manuals, and tutorials to make the recovery process as smooth as possible.
- Preview before Recovery. Good data recovery software should offer you the option to preview your files before initiating the recovery process. Thus you can directly know what can be recovered and which one you need to recover.
The Best Data Recovery Software for Mac
Based on the above 8 factors for selecting best Mac data recovery software, Cisdem Data Recovery would be your top pick. We have tried at least 8 pieces of data recovery software for Mac and compared them with each other to see which offers the best performance, specification and value for money.
And the result showed that Cisdem Data Recovery is the best data recovery tool for Mac users. This software allows you to scan and find the lost data on your drive, identify the types of files and help you recover them.
Is Cisdem Data Recovery safe and easy to use?
Yes. It is 100% clean without any virus or malware, provided that you download it from the official website. You can click below download button to download it safely or click the safe link to try it for free: https://download.cisdem.com/cisdem-datarecovery.dmg. And it only performs read-only procedures on your device, so it is secure as well and won’t do any damage to the device.
And it is very user-friendly. You can recover data in three steps. Firstly, choose a scan mode. Secondly, select the drive where you want to recover and tap “Scan”. Thirdly, preview each file and recover the files you need. It’s pretty easy to use.
| Specifications of Cisdem Data Recovery | |
|---|---|
| Supported Data Loss Situations | Recover data under many data loss situations like improper operation, power off, factory reset, accidental deletion, formation, virus attack, etc. |
| Supported File Types | Photos, videos, music, documents, archives, packages, and many other files. Also supports multiples formats of each type of file. |
| Supported Storage Devices | Internal Mac hard drives, external hard drives, SSD, digital cameras, iPods, USB flash drives, MP3 players, memory cards, pen drive and more. |
| Supported File Systems | HFS, HFS+, FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, ext2, ext3, ext4 and NTFS. |
Other powerful features of Cisdem Data Recovery
- 5 Recovery modes: Basic Data Recovery, Trash Recovery, Formatted Drive Recovery, External Drive Recovery and Advanced Data Recovery. Users can choose any mode according to different situations leading to lost files.
- Estimate Scanning Time. This app shows you how long the whole scanning process will take. During the scanning, you can do other things or have some tea.
- Preview before recovery. You can preview each file before you recover it.
- Fast scanning and recovery.
- Free for you to scan data. This app is totally free to find the files you want. No files recovered, no cost.
Cisdem Data Recovery for Mac Reviews
What we like about Cisdem Data Recovery is the interface. It is adequate for all levels of computer users and the recovery process is quite straightforward. You can make necessary changes on the specific data you prefer to recover in advanced settings. This can be very handy if you only need a few GBs of data than 100GB+!
We also exceptionally like the file preview option, so you can check if the files you have found are the ones you want to restore. Cisdem Data Recovery works with all recent versions of macOS including Sierra and High Sierra. It is definitely a good Mac data recovery tool worth considering if you’re dealing with recovering precious data.
Price: $49.99 for lifetime license
Platform: macOS 10.12 and later
Pros: Intuitive interface, free upgrade, easy to use, powerful and flexible, safe to use, read-only; preview before recovery; offer a trial version for scanning and data checking. Have exceptional performance on Mac. The cheapest data recovery software in the market.
Cons: It has no version for Windows users and some files couldn’t be previewed.
Review from Softpedia: Taking all things into consideration, Cisdem Data Recovery is an efficient and user-friendly application for the Mac that can help you deal with the awful situations when you have lost precious files, regardless of what storage device they were on.
Review from Business: Cisdem DataRecovery Mac hard drive recovery software is inexpensive and has fast scanning and recovery speeds. It does a great job recovering image files.
Other Mac Data Recovery Software You Can Consider
Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery
Price: $99
Platform: macOS 10.6 or later
Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery empowers you to recover deleted photos, documents, videos, audio, archives, messages and emails from a range of storage devices such as Internal/External Hard Drives, Memory Cards, and Flash Drives. This Mac data recovery software provides different scanning modes to scan your storage devices and offers advanced filter recovery options for you to choose before recovering your files. Additionally, it is equipped with 'Create image' features that help to recover data from hard drive that has bad blocks.
Advantages:
- Be capable of recovering deleted files.
- Support recovery of files from encrypted disk drives.
- Supply different data recovery options.
Disadvantages:
- The scanning and recovery speeds are much slower than Cisdem Data Recovery.
- The price is much more expensive compared to other brand data recovery tool with the same features.
- Can’t help you repair hard drives and its user interface looks dull.
Disk Drill
Price: $89 for one user, $399 for enterprise
Platforms: macOS 10.8.5+
Disk Drill is a piece of feature-rich data recovery software for Mac that allows you to recover deleted files from internal and external hard drives, USB flash drives and other storage devices including iOS and Android devices. It also can create boot drive, backup and protect data or even clean up your Mac hard drive. It is claimed to be free data recovery software, but you can only recover up to 500M of lost data for free.
Advantages:
- Fast scanning speed.
- Excel at recovering photos and documents.
- Offer Windows version as well.
Disadvantages:
- No ability to scan for specific file types.
- Lacks advanced settings.
- Not good at recovering videos.
Mac Data Recovery Guru
Price: $49 for a limited time
Platform: macOS 10.6 or later
Mac Data Recovery Guru promises the most advanced file recovery yet, and it is also designed to recover deleted files from hard disk drives, USB flash drives and optical media. What really makes Data Recovery Guru shine is how incredibly easy it is to use. Simply select the storage device you want to recover files on, and click the “Start Scan” button. You can even preview the results in retrieves while the program continues to run.
Advantages:
- Very simple to use.
- An effective solution for recovering lost files.
Disadvantages:
- Can’t retrieve the original names of the files it recovers.
- The preview panel is a bit small for viewing text files.
- Interface could be more developed and the price is a little high.
MiniTool Mac Data Recovery
Price: $79 for personal license
Platform: macOS 10.5 or later
MiniTool Mac Data Recovery can help you recover pictures, music, videos, emails, documents, and other types of file from Mac computer or other external storage devices. It offers four recovery functional modules. Modules like Damaged Partition Recovery and Lost Partition Recovery do a great job in scanning not just a drive’s current partition elements, but also digging up past partition elements that may have been lost or formatted.
Advantages:
- Offer multiple licenses and free updates.
- Do a good job restoring lost photos and documents.
- Clean and easy to use, recommended for small business.
Disadvantages:
- Not outstanding in restoring videos and music.
- Scan and recovery speed for SSDs is slow.
DiskWarrior
Price: $119.95
Platforms: macOS 10.5.8 or later
Developed by Alsoft, DiskWarrior not only recovers deleted files on Mac, but it also rebuilds directories of corrupted disks. Rebuilding a directory can make files and partitions reappear and even recoup disk space. It detects drives for SMART errors and offers preventive maintenance to keep your Mac hard drives healthy.
Advantages:
- Useful hardware and maintenance tool.
- Rebuild directories and monitor errors of drives.
- User friendly.
Disadvantages:
- The OS X Recovery partition complicates booting into the utility.
- The price is much higher compared to other data recovery software.
Wondershare Data Recovery
Price: $75.95/month, $79.95/year, and $89.95/lifetime
Platforms: macOS 10.6 or later
Like above Mac data recovery software, Wondershare Data Recovery also can recover almost all formats of data including photos, videos, documents, etc. It claims to recover over 550 file formats from almost any internal Mac hard drives and other mountable removable devices. The trial version of this data recovery software has a 100MB file size limit. If you want to recover more data, you need to buy the full version and the price is not cheap.
Advantages:
- User friendly.
- Offer Windows version as well.
- Can recover files from Android phones.
Disadvantages:
- It is not budget-friendly.
- The scan speed is low.
- Not all files can be found and previewed.
Where Software Fails, These Tips May Help
If you can't recover data from your Mac or other drives with a data recovery tool, then you can consider getting it back by an in-lab service. In-lab data recovery services are always at high price, but it worth a try when data recovery software fails. There are many professional data recovery service providers like Secure, Seagate, Kroll Ontrack, Data Rescue, etc.
To recover your data by in-lab data recovery service, first you’d better contact with the provider to know how much it will cost. And you need to delivery your device to the provider if you can accept the price. At last, wait for the provider to recover your data and send back the device.
Last but not least, backup your important files regularly. There are many ways to backup your files. You can backup them to Time Machine drive or external drive. Cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive can also be used to backup important data online. Thus, you can always get lost files back without the help of data recovery software or services.
Summary: Check out the 10 best and free data recovery software for Mac in 2021 found in most online searches. The curated list will help you make an informed decision and save your time, effort.
It's apparent you are hereafter facing a data loss event. And rightfully, you look forward to a Mac data recovery software that is reliable, compatible with your system and offers you with Free Data Recovery. Isn't it? Trust this; you won't be disappointed.
1. Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac
Price: Free
It is one of the best free Mac data recovery software that people mostly pick. “Old wine tastes better with age.” And Stellar Data Recovery fulfills this adage by serving the world from the past 26 years with complete customer satisfaction.
The software provides you with hope to recover your deleted Word, Excel, Powerpoint and PDF documents, photos, videos, audio files, and emails from any Mac device—MacBook Air, iMac, Mac mini, or their Pro models. The UI of the software resembles the newer macOS dark theme, so you’ll feel at home.
Download the *free edition of the Stellar Data Recovery software from here.
Free Mac Data Recovery Software How-to Steps
The software recovers lost files in 3 necessary steps—Select, Scan, and Recover.
- Select the type of file and drive location.
- Scan the drive for lost or deleted files.
- Recover and save the recoverable files.
*The free edition allows free scanning, free previewing, and up to 1 GB data recovery. To recover more, upgrade it. Check out the various editions. They all have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Advantages:
The free Mac data recovery tool is replete with features. For instance, “Deep Scan” assures up to100% of the lost data recovery using file signatures. Customization of key data-scan parameters, including drive area selection, type of data, and file format, helps accelerate the recovery process.
The laundry list of data recovery capabilities is just enormous— free deleted file recovery, free external drive recovery, free external drive recovery, encrypted and corrupt hard drive recovery, Boot Camp Partition recovery, and recovery from latest MacBook Pro.
The tool supports data recovery in macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, and earlier versions. In terms of storage-specific data recovery, it does perfectly well with all types of Mac storage devices, namely external hard drives, SSDs, Fusion Drives, pen drives, and SD cards. Plus, it is compatible with APFS, HFS+, FAT/ex-FAT, and NTFS formatted storage drives.
Disadvantages:
The free edition doesn’t have unlimited data recovery capability. Also, there is no option to recover a non-booting Mac. For exclusive advanced features, you need to upgrade the Free Edition to Professional version.
2. Tenoshare 4DDiG (Mac)
Price: Lifetime license @ $69.95
A powerful Mac file recovery software used to recover unlimited deleted, lost, and formatted data viz. photos, videos, email, web file, audios, archives, documents, and other files from Mac and external storage devices.
Advantages:
The software provides lost file recovery, partition recovery, and raw recovery. It supports Mac T2 chip data recovery. By using the software, you can handle any logical data loss scenarios reasonably. Also, you can preview photos and audios before recovering.
The software also recovers data from failed, crashed, or dead MacBook. It fully supports macOS Big Sur 11 and other lower versions. And is compatible with APFS, HFS+, FAT32, and exFAT. Moreover, it is backed with 24 by 7 help center.
Disadvantages:
It does not provide file repair functionality.
3. Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac
Price: Essential version at $79.95
Recoverit for Mac is quite useful & safe to recover your lost data from Mac. It recovers lost office files, graphics, videos, audio, outlook & archive files, and document files from your Mac’s internal HDD, external HDD, memory cards, USB flash drive, SD card, etc. The standard version of the software can create bootable media that relieve you in recovering data from a crashed Mac.
Advantages:
Allows data recovery from various data loss scenarios, including power failure, accidental emptying of Trash, factory reset with no backup, inaccessibility or raw state, partition imperfection or error, virus attack, hard disk drive crash, and re-installation or upgrade of the operating system.
The software is fully compatible with macOS 10.9 to 10.15 (macOS Catalina). It supports APFS, ExFAT, FAT16, FAT32, HFS+, NTFS, Ext2, Ext 3, Ext4, and other file systems. The software comes with 24 by 7 professional technical support.
Disadvantages:
It has no support for Mac Crash Recovery. For that, you need to upgrade to the Standard or Advanced data recovery plan.
4. Ontrack Easy Recovery for Mac
Price: Home Edition at $99
This Mac file recovery software helps you recover your deleted files either from Mac’s internal storage drive or from Apple’s external Time Machine backup drive. The software uses advanced scanning techniques to quickly locate and recover your videos, photos, music, etc. You can use this Data Recovery tool on various Mac machines, including iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and Mac Pro.
Advantages:
The tool provides raw recovery on lost volumes and has the option to stop and start recovery at a convenient time. It supports any APFS data recovery, HFS+, HFS, FAT, NTFS, or exFAT formatted drive and supports macOS Catalina 10.15.
The software allows you to preview recoverable files, create an image of volumes, perform encrypted disk recovery, and get back data from Boot Camp partition.
Disadvantages:
Free trial of the software is available after you fill out the form with your complete information.
5. Data Rescue for Mac
Price: Pro version at $471.95
Data Rescue can easily find, preview, and recover lost data, reformatted drive, or deleted files. The software’s recovery function works beyond hard drive recovery and provides comprehensive recovery from numerous devices, including SSDs, USB drives, SD cards, CF cards, and many more.
Advantages:
The software’s interface allows you to start recovering files, view previous scan results, clone, and create recovery drive options. Using the software, you can recover images, movies, audio, mail, documents, text, archives, and various file formats.
You can use a quick scan or deep scan mode to scan your storage drive. And even get email notifications for your current or completed scans and know your duplicate files. The software is compatible with macOS 10.12 and later versions.
Mac Hard Drive Recovery Tool
Disadvantages:
Expensive.
6. Softtote Data Recovery Mac
Price: Free
Softtote Data Recovery Mac is an all-in-one Mac data recovery software for your lost or deleted files, formatted drives, and missing partition. The tool recovers data from corrupt or erased HDD, USB flash drive, camera, memory card, and MP3 or MP4 player.
Advantages:
The software provides unparalleled ease of use, timesaving and enhanced scanning method, file classification, filter and preview, and raw file searching. Plus, the tool has the option of Photo Recovery, File Recovery, and Lost Partition Recovery.
The utility is compatible with macOS High Sierra 10.13 and lower versions up to Mac OS X 10.6. It supports data recovery from HFS+, HFS Wrapper, HFS, HFSX, NTFS, and FAT file system volumes in the original file structure.
Disadvantages:
The tool has no support for macOS Catalina and APFS.
7. Disk Drill for Mac
Price: Pro version at $59.02
This DIY recovery software recovers data even if Mac’s internal or external hard drive has trouble accessing the data. With over 200+ file types, the software engine is powerful enough to retrieve music files, photos, videos, and other data.
Advantages:
You can use the software to rescue data even in case of a corrupted or missing files system. The GUI of software is straightforward to use, and its recover button can get back all your deleted data.
The software cleans up Mac, finds duplicate files from a storage drive, backs up data, creates a bootable USB drive, protects data with a recovery vault, monitors the drive’s health, and analyzes disk storage.
The software is macOS Big Sur ready. And, it supports APFS, HFS, HFS+, FAT, FAT32, ex-FAT, NTFS, or EXT3/EXT4 file systems.
Disadvantages:
Scan result doesn’t show files with the original name.
8. Do Your Data Recovery
Price: Pro version at $105.02
Do Your Data Recovery software recovers data from Mac desktop, laptop, hard drive, removable media, and digital devices lost due to deletion, format, wrong operation, OS crash, virus attack, and other unknown reasons. You can launch the software, scan for hard drive or device, and recover lost files immediately.
Advantages:
The tool’s wizard-based interface is easy to use. It allows you to save and resume recovery, search and filter files, and preview recoverable files before saving. You can use the software to recover from all types of files, including documents, folders, photos, videos, audio or voice files, archives, and emails.
The software is macOS Big Sur ready and is compatible with earlier versions up to 10.7. Moreover, it supports data recovery from APFS, HFS+/HFS, FAT 12/16/32, exFAT, NTFS, Ext2/3/4, and other file system formatted storage drives.
Disadvantages:
Quite expensive.
9. Lazesoft Mac Data Recovery
Price: Free
Lazesoft Mac Data Recovery is an easy and powerful free data recovery software for Mac. It can help you recover your lost or deleted documents, music, photos, videos, and applications from hard disk, memory card, USB flash drive, iPod, or any mountable media. The software can recover data from deleted, formatted, or corrupt partition.
Advantages:
Best Free Data Recovery Programs For Mac
The software provides limitless data recovery, dynamic file preview, progress status info, deep scan, and file search functionality. Plus, it comes with free technical support.
The software is compatible with Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 and later. Also, it supports HFS+, HFS, HFSX, exFAT, FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, and NTFS5 file systems.
Disadvantages:
The software’s website doesn’t show compatibility for APFS and the latest macOS.
10. Mac Data Recovery Guru
Price: Free
This free data recovery tool for MacBook allows recovery of deleted files from hard drives, memory cards, USB flash drives, and optical media.
Advantages:
Mac Data Recovery Guru has the option of “Search for embedded files” that performs exhaustive search based on file types. The software supports APFS, HFS+, HFS, HFSX, NTFS, FAT, Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, XFS, and UFS.
Disadvantages:
The software’s website doesn’t show support for the latest macOS and APFS.
FAQs Related to Mac Data Recovery Software
When does a Mac data recovery tool work?
Data recovery is feasible if you have stopped using your Mac immediately after emptying Trash, deletion of volume, or erasure of drive. Also, your Mac must boot. And, if your Mac doesn’t start, then you need a recovery software with bootable USB drive creation functionality.
Furthermore, data recovery is possible from an external storage drive using a data recovery software if and only if the connected storage drive is visible in Disk Utility (even in the greyed-out state) or System Information.
When doesn’t Mac data recovery work?
Data recovery won’t work if the storage drive is overwritten, formatted using security options of Erase in Disk Utility, or wiped by using a secure wipe software that uses advanced drive erasure algorithm in multiple passes. Also, data recovery won’t work for TRIM enabled internal Mac SSD. In such situations, only a backup of your Mac storage drive can salvage your lost data.
Moreover, data recovery isn’t possible for an external storage device—SSD, Hard Drive, or USB Flash Drive—when the drive doesn’t appear in Disk Utility or System Information window. This non-appearance can be due to physical damage to the storage medium. Then, a data recovery service provider can help.
What are the attributes of an ideal data recovery software?
An ideal data recovery software must have the following attributes:
- Recover all file-formats including photo, audio, video, document & email.
- Supportthe latest macOS and all compatible file systems & devices.
- Provide easy to use interface that recovers lost data in minimum steps.
- Feature advanced functionality such as recovery from unbootable Mac.
- Be backed up with the support team to answer all data recovery queries.
Which is completely free data recovery software for Mac?
You can try Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac to recover up to 1 GB of data for free. A completely free data recovery software for Mac is rare to find online. If found, it won’t be suitable for most Mac users due to lack of a graphical user interface, need to type commands to perform the recovery task, and don’t provide file preview and other advanced functionality freemium or premium software offers.
How to get maximum data recovered by software?
To maximize data recovery through software, you must immediately stop using your Mac or the external storage drive after data loss. This prompt action helps avoid overwriting on the existing but inaccessible files from the storage drive.
How to recover empty trash data?
To recover empty Trash data, launch a Mac data recovery software. And, from the interface, select and scan the volume wherein data got deleted. Preview the Trash deleted files, select the required ones, and recover them to a distinct volume.
How to boot a Mac and recover data?
If your Mac doesn’t boot, then you should employ a Mac data recovery software that can create a bootable recovery drive. Download and install the software on a working Mac, create a recovery drive, and then connect the drive to a non-booting Mac to recover data.
Conclusion
The top 10 free Mac data recovery software of 2021 brings forth significant features to provide you with comprehensive data recovery benefits. Identifying the right one based on your specific data recovery needs and circumstances out of these is relatively easy. For example, if you are using a Mac that runs macOS Catalina, then you would need to evaluate only those data recovery software that supports Catalina, and, also, to what extent.
What all OS, file systems, storage devices, and data loss scenarios does the software works in would be a few other essential factors to consider. Another important aspect is the ease of use. A software that’s easy and completely DIY would make a better choice than the ones that demand technical proficiency.
And then how well the overall value stands, meaning which software brings the best value for the money that you’ll spend. It’s better to have software that not just addresses your present data recovery needs but would also rescue you from other data loss incidents in the future. So, proactive drive monitoring, cloning, and disk imaging should be the add-on features to look at.