It is quite embarrassing when you unexpectedly lose the much dependable work, files of any other useful information stored on your computer or any of your external storage devices. With technological advancement, a tool has been invented to help solve this issue. 

In addition to Recuva Files Recovery Software, this article looks into other available best alternatives.  

Owned by CCleaner, Recuva Data recovery software is an unreservedly available but yet very powerful file recovery software for windows. It looks for lost or unintentionally wiped-out content on your computer or storage device.

Although a number of alternatives to Recuva exist, we will discuss the top category with an exhaustive Disk Drill Review. Recuva works on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 and also Windows server 2003 and 2008. The freeware is hailed for many reasons among them:

  • It helps in normal as well complex scan
  • Recuva interface has a preview of the restored data appearing in diverse color codes 
  • It does data recovery on windows internal partitions as well as external devices like USB drive, digital camera etc
  • A variety of data can be reclaimed like photos, word documents, music files and many more. 

Are Recuva Alternatives Necessary?

As much as the software is free, there are instances where it may require you to look for other alternatives to recover your lost files. 

  • Recuva mac is sought to recover files for those with MacOs since Recuva is only for windows. 
  • Recuva yields an in-between result that cannot be restored in their entirety 
  • Supports only a limited number of file formats
  • It does not really help in solving malware or virus-stricken data
  • Does not support user’s creation of a bootable media to be used for recovery when the system has crashed. 

What Are The 5 Best Alternatives To Recuva Data Recovery Software?

For reasons mentioned above, it stands out that one would need to make use of other available data recovery options, best of which are discussed below. 

1. Disk Drill 

Disk Drill 

Disk Drill by CleverFiles can recover up to a range of 400 file formats from a diversity of storage devices. It is an intuitive process that can be operated easily with any prior expert knowledge. It also supports a number of languages including: English, Arabic, German, Spanish, French, Malay, among many languages.  

For compatibility, the system requirements for windows 7 are SP1+, 44 MB of storage space / Mac OS X 10.8.5+, 22 MB of storage space. The supported file systems include, NTFS, NTFS5, FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, EXT3/EXT4, HFS+, APFS. 

Pros
  • Supports hundreds of file formats, making it efficient
  • It has powerful recovery abilities
  • It poses the ability to search lost partitions
  • Ease to use (Intuitive user interface)
  • Recovers up to 500MB of data for free (Windows)
Cons
  • It comes with average scan speed
  • Does not support phone

2. TestDisk

TestDisk

This is another freely available data recovery for PC that is compatible with wide range of OS: Linux, SunOS, macOS, Windows and even DOS. 

Its efficiency is premised on the following:

  • To discourage data overwriting once you have lost your data, avoid restarting your computer or further using it 
  • Use the recovery tool the soonest you can to get reliable results 
  • Always look the best recovery tool based on its features, recovery rate, ease of use, compatibility among other parameters. 
  • Find a tool that supports creation of bootable medium, since this allows for recovery on even crashed systems
  • Always have data back-up to avoid unwanted data loss
  • If possible, install an anti-malware software and always keep an active scan for maximum protection
Pros
  • Freely available
  • Runs on a wide range of OSs
Cons
  • Low recovery rate
  • No preview available

3. DiskDigger

DiskDigger

It supports leading windows and Linux versions but it is not available for windows. It comes at a premium as well as free. 

It is mostly used for recovery of photos, videos and audios. It however, might not be that promising when it comes to documents or files that are compressed. It has media preview for already extracted files, and it is very reliable.  

Pros
  • Simple to use interface
  • Free and paid versions available
Cons
  • Low recovery rate
  • Unreliable to recover files from crashed system

4. Wise Data Recovery

Wise Data Recovery

This is a user-friendly recovery tool which does well on the internal partition and also the external storage devices. Basically, it is free but one can opt to upgrade to premium version by acquiring paid subscription.

It runs on XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10, with a click-through process to recover all kinds of data including photos, emails, and documents. 

Pros
  • Reliable and easy to use
  • Preview of data is available
Cons
  • Not available for mac

5. FreeUndelete  

FreeUndelete  

Helps recover files deleted as well as data deleted from the recycle bin. It is applicable to both internal and external media. This tool is freely available and it supports FAT and NTFS systems.

Pros
  • Free of cost
  • Easy to use
  • Supports all major data types
Cons
  • Unavailable for mac
  • Low recovery rate