If you are a data recovery professional, you face much more challenging tasks than home users. As such, you have higher demands for the software you use. Professional data recovery software goes above and beyond the features and performance of the programs we evaluated in our article: “Do-It-Yourself Windows File Recovery Software: A Comparison.” These programs are intended to be used by technicians who have a deep knowledge of recovery methods, hard drive operation, and the various different file systems used by businesses and larger operations. A good professional data recovery program includes the features that allow you to fully utilize your knowledge while omitting extraneous features that may be more suitable for amateurs or home users.
Furthermore, the market for professional data recovery software is very dynamic. As new data storage and data recovery technologies are developed, new programs enter the market and established developers add functionality to their existing products. To stay abreast of the latest offerings, we update our professional data recovery software comparison on an annual basis. This year, our criteria remain the same, though we’ve added a few additional programs to our review.
A program that is suitable for professional data recovery must have the following features in addition to standard ones:
- A wide variety of supported file systems, including those used in server environments.
- RAID recovery, with support for rare and non-standard RAID layouts.
- Advanced hexadecimal editor that is able to parse and interpret disk data.
- Advanced disk imaging and copying.
- Additional features that can expand the data recovery services you can offer. For example, network data recovery allows technicians to provide clients full-fledged remote data recovery service from anywhere in the world.
From a functionality standpoint, the above features are key. The end user license is equally important. The end user license should allow for performance of commercial data recovery on your client’s machines and systems. Many programs suitable for professional data recovery are offered in multiple versions, each with a different end user license. For our descriptions, we give the pricing that includes an end user license suitable for working on systems other than your own.
On the other hand, some features are less crucial for professionals. Many do-it-yourself data recovery programs include wizard-style interfaces that pre-select various parameters for applicability to the most common cases. Data recovery pros may find these features unhelpful, or even restrictive, and may prefer a more advanced interface that allows greater control and customization. For this comparison, we will be providing very limited focus on these basic features. However, we do address the demo mode restrictions for each professional data recovery program. Each of these data recovery utilities has its own strengths and weaknesses, and being able to estimate a particular program’s ability to recover files in a specific scenario without making the significant investment in a commercial license can be extremely useful.
And a final note: Although our discussion is dedicated to logical data recovery (i.e. data recovery from a problematic file system on an otherwise healthy hard drive) we should point out that some professional data recovery programs can work together with special disk imaging and recovery hardware. Such hardware and software integration can retrieve data even from severely damaged hard drives. This functionality, while not essential for all tasks, can greatly expand the level of service you can offer to your data recovery customers.
- 2023
- 2022
- 2021
- 2020
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
- 2016
- 2015
- 2014
Professional Data Recovery Software Tested and Evaluated in 2023
For the 2023 update of our professional data recovery software comparison, we added a new test: data recovery from a damaged XFS partition. Otherwise, we keep the rest of the scope of our tests the same as the tests of 2022.
We removed Stellar Windows Data Recovery because it showed the worst results in our previous (2022) review and replaced it with DMDE because its new version has been released.
We continue to test and evaluate the programs which were included in our 2022 review:
Recovery Explorer Professional
Reviewed Version: 9.11
Prices: Professional Recovery: Personal: US$ 190.00, Commercial License: US$ 493.63, Corporate License: US$ 858.52.
Host operating systems: Starting from Windows XP Service Pack 3 Versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: no
Reviewed Version: 9.2 build 191115
Prices: R-Studio FAT US$ 49.88, NTFS US59.99, Standalone US$ 79.99, Corporate US$ 179.99, T80+ US$ 79.99, Technician US$ 899.00
Host operating systems: Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP/2000, Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012/2008/2003 (32/64 bit)
Support for data recovery hardware: DeepSpar Disk Imager™ (http://ww.deepspar.com/products-ds-disk-imager.html), USB Stabilizer (https://www.deepspar.com/usb-stabilizer.html), RapidSpar (RapidSpar Data Recovery Equipment for IT Service Providers ) (Technician/T80+ licenses only)
Reviewed Version: 5293
Prices: Standard: US $89.95, Ultimate: US $199.95, ReclaiMe Pro: US $799.00 per year, other options available.
Host operating systems: Windows
Support for data recovery hardware: no
Reviewed Version: 20.7
Prices: Personal: US$ 41.90 (one year) + US$32.90 (28%) for two years. Professional: US$91.90 (one year) + US$ 77.90 (28%) for two years. Specialist: US$138.90 (one year) + US$126.90 (28%) for two years. Lab: US$174.90 (one year) + US$1151.90 (28%) for two years.
Host operating systems: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1, 10, 11 32 Bit/64 Bit*, Server 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019
Support for data recovery hardware: no
Reviewed Version: 5.4.6.1441
Prices: From US$ 69.99 to US$ 699.99
Host operating systems: Windows
Support for data recovery hardware: no
Evaluation and Test Results
Overall product ratings
Overall product ratings were based on two main criteria:
- Interface and features – We evaluated each software package’s capabilities and created a side-by-side comparison of the most crucial professional data recovery features.
- File recovery performance – We put the identified features to the test to determine how effectively each program can recover data in various scenarios.
Since our last review, R-Studio keeps its first place in our tests, remaining the best professional data recovery software. Taking into account that it now works directly with several data extraction hardware devices (DeepSpar Disk Imager, USB Stabilizer, RapidSpar) and with its advanced imaging methods, this program becomes an essential part of a data recovery workstation. Recovery Explorer Professional took the second place. These two programs are considered the best data recovery software on the market. The new version of DMDE proved that this program has been deservedly included in almost all our reviews. It’s got back to its third place.
DiskGenius still showed very impressive results in data recovery for Windows file systems but DMDE moved it to the forth place. If not for the lack of support of other platforms (macOS and Linux), it may have been a decent rival to the two best programs.
ReclaiMe File Recovery remains on the last place. Its recovery performance must be greatly improved in order to be considered a professional data recovery program.
The following programs have received the most important new features:
R-Studio: Support for a new file system XFS. Forensic logs can be created directly from the Recovery dialog box. Recovery lists can be saved in various file formats. All S.M.A.R.T. attributes can be copied in one action. New file formats are added: VHD/VHDX and VDI.
Recovery Explorer Professional: Support for Btrfs-RAID, ZFS RAID-Z, Drobo BeyondRAID, and Synology Hybrid RAID. Includes a built-in signature editor. Additional features for S.M.A.R.T. monitoring. Support for Reworked RAID1E.
DMDE: Support for the APFS, ReFS, and btrfs file systems. New version added several new recovery options. Support for DVHD (Differencing VHDisks).
Interface and Features Ratings
| Product | Localization Support | Demo version restrictions | File preview | Standard file recovery features | Advanced file recovery features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.3 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 5.2 |
| DMDE | 5.8 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 |
| DiskGenius | 6.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
| WinHex | 5.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.0 |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.4 |
File recovery performance Ratings
| Product | Deleted files | Emptied Recycle Bin | Disk re-format | Damaged partition | Deleted partition | RAID recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.5 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.1 | 4.8 |
| DMDE | 5.0 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 1.9 |
| DiskGenius | 4.3 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 3.6 |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 4.8 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 4.0 |
| WinHex | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 6.0 | 1.9 |
Overall Rating
| Product | Rating | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.6 | The program with a good explorer-style interface, excellent previewer, and outstanding data recovery parameters and performance. It has all features and capabilities to perform professional data recovery. A must-have for any data recovery professional. Strengths: Works with specialized data recovery hardware: native support for DeepSpar devices (DeepSpar Disk Imager, USB Stabilizer, RapidSpar). The best performance in every file recovery case. Outstanding support for RAID and logical disk manager recovery, network data recovery, and good S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring. It has a powerful file previewer, disk imager that supports very advanced imaging methods (real-time and multi-pass algorithms), disk copy module, and a built-in hexadecimal editor. In addition, excellent documentation includes online manuals and tutorials for almost all data recovery scenarios. Weaknesses: Quite a moderate localization support, severe demo mode restrictions and the lack of support for less common file systems, such as ZFS, JFS, Novell NWFS/NSS, VMware VMFS, ReiserFS. Added since our last review: Support for a new file system XFS. Forensic logs can be created directly from the Recovery dialog box. Recovery lists can be saved in various file formats. All S.M.A.R.T. attributes can be copied in one action. New file formats are added: VHD/VHDX and VDI. |
| Recovery Explorer Professional | 4.9 | The other exceptional professional data recovery program that showed the second-best results in our data recovery tests and feature evaluation. It has a very convenient user interface, a quite good file previewer, and excellent data recovery parameters and performance. Strengths: The best set of supported file systems, the best support for standard RAID levels, and support for rather exotic volume managers: Btrfs-RAID, ZFS RAID-Z, Drobo BeyondRAID, and Synology Hybrid RAID. Excellent raw file recovery. A very good set of recovery features. Support for logical disk manager recovery and automatic RAID parameter recognition. Weaknesses: Limited file search and mark capabilities. The program sometimes required a long disk scan when other programs didn't. Poor localization support. The program showed the worst score for data recovery from a memory card with a deleted exFAT file system. Added since our last review: The Russian language has been dropped and French added. Support for Btrfs-RAID, ZFS RAID-Z, Drobo BeyondRAID, and Synology Hybrid RAID. A built-in signature editor. Additional features for S.M.A.R.T. monitoring. Support for Reworked RAID1E. |
| DMDE | 4.7 | A highly advanced hexadecimal editor tailored for data recovery for Windows, Mac, and Linux file systems. Overall, it showed the third-best results in our data recovery tests and feature estimations. Requires a very deep knowledge of disk and file system structures. Strengths: Very advanced disk and file editing capabilities. Very good localization support. No demo mode limitations except group file recovery. Very attractive pricing. Good S.M.A.R.T. attribute monitoring. A good startup version equal in its features to its Windows version. Weaknesses: Poor support for logical disk managers and a very limited built-in previewer. No data recovery over network. Added since our last review: Support for the APFS, ReFS, and btrfs file systems. Several new recovery options. Support for DVHD (Differencing VHDisks). |
| DiskGenius | 4.5 | A very good data recovery program, especially for Windows file systems. It even rivals R-Studio and Recovery Explorer Professional in this field. Only the lack of support for Mac and Linux file systems and disk/logical volume managers degraded its overall data recovery score. Strengths: The best localization support. A very good performance for Windows systems, especially for reformatted disks, and deleted partitions. A good startup version equal in its features to its Windows version. Weaknesses: The lack of support for Mac and Linux file systems. Limited file search, preview, and recovery capabilities. Added since our last review: 11 new interface languages. New options for the Recover files dialog box. Previously existing filter and file marking options have disappeared. Support for JBOD (Volume Set). |
| WinHex | 4.3 | A very advanced disk editor that requires very deep understanding of disk data structures. Ranked fifth in our data recovery tests and feature evaluation. Nevertheless, it showed good results in data recovery from deleted partitions. Strengths: One of the best imaging capabilities. The second-best set of supported file systems, and a very advanced disk editor. Weaknesses: Poor recovery feature set, relatively severe demo mode limitations, the lack of a file previewer, no S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring, and no startup version. Added since our last review: A preview in the Superior license type. Support for the QNX file system. Several file systems to scan for can be selected. Some commands in the shortcut menu. |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 3.9 | The program with a good wizard interface and relatively mediocre data recovery performance. Still, many automated recovery actions make up for these disadvantages. Strengths: A very good set of supported file systems, automatic RAID parameter recognition, and good support for Windows and Linux software RAIDs. Weaknesses: Quite mediocre data recovery performance, only one interface language (English), poor file preview capabilities, no S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring, and no startup version. |
Professional Data Recovery Software Tested and Evaluated in 2022
For the 2022 update of our professional data recovery software comparison, we keep the rest of the scope of our tests the same as the tests of 2021.
We removed DMDE and replaced it with DiskGenius. We also change Recovery Explorer RAID to Recovery Explorer Professional.
We added one new program to our tests:
Reviewed Version: 5.4.2.1239
Prices: From US$ 69.99 to US$ 699.99
Host operating systems: Windows
Support for data recovery hardware: No
We continue to test and evaluate the programs which were included in our 2020 review:
Recovery Explorer Professional
Reviewed Version: 9.4
Prices: Professional Recovery: Personal: US$ 190.00, Commercial License: US$ 493.63, Corporate License: US$ 858.52.
Host operating systems: Starting from Windows XP Service Pack 3 Versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 9.0.190275
Prices: R-Studio Standalone US$ 79.99, Corporate US$ 179.99, T80+ US$ 79.99, Technician US$ 899.00
Host operating systems: Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP/2000, Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012/2008/2003 (32/64 bit)
Support for data recovery hardware: Yes DeepSpar Disk Imager™ (http://ww.deepspar.com/products-ds-disk-imager.html), USB Stabilizer (https://www.deepspar.com/usb-stabilizer.html), RapidSpar (RapidSpar Data Recovery Equipment for IT Service Providers ) (Technician/T80+ licenses only)
Reviewed Version: 5059
Prices: Standard: US $79.95, Ultimate: US $199.95, ReclaiMe Pro: US $799.00
Host operating systems: Windows
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 20.1 24
Prices: Personal: US$ 41.90 (one year) + US$32.90 (28%) for two years. Professional: US$91.90 (one year) + US$ 77.90 (28%) for two years. Specialist: US$138.90 (one year) + US$126.90 (28%) for two years. Lab: US$174.90 (one year) + US$1151.90 (28%) for two years.
Host operating systems: Windows XP/2003/Vista/2008/7/8/8.1/2012/10, 32 Bit/64 Bit*, Server 2016
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 10.1.0.0
Prices: Standard: US$ 49.99, US$ 79.00, Technician: US $ 199.00
Host operating systems: Windows, 7, 8/8.1, 10, 32 or 64-bit
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Evaluation and Test Results
Overall product ratings
Overall product ratings were based on two main criteria:
- Interface and features – We evaluated each software package’s capabilities and created a side-by-side comparison of the most crucial professional data recovery features.
- File recovery performance – We put the identified features to the test to determine how effectively each program can recover data in various scenarios.
Since our last review, R-Studio keeps its first place in our tests, remaining the best professional data recovery software. Taking into account that it now works directly with several data extraction hardware devices (DeepSpar Disk Imager, USB Stabilizer, RapidSpar) and with its new advanced imaging methods, this program becomes an essential part of a data recovery workstation. Recovery Explorer Professional took the second place. These two programs are considered the best data recovery software on the market.
The new program we included in our review, DiskGenius, was a great surprise for us. It showed very impressive results in data recovery for Windows file systems and deservedly took the third place in our review. If not for the lack of support of other platforms (macOS and Linux), it may have been a decent rival to the two best programs.
ReclaiMe File Recovery has dropped to the last place; mainly because it crashed during several tests and failed to deliver any results for them.
The following programs have received the most important new features:
R-Studio: A new T80+ license, which is an affordable variation of the R-Studio Technician license for small businesses. Two new disk imaging methods: multi-pass and real-time imaging for processing failing drives. Support for sector map files, both in its native and third-party formats. Files/folders from several partitions can be opened in one tab and recovered in a single recovery action.
Recovery Explorer Professional: Support for new file systems: ReFS3 and F2FS. Support for uncommon RAIDs and volume managers: Btrfs-RAID, ZFS RAID-Z, Drobo BeyondRAID, and Synology Hybrid RAID. Support for reverse RAIDs.
WinHex: Support for a new file system: BTRFS.
Stellar Windows Data Recovery: Support for new file systems: HFS+, CDFS, UDF. An area to image can be specified in sectors.
ReclaiMe File Recovery: Several new disk image formats can be opened: dsk, img, -flat.vmdk, vhd, avhd, vhdx, and avhdx. New nonstandard RAID levels: RAIDZ, RAIDZ2, HP EVA vRAID. A new logical disk manager: Apple Fusion Drive.
Interface and Features Ratings
| Product | Localization Support | Demo version restrictions | File preview | Standard file recovery features | Advanced file recovery features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.8 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 5.2 |
| Stellar Windows Data Recovery | 5.3 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 2.7 |
| DiskGenius | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.4 |
| WinHex | 6.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 3.0 |
File recovery performance Ratings
| Product | Deleted files | Emptied Recycle Bin | Disk re-format | Damaged partition | Deleted partition | RAID recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.3 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 4.9 |
| DiskGenius | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 3.6 |
| WinHex | 5.0 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 1.9 |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 3.4 |
| Stellar Windows Data Recovery | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 6.0 | 0.6 |
Overall Rating
| Product | Rating | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.8 | The program that combines excellent data recovery parameters and performance. It has all features and capabilities to perform professional data recovery. A must-have for any data recovery professional. Strengths: Work with specialized data recovery hardware: native support for DeepSpar devices (DeepSpar Disk Imager, USB Stabilizer, RapidSpar). The best performance in every file recovery case. Outstanding support for RAID and logical disk manager recovery, network data recovery, and good S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring. It has a powerful file previewer, disk imager that supports very advanced imaging methods (real-time and multi-pass algorithms), disk copy module, and built-in hexadecimal editor. In addition, excellent documentation includes online manuals and tutorials for almost all data recovery scenarios. Weaknesses: Severe demo mode restrictions and the lack of support for less common file systems, such as XFS, ZFS, JFS, Novell NWFS/NSS, VMware VMFS, ReiserFS. Added since our last review: A new T80+ license that makes the program affordable even to small data recovery businesses. A demo version in R-Studio Technician, including support for magnetic tape devices file systems (Ustar/Tar/CPIO/Pax) as well as multi-pass and real-time imaging for processing failing drives. Additionally, files/folders from several partitions can be opened in one tab and recovered in a single recovery action. |
| Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.2 | The other exceptional professional data recovery program that showed the second-best results in our data recovery tests and feature evaluation. Strengths: The best set of supported file systems, the best support for standard RAID levels, and support for rather exotic volume managers: Btrfs-RAID, ZFS RAID-Z, Drobo BeyondRAID, and Synology Hybrid RAID. Excellent raw file recovery. A very good set of recovery features. Support for logical disk manager recovery and automatic RAID parameter recognition. Weaknesses: Limited file search and preview capabilities. The program sometimes required a long disk scan when other programs didn't. Added since our last review: Support for new file systems: ReFS3 and F2FS. Support for rather uncommon RAIDs and volume managers: Btrfs-RAID, ZFS RAID-Z, Drobo BeyondRAID, and Synology Hybrid RAID. Support for reverse RAIDs. Some new features in file search/mark/recovery parameters. A special log panel to view a recovery report. |
| DiskGenius | 4.5 | A very good data recovery program, especially for Windows file systems. It even rivals R-Studio and Recovery Explorer Professional in this field. Only the lack of support for Mac and Linux file systems and disk/logical volume managers degraded its overall data recovery score. Strengths: A very good performance for Windows systems, especially for files deleted without Bin, reformatted disks, and deleted partitions. It also showed the best speed of SSD disk scan. Weaknesses: The lack of support for Mac and Linux file systems. Poor interface localization. Limited file search and preview capabilities. |
| WinHex | 4.2 | A very advanced disk editor that requires very deep understanding of disk data structures. Ranked fourth in our data recovery tests and third in our feature evaluation. Nevertheless, it showed good results in data recovery from deleted partitions. Strengths: The best localization of its user interface. The second-best set of supported file systems, and a very advanced disk editor. Weaknesses: relatively severe demo mode limitations, the lack of a file previewer, no S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring, and no startup version. Added since our last review: Support for a new file system: BTRFS |
| Stellar Windows Data Recovery | 4.2 | The program showed the fifth-highest results in file recovery and third-highest results in feature evaluation. Still, it showed very good results in data recovery from deleted and formatted partitions. It also has a relatively good set of file recovery features. Strengths: S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring and creation of a startup recovery disk. Weaknesses: A limited number of supported file systems, no logging, no automatic RAID parameter finding, no support for logical disk managers, and no hexadecimal editor, Added since our last review: Data recovery now requires a purchased license. New file systems: HFS+, CDFS, UDF. An area to image can be specified in sectors. |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 3.9 | The program crashed during several tests, which is why it showed the worst score in data recovery. But when it worked, it showed a quite good performance. Strengths: A relatively good file previewer, a very good set of supported file systems, automatic RAID parameter recognition, and good support for Windows and Linux software RAIDs. Weaknesses: Only one interface language (English), poor file preview capabilities, no S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring, and no startup version. Added since our last review: Several new disk image formats can be opened: dsk, img, -flat.vmdk, vhd, avhd, vhdx, and avhdx. New nonstandard RAID levels: RAIDZ, RAIDZ2, HP EVA vRAID. A new logical disk manager: Apple Fusion Drive. |
Professional Data Recovery Software Tested and Evaluated in 2021
For the 2021 update of our professional data recovery software comparison, we keep the rest of the scope of our tests the same as the tests of 2020 with one exception: all our tests on disks/devices that were logically disconnected from the host operating system. This is necessary to prevent the system from “repairing” their file system. Such “repair” seriously reduces chances for successful file recovery.
We removed GetDataBack+RAID Reconstructor for its poor data recovery performance shown in our 2020 tests.
We added one program to our tests:
Reviewed Version: 9.0.0.5
Prices: Standard: US$ 49.99, US$ 79.00, Technician: US $ 199.00
Host operating systems: Windows Server 2008/2012, Windows Vista, 7, 8/8.1, 10, 32 or 64-bit https://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm
Support for data recovery hardware: No
We continue to test and evaluate the programs which were included in our 2020 review:
Reviewed Version: 8.10
Prices: Professional Recovery: Personal: US$ 85.50, Corporate (up to 10 company’s computers): US$ 319.95, Commercial US$ 179.95.
Host operating systems: Host operating systems: Starting from Windows XP Service Pack 3 Versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 8.15.180125
Prices: Local recovery: US $79.99 Network recovery: US $179.99 Technician License: US $899.00
Host operating systems: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 and Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012 (32/64 bit) Technician license includes versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality. http://www.data-recovery-software.net/
Support for data recovery hardware: DeepSpar Disk Imager™ (http://ww.deepspar.com/products-ds-disk-imager.html) (Technician license only)
Reviewed Version: 3.8.0.790
Prices: Express (1 year): US$ 20.00, Standard: US$ 48.00, (Multi-OS US$ 67.20), Professional: *US $95.00 (Additional features), (Multi-OS US$ 133.20)
Host operating systems: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, Windows 8, 10 (32/64 bit) DOS and Linux command line versions are available
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 4627
Prices: Standard: US $79.95, Ultimate: US $199.95, ReclaiMe Pro: US $799.00
Host operating systems: Windows
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 20.1 23
Prices: Personal: US$ 41.90 (one year) + US$32.90 (28%) for two years. Professional: US$91.90 (one year) + US$ 77.90 (28%) for two years. Specialist: US$138.90 (one year) + US$126.90 (28%) for two years. Lab: US$174.90 (one year) + US$1151.90 (28%) for two years.
Host operating systems: Windows XP/2003/Vista/2008/7/8/8.1/2012/10, 32 Bit/64 Bit*, Server 2016.
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Evaluation and Test Results
Overall product ratings
Overall product ratings were based on two main criteria:
- Interface and features – We evaluated each software package’s capabilities and created a side-by-side comparison of the most crucial professional data recovery features.
- File recovery performance – We put the identified features to the test to determine how effectively each program can recover data in various scenarios.
Since our last review, R-Studio keeps its first place in our tests, remaining the best professional data recovery software. DMDE has moved from the forth place in our previous review (2020) to the second one because its file recovery performance has been greatly improved and it has several new important features. Recovery Explorer RAID has lowered its position from second to third place, and ReclaiMe File Recovery has dropped to the fourth place; mainly because it doesn't have any new features.
The new program we included in our review, Stellar Windows Data Recovery, did not show any impressive results. Its file recovery performance ranked the sixth (last place) which cannot be balanced by its new features: a good advanced data recovery feature set, S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring, and a startup disk for emergency recovery.
Again, WinHex didn’t show good results. It’s a great hexadecimal editor, which can be used for data recovery and even forensic work, but its capabilities in data recovery are quite limited, despite its support for the largest number of file systems.
The following programs have received the most important new features:
R-Studio has a new scan mode Partition search that quickly finds lost/deleted partitions. It can also recover files directly from its file previewer.
DMDE now supports the APFS file system. It’s also got a simple, built-in previewer that can show graphic files. 3 new interface languages have been added.
Recovery Explorer RAID now has a special tool for S.M.A.R.T. attribute monitoring.
Stellar Windows Data Recovery now has support for S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring. Additionally, advanced recovery settings and a recovery startup disk have been added
Interface and Features Ratings
| Product | Localization Support | Demo version restrictions | File preview | Standard file recovery features | Advanced file recovery features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.8 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| DMDE | 6.0 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 4.8 | 4.4 |
| Recovery Explorer RAID | 5.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 4.7 |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.5 |
| Stellar Windows Data Recovery | 4.8 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 |
| WinHex | 4.8 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 2.6 |
File recovery performance Ratings
| Product | Deleted files | Emptied Recycle Bin | Disk re-format | Damaged partition | Deleted partition | RAID recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 6.0 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Recovery Explorer RAID | 5.7 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 4.5 |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 5.2 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 4.4 |
| DMDE | 5.2 | 4.3 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 2.2 |
| WinHex | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 5.9 | 1.4 |
| Stellar Windows Data Recovery | 5.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 2.4 | 6.0 | 0.6 |
Overall Rating
| Product | Rating | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.7 | The program that was constantly showing the best results, both in data recovery tests and in features necessary for performing professional data recovery. A must-have for any data recovery professional. Strengths: The best performance in all file recovery cases. Outstanding support for RAID and logical disk manager recovery, network data recovery, and good S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring. It has a powerful file previewer, disk copy module, and built-in hexadecimal editor. In addition, excellent documentation including online manuals and tutorials for almost all data recovery scenarios. Weaknesses: Severe demo mode restrictions and the lack of support for less common file systems, such as XFS, ZFS, JFS, Novell NWFS/NSS, VMware VMFS, ReiserFS. Added since our last review: In the file previewer, files can now be sequentially previewed, marked for recovery, and recovered directly from the previewer. It also shows the path to the previewed file. Support for the new file system ISO9660 (CD/DVD/ISO) has been added. A special scan mode Partition search that quickly finds lost/deleted partitions has been added. Processing of symbolic links has been improved. |
| DMDE | 4.9 | A highly advanced hexadecimal editor tailored for data recovery for Windows and Linux file systems. Overall, it showed the third-best results in our data recovery tests and second-best in feature estimations. Requires a very deep knowledge of disk and file system structures. Strengths: Very advanced disk and file editing capabilities. The best localization support. No demo mode limitations except group file recovery. Very attractive pricing. Very good imaging capabilities. Good S.M.A.R.T. attribute monitoring. Weaknesses: Poor support for logical disk managers and a very limited built-in previewer. Added since our last review: Three new interface languages have been added: Brazilian Portuguese, simplified Chinese, and Turkish. A relatively simple built-in previewer that can show graphic files has been added. Support for the APFS file system has been added. |
| Recovery Explorer RAID | 4.8 | A very decent professional data recovery program that showed the second-best results in our data recovery tests and third-best in the feature evaluation. Strengths: One of the best sets of supported file systems. Excellent raw file recovery. A very good set of recovery features. Support for logical disk manager recovery and automatic RAID parameter recognition. Weaknesses: Limited file search and preview capabilities. Added since our last review: A special tool for S.M.A.R.T. monitoring has been added. Support for new raw file formats from many digital cameras has been added. Recovery result logging has been improved. |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 4.3 | A very good data recovery program with a good combination of file recovery features and performance. It ranks fourth in data recovery performance and fifth in feature evaluation. One of the best sets of supported file systems. A good file recovery performance. Strengths: A relatively good file previewer, a very good set of supported file systems, automatic RAID parameter recognition, and good support for Windows and Linux software RAIDs. Weaknesses: Only one interface language (English), poor file preview capabilities, no support for WSS and Apple logical managers, no S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring, and no startup version. |
| Stellar Windows Data Recovery | 3.9 | The program showed the sixth-highest results in file recovery and fourth-highest results in feature evaluation. Still, it showed very good results in data recovery from deleted and formatted partitions. It also has a relatively good set of file recovery features. Strengths: Soft demo mode restrictions (free recovery of up to 1 GB of data), S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring, and creation of a startup recovery disk. Weaknesses: A limited number of supported file systems (Only Windows), no logging, no automatic RAID parameter finding, no support for logical disk managers, and no hexadecimal editor, Added since our last review (2019): Advanced recovery settings have been added. Support for S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring has been added. Creation of a recovery disk has been added. |
| WinHex | 3.8 | A very advanced disk editor that is even more sophisticated than DMDE. Requires very deep understanding of disk data structures. Ranked fifth in our data recovery tests and sixth in our feature evaluation. Nevertheless, it showed good results in data recovery from deleted partitions. Strength: The best set of supported file systems, excellent disk imaging capabilities, the best results in SSD device processing, automatic RAID parameter recognition, and support for user-defined file signatures. Weakness: relatively severe demo mode limitations, no support for many logical disk managers such as Windows Storage Spaces or Apple logical manager, a poor file previewer, no S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring, and no startup version. Added since our last review: The users can add their own file signatures. |
Professional Data Recovery Software Tested and Evaluated in 2020
For the 2020 update of our professional data recovery software comparison, we have added a new test: data recovery from an Apple’s APFS Fusions drive. We keep the rest of the scope of our tests the same as for the tests of 2019.
We removed two programs, Active@ File Recovery Ultimate and Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Technician, for their quite poor performance shown in our 2019 tests.
We added two new programs to our tests:
GetDataBack+RAID Reconstructor
Reviewed Version: 5.50
Prices: GetDataBack Pro : US $79.00, RAID Reconstructor: US $99.00
Host operating systems: Host operating systems: Windows Server 2008/2012, Windows Vista, 7, 8/8.1, 10, 32 or 64-bit
Support for data recovery hardware: No
This is a completely redesigned and re-written version of old well-esteemed GetDataBack we reviewed in 2014 and 2015. It will be interesting to evaluate this new version.
Reviewed Version: 19.9
Prices: Personal: US $41.90 (one year) + US $32.90 (28%) for two years. Professional: US $91.90 (one year) + US $77.90 (28%) for two years. Specialist: US $138.90 (one year) + US $126.90 (28%) for two years. Lab: US $174.90 (one year) + US $1151.90 (28%) for two years.
Host operating systems: Host operating systems: Windows XP/2003/Vista/2008/7/8/8.1/2012/10, 32 Bit/64 Bit
Support for data recovery hardware: No
This is another advanced hexadecimal editor like DMDE, but even more sophisticated. It’s widely used for data analysis for forensic and recovery tasks, and surely worth looking at.
We continue to test and evaluate the programs which were included in our 2019 review:
Reviewed Version: 7.16
Prices: Professional Recovery: Personal: US $85.50, Corporate (up to 10 company's computers): US $319.95, Commercial US $179.95
Host operating systems: Host operating systems: Starting from Windows XP Service Pack 3 Versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 8.11 build 175357
Prices: Local recovery: US $79.99 Network recovery: US $179.99 Technician License: US $899.00
Host operating systems: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 and Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012 (32/64 bit). Technician license includes versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality.
Support for data recovery hardware: DeepSpar Disk Imager™ (http://ww.deepspar.com/products-ds-disk-imager.html) (Technician license only)
Reviewed Version: 3.6.0
Prices: Express (1 year): US $20, Standard: US $48, Professional: US $95.00 (Additional features)
Host operating systems: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, Windows 8, 10 (32/64 bit). DOS and Linux command line versions are available
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 4345
Prices: Standard: US $79.95 Ultimate: US $199.95 Pro: US $799.00
Host operating systems: Windows
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Evaluation and Test Results
Overall product ratings
Overall product ratings were based on two main criteria:
- Interface and features – We evaluated each software package’s capabilities and created a side-by-side comparison of the most crucial professional data recovery features.
- File recovery performance – We put the identified features to the test to determine how effectively each program can recover data in various scenarios.
Since our last review, all old programs keep their positions: R-Studio keeps the leading position as the best professional data recovery software, while Recovery Explorer RAID is second, ReclaiMe File Recovery is third, DMDE is fourth.
The new programs in our review, GetDataBack and WinHex, didn’t look very impressive.
The new GetDataBack has now support for new file systems: exFAT, HFS+, APFS, and ext fs, which is good. Nevertheless, it showed only the second-to-last (fifth) results in its feature set and the last (sixth) results in data recovery, although it showed the best results in data recovery from deleted partitions. Furthermore, it uses a very old program RAID Reconstructor to work with RAIDs. The program cannot create virtual RAIDs, it can only produce an image of the RAID which has to be stored somewhere, which may be a big problem for large size RAIDs. Besides, although RAID Reconstructor is quite good in finding parameters for traditional RAID levels, like 0, 5, and 6, it has no abilities to work with various logical disk managers.
WinHex showed the last (sixth) results in its feature set, despite its support for very many file systems, and the second-to-last (fifth) results in file recovery, although it achieved the second best results in data recovery from deleted partitions. In addition, its interface is suited for data editing rather than for recovery. But there’s one important thing to understand. WinHex is not bad as a program itself. It’s a very powerful hexadecimal editor designed for analyzing and editing data on disks, with some features specially intended for data recovery. Moreover, it’s possible to use WinHex to perform manually many data recovery tasks which specialized data recovery software performs automatically. However that requires much deeper knowledge on data storage on disks, file system peculiarities, and so on, than necessary to work with special-purpose data recovery software.
Two programs have received the most important new features. R-Studio has got support for APFS Fusion Drive volumes. Its Technician version can now show extended file information in the File properties tab and recovery lists, and use additional storage paths to save recovered files, images, and other files to when the initial space comes to an end. Again, R-Studio is the most feature-reach program in our tests.
Recovery Explorer RAID now supports APFS Fusion Drive volumes, several new file systems, and several third-party image formats. Another interesting feature is the ability to use presets for various RAID controllers.
ReclaiMe file recovery Ultimate has now an improved file previewer and a more flexible scan procedure.
Interface and Features Ratings
| Product | Localization Support | Demo version restrictions | File preview | Standard file recovery features | Advanced file recovery features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 6.0 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Recovery Explorer RAID | 5.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 4.0 |
| DMDE | 6.0 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 4.8 | 4.4 |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 3.5 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.5 |
| GetDataBack+RAID Reconstructor | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.1 |
| WinHex | 4.5 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 2.6 |
File recovery performance Ratings
| Product | Deleted files | Emptied Recycle Bin | Disk re-format | Damaged partition | Deleted partition | RAID recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.7 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 6.0 |
| Recovery Explorer RAID | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 3.1 |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 5.8 | 5.0 | 3.6 |
| DMDE | 4.8 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 1.6 |
| WinHex | 4.5 | 5.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 5.8 | 1.8 |
| GetDataBack+RAID Reconstructor | 3.7 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 0.9 |
Overall Rating
| Product | Rating | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.6 | The program that was constantly showing the best results, both in data recovery tests and in features necessary for performing professional data recovery. A must-have for any data recovery professional. Strengths: High scores for almost all file recovery cases. An outstanding support for RAID and logical disk manager recovery, excellent localization support, network data recovery, a powerful file preview, disk copy module, good S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring, and built-in hexadecimal editor. In addition, excellent documentation including online manuals and tutorials for almost all data recovery scenarios. Weaknesses: Too severe demo mode restrictions, no support for less common file systems, such as XFS, ZFS, JFS, Novell NWFS/NSS, VMware VMFS, ReiserFS. Added since our last review: Support for APFS Fusion Drive volumes. A special tab to show file properties. Technician version: additional storage paths to save recovered files, images, and other files to when the initial space comes to an end. |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 4.5 | A very good data recovery program with good combination of file recovery features and performance, both ranked third. One of the best sets of supported file systems. A quite good file recovery performance. Strengths: A very good set of supported file systems, automatic RAID parameter recognition, and good support for Windows and Linux software RAIDs. Weaknesses: Only one interface language (English), poor file preview capabilities, no support for WSS and Apple logical managers, and no S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring. Added since our last review: An improved file previewer and a more flexible scan procedure. |
| Recovery Explorer RAID | 4.5 | A very decent professional data recovery program that showed the second results in our data recovery tests and third ones in the feature evaluation. Strengths: One of the best sets of supported file systems. Excellent raw file recovery. Support for logical disk manager recovery and automatic RAID parameter recognition. Weaknesses: Limited file search and preview capabilities and no S.M.A.R.T. attribute monitoring. Added since our last review: New interface languages, presets for various RAID controllers, support for APFS Fusion Drive volumes, several third-party image formats, several new file systems. |
| DMDE | 4.4 | A highly advanced hexadecimal editor tailored for data recovery for Windows and Linux file systems. Overall, it showed the forth results both in our data recovery tests and feature estimations. Requires a very deep knowledge of disk and file system structures. Strengths: Very advanced disk and file editing capabilities. Good localization support. No demo mode limitations, except group file recovery. Very attractive pricing. Very good imaging capabilities. Good S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring. Weaknesses: Poor support for logical disk managers and no file previewer in the program. |
| GetDataBack+RAID Reconstructor | 3.8 | The program showed the sixth (the last) results in file recovery and fifth results in feature evaluation. Still, it showed the best results in data recovery from deleted partitions. Strengths: Good processing of the exFAT file system and automatic RAID parameter recognition. Weaknesses: Only one interface language (English), no raw file recovery, very limited demo evaluation mode, no support for logical disk managers, no user-defined RAID layouts, and no S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring. Added since our last review: Support for exFAT, EXT, HFS+, and APFS file systems. |
| WinHex | 3.7 | A very advanced disk editor, even more sophisticated than DMDE. Requires very deep understanding of disk data structures. Ranked fifth in our data recovery tests and sixth in our feature evaluation. Nevertheless, it showed the second best results in data recovery from deleted partitions. Strength: The best set of supported file systems, excellent disk imaging capabilities, good data recovery from Linux MD RAIDs and LVM2 volumes. Weakness: No support for many logical disk managers such as Windows Storage Spaces or Apple logical manager, a poor file previewer, no automatic RAID parameter recognition, and no S.M.A.R.T attribute monitoring. |
Professional Data Recovery Software Tested and Evaluated in 2019
For the 2019 update of our professional data recovery software comparison, we have added a new test: data recovery from a damaged APFS partition. We kept the rest of the scope of our tests the same as 2016-2018.
We also removed two programs, Data Rescue 5 and Do Your Data Recovery, for their quite poor performance shown in our 2018 tests, and added one new program to our tests:
Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Technician
Reviewed Version: version 8.0
Prices: Technician: US $199.00 (with a discount) US $ 499.00
Host operating systems: Windows 10, 8.1/8, 7, Vista and XP
Support for data recovery hardware: No
We continue to test and evaluate the programs which were included in our 2018 review: %ratedproduct:recovery-explorer-professional_review%
Reviewed Version: 8.9 build 173589
Prices: Local recovery: US $79.99 Network recovery: US $179.99 Technician License: US $899.00
Host operating systems: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1, 10 and Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016 (32/64 bit)
Support for data recovery hardware: DeepSpar Disk Imager™ (http://ww.deepspar.com/products-ds-disk-imager.html) (Technician license only)
Reviewed Version: Version: 3.5.1.753
Prices: Professional: US $95.00 (Additional features)
Host operating systems: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, Windows 8/8.1, 10 (32/64 bit) DOS and Linux command line versions are available
Support for data recovery hardware: no
Active@ File Recovery Ultimate
Reviewed Version: Version: 18.0
Prices: Standard: US $29.95 (Personal), US $39.95 (Corporate) Professional: US $44.95 (Personal), US $64.95 (Corporate) Ultimate License Price: US $69.95 (Personal), US $89.95 (Corporate) Unlimited License Price: US $995.00
Host operating systems: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, and Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016 (32/64 bit)
Support for data recovery hardware: no
Reviewed Version: Version: 3906
Prices: Standard: US $79.95 Ultimate: US $199.95
Host operating systems: Windows
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Evaluation and Test Results
Overall product ratings
Overall product ratings were based on two main criteria:
- Interface and features – We evaluated each software package’s capabilities and created a side-by-side comparison of the most crucial professional data recovery features.
- File recovery performance – We put the identified features to the test to determine how effectively each program can recover data in various scenarios.
Since our last review, all of the old programs kept their positions: R-Studio leads as the best professional data recovery software, followed by Recovery Explorer Professional, ReclaiMe File Recovery, DMDE, Active@ Filer Recovery Ultimate Corporate, and finally Stellar Pheonix Windows Data Recovery Technician.
The new program in our review, Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Technician, did not show any impressive results. In truth, the only interesting feature is its ability to automatically create custom file signatures from 10 or more files. The remainder of the program is average at best, and several tests showed results at the lower end. Once again, active promotion doesn’t guarantee legitimate performance.
As in our previous tests, all of the tested programs (with the exception of Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Technician) showed quite similar performance for data recovery for conventional data recovery cases. The main difference was in data recovery from various RAID and logical disk managers. In those tests, R-Studio, Recovery Explorer Professional, and ReclaiMe File Recovery have the highest number of supported logical disk managers.
R-Studio, Recovery Explorer Professional, and ReclaiMe File Recovery now support the Apple’s new file system, APFS. Furthermore, Recovery Explorer Professional has the highest number of supported file systems.
Interface and Features Ratings
| Product | Localization Support | Demo version restrictions | File preview | Standard file recovery features | Advanced file recovery features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 6.0 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| DMDE | 6.0 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 4.4 |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 3.5 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 3.4 |
| Recovery Explorer RAID | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 4.0 |
| Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Technician | 5.3 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 0.9 |
| Active@ File Recovery Ultimate | 3.5 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 2.4 |
File recovery performance Ratings
| Product | Deleted files | Emptied Recycle Bin | Disk re-format | Damaged partition | Deleted partition | RAID recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.7 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 5.9 |
| Recovery Explorer RAID | 5.3 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 3.6 |
| Active@ File Recovery Ultimate | 5.0 | 5.8 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 5.9 | 2.4 |
| DMDE | 5.0 | 5.3 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 0.8 |
| Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Technician | 5.0 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 1.6 | 4.9 | 0.6 |
Overall Rating
| Product | Rating | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.6 | An excellent data recovery program based on a combination of file recovery features and performance. Shows the best results in roughly every category. A must-have for any data recovery professional. Strengths: Outstanding RAID and logical disk manager recovery, file preview, network data recovery, a disk copy module, built-in hexadecimal editor, excellent documentation including online manuals and tutorials for every data recovery scenario. High scores in essentially all of the file recovery cases. Weaknesses: Lacks support for less common file systems, such as XFS, ZFS, JFS, Novell NWFS/NSS, VMware VMFS, ReiserFS. Added since our last review: Estimation of successful file recovery. A new file previewer that supports almost all document, graphic, audio, and video files. A new file system: APFS |
| Recovery Explorer RAID | 4.8 | A great data recovery program with solid recovery features and performance.
Strengths: Added since our last review: Support for new RAID levels: RAID7, RAID level 10, 50, 60, 50E Automatic RAID parameter recognition. |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 4.6 | A good data recovery program with an excellent combination of file recovery features and performance. One of the best sets of supported file systems. Great file recovery performance. Strengths: Automatic RAID parameter recognition and support for many logical disk managers. Weaknesses: Poor file preview capabilities and lack of built-in S.M.A.R.T. reporting. Added since our last review: Support for the new file system: APFS (in Ultimate version). |
| DMDE | 4.3 | An effective data recovery program with nearly all the features required for professional data recovery. Requires a deep knowledge of disk and file system structures. Offers a highly advanced hexadecimal editor tailored for data recovery for Windows and Linux file systems. Strengths: Advanced disk and file editing capabilities. No demo mode limitations, except group file recovery. Attractive price tag. Great imaging capabilities. Showed the best results in recovering data from deleted partitions. Weaknesses: No support for logical disk managers. Added since our last review: Support for the new file system ReFS |
| Active@ File Recovery Ultimate | 4.1 | An effective data recovery program with nearly all the features required for professional data recovery. Added since our last review: Support for new file systems: ReFS2/3 |
| Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Technician | 3.6 | Has the ability to automatically create custom file signatures from 10 or more files. Showed second best results in SSD scan speed test. The remaining results were mediocre at best, in areas such as its file search capabilities, RAID reconstruction module, or recovery of files deleted from or without Trash Bin. It nearly failed the tests of file recovery from damaged partitions. It does not show S.M.A.R.T. attributes or contain a hexadecimal editor and there is no support for any logical disk managers. |
Professional Data Recovery Software Tested and Evaluated in 2018
For the 2018 update of our professional data recovery software comparison, we keep the scope of our tests the same as for the tests of 2016 and 2017.
We removed one program, FILERECOVERY Enterprise, for its quite poor performance shown in our 2017 tests.
We added two new programs to our tests:
Reviewed Version: 5.0.1 (5172.89.18)
Prices: Professional: US $299.00 (Annual Subscription)
Host operating systems: Windows 7 or Later
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 6.0
Prices: Professional: US $69.00, Enterprise: US $199.00 Technician: US $249.00
Host operating systems: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, and Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016
Support for data recovery hardware: No
We continue to test and evaluate the programs which were included in our 2017 review:
Recovery Explorer Professional
Reviewed Version: 6.13.2
Prices: Home/Personal: US $214.06, Corporate/Business: US $860.00
Host operating systems: Windows XP Service Pack 3 and higher
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 8.3 build 168075
Prices: Local recovery: US $79.99, Network recovery: US $179.99, Technician License: US $899.00
Host operating systems: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 and Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012 (32/64 bit) Technician license includes versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality.
Support for data recovery hardware: DeepSpar Disk Imager™ (http://ww.deepspar.com/products-ds-disk-imager.html) (Technician license only)
Reviewed Version: 3.4.0.720
Prices: Professional: US $95.00
Host operating systems: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, Windows 8, 10 (32/64 bit) DOS and Linux command line versions are available
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Active@ File Recovery Ultimate Corporate
Reviewed Version: 16.0
Prices: Standard: US $29.95 (Personal), US $39.95 (Corporate), Professional: US $44.95 (Personal), US $64.95 (Corporate), Ultimate: US $69.95 (Personal), US $89.95 (Corporate), Unlimited: US $995.00
Host operating systems: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, and Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016 (32/64 bit)
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 3442
Prices: Standard: US $79.95, Ultimate: US $199.95, Pro: US $799.00
Host operating systems: Windows
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Evaluation and Test Results
Overall product ratings
Overall product ratings were based on two main criteria:
- Interface and features – We evaluated each software package’s capabilities and created a side-by-side comparison of the most crucial professional data recovery features.
- File recovery performance – We put the identified features to the test to determine how effectively each program can recover data in various scenarios.
Since our last review, the first three programs have not changed: R-Studio keeps the leading position as the best professional data recovery software, while Recovery Explorer Professional is second, and ReclaiMe File Recovery is third. DMDE moved up to the fourth-ranked software because of many important features it now has.
On the other hand, the newly added programs, Data Rescue 5 and Do Your Data Recovery Enterprise appeared very disappointing. That is especially true for Data Rescue 5. It is actively being promoted on the Internet, but its only feature worth looking at is support for Apple’s APFS file system. The rest, especially its pricing model – a year subscription for the Professional version is not impressive at all. Moreover, to add insult to injury, the program failed unbelievable number of tests throwing error messages instead of any result.
As in our previous tests, all tested programs (except Data Rescue 5) showed quite similar performance for data recovery for conventional data recovery cases. The main difference was in data recovery from various RAID and logical disk managers. In those tests, R-Studio and ReclaiMe File Recovery have the highest number of supported logical disk managers.
Since Apple introduced its new file system, APFS, only two programs have gotten support for it: Recovery Explorer Professional and Data Rescue 5. Also, Recovery Explorer Professional has the highest number of supported file systems.
This year many programs have introduced quite important new features, DMDE taking the lead. Now it supports the HFS+/HFSX file system, custom file signatures, S.M.A.R.T. reporting, and automatic RAID parameter recognition. R-Studio, in turn, now supports many Apple volume managers: Apple CoreStorage/File Vault/Fusion Drive, and Linux MD RAID. Recovery Explorer Professional has confirmed its reputation of the program supporting the largest number of file systems, adding 5 new file systems to its list.
Interface and Features Ratings
| Product | Localization Support | Demo version restrictions | File preview | Standard file recovery features | Advanced file recovery features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 6.0 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 5.8 | 5.9 |
| DMDE | 6.0 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 4.8 | 4.4 |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 3.5 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 3.4 |
| Recovery Explorer Professional | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 3.4 |
| Data Rescue 5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 1.6 |
| Active@ File Recovery Ultimate Corporate | 3.5 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 2.4 |
| Do Your Data Recovery | 1.5 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 0.3 |
File recovery performance Ratings
| Product | Deleted files | Emptied Recycle Bin | Disk re-format | Damaged partition | Deleted partition | RAID recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 5.9 |
| Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.1 |
| Active@ File Recovery Ultimate Corporate | 5.0 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 2.7 |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 3.6 |
| DMDE | 5.0 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 0.6 |
| Do Your Data Recovery | 5.5 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 5.5 | 0.7 |
| Data Rescue 5 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.1 |
Overall Rating
| Product | Rating | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.7 | An excellent combination of file recovery features and performance. Shows the best results in almost every category. A must-have for any data recovery professional. Strengths: Outstanding RAID and logical disk manager recovery, file preview, network data recovery, a disk copy module, built-in hexadecimal editor, excellent documentation including online manuals and tutorials for almost all data recovery scenarios. High scores for almost all file recovery cases. Weaknesses: Lacks support for the newest Apple file system: APFS, Lacks support for less common file systems, such as XFS, ZFS, JFS, Novell NWFS/NSS, VMware VMFS, ReiserFS. Added since our last review: A very advanced algorithm for processing multiple copies of recovered files. Support for Linux MD RAID, Apple CoreStorage/File Vault/Fusion Drive. A new file system: ReFS2 |
| Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.0 | A very decent professional data recovery program with good recovery features and performance. Strengths: One of the best sets of supported file systems. Very good data recovery performance, always among the top scores. Excellent raw file recovery. Support for logical disk manager recovery. Support for the newest Apple file system: APFS. Weaknesses: Limited file search and preview capabilities. It also doesn’t show the disk’s S.M.A.R.T. attributes. Added since our last review: Support for new ReFS/ReFS2, ZFS, ESX(i), VMFS, APFS file systems. Supports for Apple RAID |
| ReclaiMe File Recovery | 4.7 | A very good data recovery program with excellent combination of file recovery features and performance. One of the best sets of supported file systems. Very good file recovery performance. Strengths: Automatic RAID parameter recognition and support for many logical disk managers, Weaknesses: Poor file preview capabilities and lack of built-in S.M.A.R.T. reporting. Added since our last review: Support for custom file signatures. |
| DMDE | 4.7 | A highly advanced hexadecimal editor tailored for data recovery for Windows and Linux file systems. Requires a very deep knowledge of disk and file system structures. It introduced the largest number of new features added since our last review. Strengths: Very advanced disk and file editing capabilities. No demo mode limitations, except group file recovery. Very attractive pricing. Very good imaging capabilities. Showed the best results in recovering data from deleted partitions. Weaknesses: No support for logical disk managers. Added since our last review: Supports for HFS+/HFSX file systems. Support for custom file signatures. Support for S.M.A.R.T. reporting Support for automatic RAID parameter recognition. |
| Active@ File Recovery Ultimate Corporate | 4.5 | An effective data recovery program with nearly all the features required for professional data recovery. Strengths: A full-featured startup version. The best score for file recovery from deleted and damaged partitions Weaknesses: Only one interface language (English). Very limited demo evaluation mode. Lacks support for many logical disk managers such as Windows Storage Spaces, and user-defined RAID layouts. It doesn’t show a disk’s S.M.A.R.T. attributes. Added since our last review: Support for new file systems: ReFS, JFS |
| Data Rescue 5 | 3.3 | Although many internet resources are actively promoting this program, it shows quite poor performance. Moreover, it completely failed in many tests throwing error messages. The only reason to use the program is data recovery from Apple modern SSD disks with the APFS file system. Strengths: Support for Apple’s APFS file system, good imaging capabilities, support for custom file signatures in raw recovery, and versatile logging. Weaknesses: No S.M.A.R.T. reporting, a limited number of RAID levels (JBOD and RAID0). No support for logical disk managers. Extremely customer-unfriendly pricing. |
| Do Your Data Recovery | 3.0 | Although it showed quite decent results for simple recovery cases, the program appeared unable to solve more advanced data recovery tasks. |
Professional Data Recovery Software Tested and Evaluated in 2017
For the 2017 update of our professional data recovery software comparison, we keep the scope of our tests the same as for the tests of 2016, with two exceptions:
- We used a much more complex folder structure and more files for or our tests. That’s why some test results look different compared to those from the previous reviews.
- We added a new test: automatic re-construction of Linux MD RAIDs. They are quite popular, as they are used not only in Linux servers, many Linux-based NAS devices use them, too.
We added one new program to our tests:
Reviewed Version: 3074
Prices: Standard: US$79.95 Ultimate: US$199.95 ReclaiMe Pro:US$799.00
Host operating systems: Windows
Support for data recovery hardware: No
We also included a new program which is a successor to the famous UFS Explorer Professional Recovery:
Recovery Explorer Professional
Reviewed Version: 6.8.1
Prices: Home/Personal: US$214.06, Corporate/Business: US$860.00
Host operating systems: Windows XP SP3,Vista,7,8,10,Server 2003,2008. Versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: No
We continue to test and evaluate the programs which were included in our 2016 review:
Reviewed Version: 8.1 build 165145
Prices: Local recovery: US$79.99 Network recovery: US$179.99 Technician License: US$899.00
Host operating systems: Windows 2000,XP,Vista,7,8,10, Server 2003,2008,2012(32/64 bit). Technician license includes versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality.
Support for data recovery hardware: DeepSpar Disk Imager™ (http://ww.deepspar.com/products-ds-disk-imager.html) (Technician license only)
Reviewed Version: 3.0.6
Prices: Professional: US$95.00 (Additional features)
Host operating systems: Windows 98,ME,NT,2000,XP,Vista,7,8,10(32/64 bit). DOS and Linux command-line versions are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 15
Prices: Standard: US$29.95 (Personal), US$39.95 (Corporate) Professional: US$44.95 (Personal), US$64.95 (Corporate) Ultimate: US$69.95 (Personal), US$89.95 (Corporate) Unlimited: US$ US$ 99500
Host operating systems: Windows XP,Vista,7,8,10,Server 2003,2008,2012(32/64 bit).
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 5.5.8.4
Prices: Standard: US$69.95 Professional: US$99.95 Enterprise: US$349.95 Enterprise Commercial: US$399.95
Host operating systems: Windows XP SP3,Vista SP2,7 SP1,8,10(32/64 bit)
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Evaluation and Test Results
Overall product ratings
Overall product ratings were based on two main criteria:
- Interface and features – We evaluated each software package’s capabilities and created a side-by-side comparison of the most crucial professional data recovery features.
- File recovery performance – We put the identified features to the test to determine how effectively each program can recover data in various scenarios.
Since our last review, R-Studio keeps the leading position as the best professional data recovery software. But the new program, ReclaiMe File Recovery, has lived up to our high expectations, ranking third overall. DMDE moved up to the fourth-ranked software from last place in the 2016 review mainly because it seriously improved its data recovery performance. On the other hand, FILERECOVERY Enterprise seriously worsened its overall standing because it no longer recognizes non-Latin characters and it constantly crashed during several tests.
As in our previous tests, all tested programs showed quite similar performance for data recovery for conventional data recovery cases. The main difference was in data recovery from various RAID and logical disk managers. And in those tests, R-Studio now has a very good competitor: ReclaiMe File Recovery. They both showed quite outstanding performance in this comparison. They are the only programs which support data recovery from Windows Storage Spaces. R-Studio supports Apple RAIDs, but ReclaiMe File Recovery supports Linux MD RAIDs. Recovery Explorer Professional is a close runner-up, supporting Windows LDM RAIDs, Linux MD RAIDs, and Linux LVM/LVM2 manager. It claimed to support Windows Storage Spaces, too, but failed during our tests. Had the tests been successful, it would have been the best in this category.
For long term support, Active@ File Recovery takes the lead, with its improved recognition of non-Latin characters, support for new file systems, and introduction of the LVM/LVM2 manager, plus a few smaller new features. Other programs have no important features added since our last review. As more mature products, it’s likely that the developers are now concentrating on bugfixing and performance enhancements. The only small exception is DMDE which improved its localization support by adding four new interface languages.
Interface and Features Ratings
| Product | Localization Support | Demo version restrictions | File preview | Standard file recovery features | Advanced file recovery features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.8 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 5.9 |
| Recovery Explorer Professional | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 3.3 |
| DMDE | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 2.9 |
| ReclaiMe file recovery | 3.5 | 2.5 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 2.8 |
| Active@ File Recovery | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 2.4 |
| FILERECOVERY Enterprise | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 2.3 |
File recovery performance Ratings
| Product | Deleted files | Emptied Recycle Bin | Disk re-format | Damaged partition | Deleted partition | RAID recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 5.3 |
| Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.3 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 3.5 |
| ReclaiMe file recovery | 4.3 | 5.3 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 5.1 | 4.3 |
| Active@ File Recovery | 5.2 | 5.5 | 3.6 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 2.6 |
| DMDE | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 0.6 |
| FILERECOVERY Enterprise | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 1.1 |
Overall Rating
| Product | Rating | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.5 | An excellent combination of file recovery features and performance. Shows the best results in almost every category. A must-have for any data recovery professional. Strengths: Outstanding RAID and logical disk manager recovery, file preview, network data recovery, a disk copy module, built-in hexadecimal editor, excellent documentation including online manuals and tutorials for almost all data recovery scenarios. High scores for almost all file recovery cases. Weaknesses: Lacks support for less common file systems, such as XFS, ZFS, JFS, Novell NWFS/NSS, VMware VMFS, ReiserFS, and for Linux MD RAIDs. |
| Recovery Explorer Professional | 4.5 | Very decent professional data recovery software. It has good recovery features and performance. Strengths: One of the best sets of supported file systems. Very good data recovery performance, always among the top scores. Excellent raw file recovery. Support for Windows LDM and Linux MD RAIDs, and LVM/LVM2 manager. Weaknesses: Limited file preview capabilities. It also doesn’t show the disk’s S.M.A.R.T. attributes. |
| ReclaiMe file recovery | 4.3 | A very promising data recovery program. It deservedly won the third position in our rating thanks to its excellent combination of file recovery features and performance. Strengths: One of the best sets of supported file systems. Good support for many RAID levels and logical disk managers. Very good performance, especially for data recovery from emptied Recycle Bin and damaged partitions. Weaknesses: There is no built-in S.M.A.R.T. reporting and no support for custom RAID layouts. It also could not automatically detect RAID5 parameters; however, ReclaiMe did find correct RAID parameters in other tests outside the scope of this review. |
| Active@ File Recovery | 4.2 | An effective data recovery program with nearly all the features required for professional data recovery. It introduced the largest number of new features added since our last review. Strengths: Support for Windows LDM RAIDs and Linux LVM/LVM2. The best score for file recovery from deleted partitions Weaknesses: Only one interface language (English). Very limited demo evaluation mode; no advanced features (such as RAID recovery) can be tested. Lacks support for Windows Storage Spaces and user-defined RAID layouts. It doesn’t show a disk’s S.M.A.R.T. attributes. Since our last review: The program can now recognize all tested localized characters. New features: Support for new file systems: XFS, UDF, and ISO Support for Linux Logical Volume Manager (LVM/LVM2) Some smaller data recovery features |
| DMDE | 4.2 | A highly advanced hexadecimal editor tailored for data recovery for Windows and Linux file systems. Requires a very deep knowledge of disk and file system structures. Strengths: Very advanced disk and file editing capabilities. No demo mode limitations, except group file recovery. Very attractive pricing. Very good imaging capabilities. Showed the best results in recovering data from deleted partitions. Weaknesses: It has no previewer and no support for the HFS+ (Apple) file system. No support for logical disk managers. It doesn’t show the disk’s S.M.A.R.T. attributes. Since our last review: Improved localization support: four new interface languages are added. |
| FILERECOVERY Enterprise | 3.7 | Quite unusual, but this program has worsened its performance since our last test, mainly because it stopped recognizing non-Latin characters and it crashed in several tests. Still, it showed good results in data recovery from deleted partitions and for files deleted without the Recycle Bin. Strengths: Good data recovery performance in some cases. Good results in the automatic RAID parameter recognition test. An outstanding number of interface languages. It showed a detailed S.M.A.R.T. analysis. Weaknesses: Crashed during several tests. Unrecognized non-Latin characters. No support for logical disk managers. Since our last review: The program stopped recognizing non-Latin characters. |
Professional Data Recovery Software Tested and Evaluated in 2016
Each year, we take the top professional data recovery software and put them to the test. For our 2016 professional data recovery software comparison, we've made some important changes to the scope of our testing. These changes reflect the evolving field of data recovery and the latest software offerings from the best developers in the sector.
Our professional data recovery review now has a greater focus on the file systems and recovery features that matter most in real world environments. Here's what's new:
- We've added tests and scoring for exFAT file system support. exFAT has become one of the most important cross-platform file systems, especially for hard disks and large memory cards. exFAT has become the de facto standard in a number of home and business storage systems.
- Accordingly, we've reduced the focus for our FAT32 device support and performance tests. The limitations of FAT32 (e.g., file size limits of 4 GB) make it less and less practical when compared to exFAT. As such, we give FAT32 performance less weight in our 2016 review.
- We've added tests that cover data recovery from various logical disk managers, such as Windows Storage Spaces, Apple RAIDs, and Linux LVM/LVM2 manager. Support for such systems differentiate DIY home data recovery programs from truly professional data recovery utilities.
Based on our increased focus on the data recovery features and performance that matter most in today's environment, we've also dropped a few programs from our review. The following data recovery programs won't be reviewed this year:
- We dropped Stellar Phoenix for its middling data recovery performance and very limited number of supported file systems (Mac and Windows systems only).
- Ontrack® EasyRecovery™ Enterprise: This program is simply too expensive to justify its relatively average performance.
- Recover My Files: Recover My Files has performed consistently poorly in our past reviews and has been dropped from our evaluation.
- GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo: This suite of data recovery tools appears to no longer be under development.
DMDE, which scored the lowest in our 2015 pro data recovery review, is included in our 2016 review. DMDE has seen some significant improvements; it overcame its main disadvantage (lack of raw file recovery) and now supports non-Windows file systems.
We also took Restorer Ultimate and moved it to our DIY data recovery review. Although Restorer Ultimate has performed very well when tested as a professional data recovery program, the developers offer no license for recovering data commercially. However, we still think it's a very decent data recovery program for home or small business use and highly recommend it for those who don't find the licensing issue a barrier.
Lastly, we added a new program to our test lineup:
Reviewed Version: 5.5.7.9
Prices: US $69.95 (Standard); US $99.95 (Professional); US $349.95 (Enterprise); US $399.95 (Enterprise Commercial);
Host operating systems: Windows XP (SP3)/2003/Vista (SP2)/Win7 (SP1)/Win8/Win10 (32/64 bit)
Support for data recovery hardware: No
We continue to test and evaluate the programs which were included in our 2015 review:
UFS Explorer Professional Recovery
Reviewed Version: 5.18.5
Prices: €199.95 (~US $225) (Personal License); €799.95 (~US $900) (Business License)
Host operating systems: Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, and Windows Server 2003, 2008 (32/64 bit)
Versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: PC-3000
Reviewed Version: 7.8.160621
Prices: US $79.99 (Local recovery); US $179.99 (Network recovery); US $899.00 (Technician Package)
Host operating systems: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 and Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012 (32/64 bit)
Support for data recovery hardware: DeepSpar Disk Imager™(Technician Package only)
Reviewed Version: 3.0.4.630
Prices: US $48.00 (Home Edition, Commercial – Base features); US $95.00 (Professional – Additional features)
Host operating systems: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, Windows 8, 10 (32/64 bit)
DOS and Linux command-line versions are available
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 14.5
Prices: US $64.95 (Corporate Professional); US $89.95 (Corporate Ultimate); US $995.00 (Unlimited Ultimate)
Host operating systems: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012 (32/64 bit)
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Evaluation and Test Results
Overall product ratings
To calculate the overall product ratings, we factored in the results of our two areas of testing.
- Interface and Features
We evaluated the features that each utility offers against the scenarios that most often face data recovery professionals. We created a side-by-side comparison of each program with ratings for the overall interface and each specific feature. - File Recovery Performance
For our performance tests, we took the features that each utility offers and subjected each one to a number of data recovery trials. Our tests cover a wide range of real world scenarios.
The overall test results show that R-Studio continues to be the top performing professional data recovery software with the best feature set. UFS Explorer Professional Recovery also kept its second place ranking from last year. The expanded criteria of our 2016 comparison confirm that these two utilities are well-adapted to the changing field of professional data recovery.
DMDE, although showing significant improvements since last year, remains at the bottom of the list. DMDE has picked up support for file signature searches, new languages, and several non-Windows file systems, but it still has a lot of ground to cover before it's on par with the other pro data recovery utilities in our tests.
All programs showed very similar performance for data recovery from conventional disks. The main difference was in data recovery from various logical disk managers. And in those tests, R-Studio showed quite outstanding performance. It appears to be the only program which supports data recovery from Windows Storage Spaces and Apple RAIDs. UFS Explorer Professional Recovery is the runner up in these categories, thanks to its support of Windows LDM RAIDs and Linux LVM/LVM2 manager.
We also took a look at the long term support and development for each program. As previously mentioned, DMDE showed some impressive improvements in terms of added features, in spite of its average performance. On the contrary, R-Studio, which has previously been one of the fastest developing programs in terms of new features with each release, did not have any major features added this year. Still, the developers R-Studio continue a steady release schedule with changes focused on bug-fixes and performance enhancements. The program remains the most feature-rich product with the highest ratings.
Like DMDE, UFS Explorer Professional Recovery has improved its localization support, which indicates that it is still under active development and is well-supported.
Throughout this review, we've bolded features that have improved or changed since our last review.
Interface and Features Ratings
| Product | Localization Support | Demo version restrictions | File preview | Standard file recovery features | Advanced file recovery features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.8 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| FILERECOVERY Enterprise | 6.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 3.1 |
| UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 4.6 | 3.2 |
| DMDE | 4.5 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 4.8 | 2.8 |
| Active@ File Recovery | 2.8 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 2.3 |
File recovery performance Ratings
| Product | Deleted files | Emptied Recycle Bin | Disk re-format | Damaged partition | Deleted partition | RAID recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 6.0 |
| Active@ File Recovery | 4.5 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 2.0 |
| UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 4.0 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 3.1 |
| DMDE | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 0.6 |
| FILERECOVERY Enterprise | 4.3 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 0.8 |
Overall Rating
| Product | Rating | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.5 | An excellent all-around tool with high scores in both file recovery features and performance. R-Studio received the top rating in almost every category and is considered an essential tool for data recovery pros. Strengths: Outstanding RAID and logical disk manager recovery, file preview, network data recovery, a disk copy module, built-in hexadecimal editor, excellent documentation including extensive online manual and detailed tutorials for every major data recovery case. Best score for file recovery from damaged partitions. Weaknesses: Lacks support for less common file systems, such as XFS, ZFS, JFS, Novell NWFS/NSS, VMware VMFS, ReiserFS. |
| UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 4.5 | Very decent professional data recovery software. A close second to R-Studio in terms of recovery features and performance. Strengths: Outstanding set of supported file systems. Support for Windows LDM RAIDs and Linux LVM/LVM2 manager. Weaknesses: Limited file preview capabilities. Lacks support for Windows Storage Spaces. New features: Support for a new file system: Btrfs Since our last review: Improved localization support. |
| Active@ File Recovery | 4.0 | An impressive data recovery program with only a few key professional data recovery features missing. Strengths: Good data recovery performance. Features the best startup version in our lineup. Support for Windows LDM RAIDs. Tied with DMDE for the best score for file recovery from deleted partitions Weaknesses: Only one interface language (English). Very limited demo evaluation mode; doesn't allow evaluation of advanced features (such as RAID recovery). Lacks support for Windows Storage Spaces. New features: Support for a new file system: Btrfs |
| FILERECOVERY Enterprise | 4.0 | A program with a good data recovery performance for typical scenarios, but poorer support for advanced data recovery. Strengths: Good data recovery performance. Outstanding localization support, best among other programs. Weaknesses: Bad performance in RAID recovery. No support for logical disk managers. Advertises automatic RAID parameter recognition but this feature is actually unusable. |
| DMDE | 4.0 | Boasts a highly advanced hexadecimal editor tailored for data recovery that now supports non-Windows file systems. A powerful tool for technicians with a very deep knowledge of disk and file system structures. Strengths: Highly advanced disk and file editing capabilities. No demo mode limitations, except group file recovery. Very competitive pricing. The best score (matched only by Active@ File Recovery) for file recovery from deleted partitions. Weaknesses: No support for the HFS+ (Apple) file system. Bad performance in RAID recovery: no support for logical disk managers. New features: Raw file recovery. Since our last review: Improved localization support. |
Professional Data Recovery Software Tested and Evaluated in 2015
Since our previous comparison, we’ve expanded our evaluation to include a number of new programs which we believe meet the criteria for professional data recovery software. The following additional programs are included in our 2015 comparison:
Reviewed Version: 6.0.0.1
Prices: US $299 (Corporate use); US $299 (Commercial data recovery service and US $500 including Mac and Linux recovery)
Host operating systems: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 (32/64 bit). Versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Ontrack® EasyRecovery™ Enterprise
Reviewed Version: 11
Prices: US $499 (Corporate use); US $499 (Commercial data recovery service);
Host operating systems: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and Windows Server 2003, 2008 (32/64 bit). Versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Active@ File Recovery Ultimate Corporate
Reviewed Version: 12.0.3
Prices: US $89.95 (Corporate use); US $995.00 (Commercial data recovery service);
Host operating systems: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012 (32/64 bit).
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 5.2.1.1964
Prices: US $99.95 (Corporate use); US $349.95 (Commercial data recovery service);
Host operating systems: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and Windows Server 2003 (32/64 bit).
Support for data recovery hardware: No
We also continue to test and evaluate the programs which were included in our 2014 review:
UFS Explorer Professional Recovery
Reviewed Version: 5.15.1
Prices: US $799.95 (Corporate use); US $799.95 (Commercial data recovery service);
Host operating systems: Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and Windows Server 2003, 2008 (32/64 bit). Versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: PC-3000
Reviewed Version: 7.2.155117
Prices: US $79.99 (Local recovery); US $179.99 (Network recovery); US $899.00 (Commercial data recovery service);
Host operating systems: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012 (32/64 bit). Technician package includes versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality.
Support for data recovery hardware: DeepSpar Disk Imager™ (Technician License only)
GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo
Reviewed Version: 4.33 (RAID Reconstructor 4.32)
Prices: US $799.95 (Corporate use); US $799.95 (Commercial data recovery service); US $849.00 (Runtime Bundle (Technician's License));
Host operating systems: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and Windows Server 2003, 2008 (32/64 bit)
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 2.9.2.554
Prices: US $75.00/95.00 (Corporate use); US $75.00/95.00 (Commercial data recovery service);
Host operating systems: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, Windows 8 (32/64 bit). DOS and Linux command line versions are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Reviewed Version: 8.0.801109
Prices: US $49.99 (Restorer Ultimate Pro); US $69.99 (Restorer Ultimate Pro Network); Not available (Commercial data recovery service);
Host operating systems: XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1 and Windows Server 2000, 2003, 2008, 2012 (32/64 bit). A Mac OS X version with the same functionality is available.
Support for data recovery hardware: No
Interface and Features Ratings
| Product | Localization Support | Demo version restrictions | File preview | Standard file recovery features | Advanced file recovery features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.8 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Restorer Ultimate | 5.8 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.2 |
| Recover My Files | 6.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 1.7 |
| Ontrack® EasyRecovery™ Enterprise | 6.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 2.1 |
| Stellar Phoenix Technician | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 2.1 |
| UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.0 |
| GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo | 2.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 2.2 |
| DMDE | 3.5 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 3.8 | 2.5 |
| Active@ File Recovery Ultimate Corporate | 3.5 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 2.0 |
File recovery performance Ratings
| Product | Deleted files | Emptied Recycle Bin | Disk re-format | Damaged partition | Deleted partition | RAID recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.3 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 5.8 |
| Restorer Ultimate | 5.3 | 5.3 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 5.8 |
| UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 3.8 |
| GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo | 3.8 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 4.5 |
| Active@ File Recovery Ultimate Corporate | 4.8 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 3.5 |
| Stellar Phoenix Technician | 4.8 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 5.0 |
| DMDE | 3.0 | 5.0 | 2.9 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 3.3 |
| Ontrack® EasyRecovery™ Enterprise | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Recover My Files | 4.3 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 6.0 | 2.5 |
Overall product rating
Overall product ratings were based on two main criteria:
- Interface and Features. We evaluated each software package’s capabilities and created a side-by-side comparison of the most crucial professional data recovery features.
- File Recovery Performance. We put the identified features to the test to determine how effectively each program can recover data in various scenarios.
Since our last review, R-Studio keeps the leading position as the best professional data recovery software. R-Studio packages a surprisingly intuitive interface with a wide range of data recovery features. In terms of performance, R-Studio reliably recovered the most data in the most categories of testing.
For long term support, R-Studio appears to be the fastest developing program as well. Since our last review, R-Studio has added a number of new features. Restorer Ultimate, which is very similar to R-Studio, also appears to be well-supported and under active development. For example, R-Studio and Restorer Ultimate are the only data recovery programs that support Windows Storage Spaces and Linux LVM. Also notable is Stellar Phoenix, which was previously reviewed as a DIY data recovery software package, now has a professional version with advanced data recovery features. As a new addition to our professional data recovery software comparison, Stellar Phoenix performed very well during our data recovery tests.
On the contrary, the development of the GetDataBack package appears to be discontinued; we couldn’t find any new features added this year.
Overall Rating
| Product | Rating | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.5 | An excellent combination of file recovery features and performance. Shows the best results almost in every category. A must-have for any data recovery professional. Strengths: RAID recovery, file preview, network data recovery, a disk copy module, built-in hexadecimal editor, excellent documentation including online manuals and tutorials for almost all data recovery cases. Weaknesses: Lacks support for less common file systems, such as XFS, ZFS, JFS, Novell NWFS/NSS, VMware VMFS, ReiserFS. New features: Automatic RAID parameter detection, support for logical disk and volume managers, S.M.A.R.T. attribute monitoring, support for new RAID levels. |
| UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 4.5 | Very decent professional data recovery software. A close second to R-Studio in terms of recovery features and performance. Strengths: Unrivalled set of supported file systems makes this a must-have for any data recovery professional. Weaknesses: Limited file preview capabilities. New features: Support for Apple RAIDs. |
| Active@ File Recovery Ultimate Corporate | 4.0 | An effective data recovery program with nearly all the features required for professional data recovery. Strengths: Good data recovery performance. The best startup version among all tested programs. Weaknesses: Only one interface language (English). Very limited demo evaluation mode; no advanced features (such as RAID recovery) can be tested. |
| Restorer Ultimate | 4.0 | This program has an excellent data recovery feature set and shows a very good performance. However, it lacks both a technician startup version and a technician license that allows it to be installed on customer computers. Still, it is a very good advanced data recovery solution for IT professionals (such as system administrators), that perform data recovery only occasionally on a dedicated machine. Strengths: Excellent wizard-oriented interface, file preview, network data recovery, and a very reasonable price. Weaknesses: Lacks technician startup version and technician end-user license for use on other machines. Lacks support for some less frequently used file systems. New features: Expanded RAID level support and automatic RAID parameter finding, support for logical disk and volume managers, S.M.A.R.T. attribute monitoring. |
| Ontrack® EasyRecovery™ Enterprise | 3.5 | Good file recovery performance and with almost all features necessary for professional data recovery, but lacks advanced file search capabilities. Strengths: Excellent localization support. Decent data recovery performance. Pseudo-automatic RAID parameter finding. Weaknesses: Heavily overpriced (US $499) considering average feature set and file search capabilities. Only supports proprietary disk images created by the software. No support for a common byte-by-byte image that is usually supported by other data recovery programs. |
| Stellar Phoenix Technician | 3.5 | Good file recovery performance, with decent results in finding RAID 5 parameters. On the other hand, localization support and data recovery performance have slightly degraded compared with the version tested in our previous review. Strengths: Very good file previewer. Shows hard drive’s S.M.A.R.T. attributes. Pseudo-automatic RAID parameter finding. Network data recovery. Weaknesses: Poor localized file name recognition, limited number of supported file systems. Only supports proprietary disk images created by the software. Unlike other pro software, doesn’t support common byte-by-byte images. |
| GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo | 3.5 | Outstanding RAID parameter finding capabilities, but mediocre performance and feature set otherwise. No new features have been added since our last review. Strengths: RAID parameter finding. Weaknesses: Very poor localization support. |
| DMDE | 3.5 | Highly advanced hexadecimal editor tailored for data recovery from Windows disks, with limited support for ext fs partitions, but receives a low rating due to lack of file signature search. Requires a very deep knowledge of disk and file system structures. Strengths: Very advanced disk and file editing capabilities. No demo mode limitations, except group file recovery. Very attractive pricing. Weaknesses: No support for data recovery using file signatures. Limited support for non-Windows files systems. New features: Custom-specified templates for the hexadecimal editor, support for RAID6 (XOR) level and custom RAID configuration files. |
| Recover My Files | 3.5 | Average file recovery performance with a limited number of advanced data recovery features. Strengths: Excellent localization support and built-in previewer. Automatic RAID parameter finding for RAID 0 and 5. Weaknesses: Poor RAID recovery performance. |
Conclusions
As with last year, the two programs that scored the highest during our evaluations and data recovery tests are R-Studio and UFS Explorer Professional Recovery. Both programs support special disk imaging and repair hardware and both have suitable technician licenses that allow you to use them on multiple client machines.
R-Studio received high ratings for its excellent recovery performance and rich set of features, which make it the most universal data recovery solution. Depending on your circumstances, R-Studio may be the only professional data recovery software you need.
UFS Explorer, while not as comprehensive as R-Studio, does boast a few features that we didn’t find during our testing of R-Studio. UFS Explorer rated higher than R-Studio in just one features category: file systems supported. UFS Explorer supports XFS, ZFS, JFS, Novell NWFS/NSS, VMware VMFS, and ReiserFS file systems. In the data recovery tests, UFS Explorer performed slightly better than R-Studio for NTFS/FAT32 partitions reformatted as FAT32/NTFS partitions. Overall, however, UFS Explorer was rated the same or .5 to 1 stars lower than R-Studio for file recovery performance. R-Studio outperformed UFS Explorer by 2 stars on the RAID recovery test.
If you have a need for the additional file systems supported by UFS Explorer, you may wish to purchase both R-Studio and UFS Explorer. Otherwise, we highly recommend R-Studio as a high performing, all-in-one professional data recovery solution.
After revisiting our list of contenders from 2014 and adding several new programs to our review, there is little change in our list of honorable mentions. Compared to last year’s review, R-Studio and Restorer Ultimate appear to have added the most features since the previous releases. On the other hand, GetDataBack appears to have added no new features since 2014, which makes it appear as if it is not under active development. The remaining programs that we revisited appear to be consistent in their ranking, with only slight variations in performance, if any.
As such, we continue to note that Restorer Ultimate may be a lower cost alternative to R-Studio, given its very similar feature set and recovery performance. Based on our reviews, it appears that Restorer Ultimate and R-Studio may be based on the same kernel, which would explain much of the overlap. However, Restorer Ultimate has a more stripped down user interface and does not have a technician license that allows you to use it on client machines. If cost is a concern, Restorer Ultimate may be a good alternative for in-house data recovery performed by system administrators and other internal IT professionals.
Professional Data Recovery Software Tested and Evaluated in 2014
There are numerous file recovery programs on the market, but only a few meet the criteria outlined above. For this comparison, we’ve compiled a list of programs that we believe can feasibly be used for professional data recovery.
All prices are in U.S. dollars (USD).
UFS Explorer Professional Recovery
Reviewed Version: 5.10
Prices: US $1,000.00 (Professional recovery)
Host operating systems: Windows NT, 2000, XP, 2003 Server, Vista, 2008 Server, 7, 8 (32/64 bit). Versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality are available.
Reviewed Version: 6.3.153961
Prices: $79.99 (Local recovery); $179.99 (Network recovery); $899.00 (Technician License)
Host operating systems: Windows 2000, XP, 2003 Server, Vista, 2008 Server, 7, 8, Windows Server 2012 (32/64 bit). Versions for Mac OS X and Linux with the same functionality (except support for data recovery hardware) are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: DeepSpar Disk Imager™ (Technician License only)
GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo
Reviewed Version: 4.33
Prices: $849.00 (Runtime Bundle - Technician's License)
Host operating systems: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, 2003 Server, Vista, 2008 Server, 7, 8 (32/64 bit)
Support for data recovery hardware: N/A
Reviewed Version: 2.4.4.442
Prices: $48.00 (Home Edition, Commercial – Base features); $75.00 (Professional – Additional features)
Host operating systems: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7 (32/64 bit; 32 bit only for demo version) DOS and Linux command line versions are available.
Support for data recovery hardware: N/A
Reviewed Version: 7.8.708689
Prices: $49.99 (Restorer Ultimate Pro); $69.99 (Restorer Ultimate Pro Network)
Host operating systems: 2000, XP, 2003 Server, Vista, 2008 Server, 7, 8 (32/64 bit) A Mac OS X version with the same functionality is available.
Support for data recovery hardware: N/A
Evaluation and Test Results
Each package was tested on two criteria:
- Interface and Features. This area focuses on key usability functions, such as localization support, file previewing and the balance between standard file recovery features and advanced file recovery features.
- File Recovery Performance. This was an assessment of how successfully the lost data was retrieved during various test scenarios.
The two criteria were combined to determine the overall rating, shown in the Overall Product Ratings table below.
Interface and Features Ratings
| Product | Localization Support | Demo version restrictions | File preview | Standard file recovery features | Advanced file recovery features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 6.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 5.9 |
| Restorer Ultimate | 6.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.6 |
| UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
| DMDE | 4.5 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 2.9 |
| GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo | 2.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 2.9 |
File recovery performance Ratings
| Product | Deleted files | Emptied Recycle Bin | Disk re-format | Damaged partition | Deleted partition | RAID recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.3 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 5.5 |
| Restorer Ultimate | 5.3 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 5.5 |
| UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 3.8 |
| GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo | 3.8 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 4.5 |
| DMDE | 3.0 | 5.0 | 2.9 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 3.3 |
Overall Rating
| Product | Rating | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|
| R-Studio | 5.5 | An excellent combination of file recovery features and performance. Shows the best results in almost every category. A must-have for any data recovery professional. Strengths: RAID recovery, file preview, network data recovery, disk copy module, built-in hexadecimal editor. Weaknesses: Lacks support for a few less common file systems. |
| Restorer Ultimate | 5.0 | A very good solution for an IT professional, like a system administrator, for occasional data recovery tasks that may require an advanced data recovery tool. Strengths: Wizard-style interface, file preview, network data recovery, very attractive price. Weaknesses: Lacks support for a few less common file systems. |
| UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 4.0 | Very decent overall data recovery program, though it yields slightly to R-Studio and Restorer Ultimate in terms of recovery features and performance. Strengths: Unrivalled set of supported file systems makes this another must-have for any data recovery professional. Weaknesses: Limited file preview capabilities. |
| GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo | 3.5 | Mediocre recovery features and performance, but showed outstanding performance in some areas. Strengths: RAID parameter recognition. Weaknesses: Very poor localization support. |
| DMDE | 3.5 | Highly advanced hexadecimal editor tailored for data recovery from Windows disks; includes limited support for Ext file system partitions. Requires a very deep knowledge of disk and file system structures. Strengths: Very advanced disk and file editing capabilities. No demo mode limitations, except group file recovery. Very attractive pricing. Weaknesses: Lack of data recovery using file signatures (contributes heavily to low overall rating). Limited support for non-Windows files systems. |
