Best 7 Recuva Alternatives for Mac: Compared & Tested

Recuva is a data recovery tool used to restore lost or deleted data. It’s totally understandable why many users prefer this application: it’s easy to navigate, fast, and can effectively retrieve various file formats. But since it was designed specifically for Windows-based computers, there is no Recuva for Mac version available.

So which tool should you choose for recovering files from a Mac? Let’s go through the best Recuva alternatives.

What is Recuva and What Does It Do?

Recuva is a specialized data recovery program created exclusively for Windows PC. Over the years, it has established itself as a quick and simple solution for restoring deleted, corrupted, or missing files. The tool is capable of recovering most file types and offers both standard scanning and deep scanning features.

There are two versions of the software: free and a paid professional one. It’s great to have these options since it allows you to test out the program and make up your mind on whether it’s worth it before actually paying for it. Also, there is a big difference between Recuva free and professional since the latter has higher chances of a successful recovery.

It’s understandable why many choose Recuva when it comes to retrieving lost data, but still, this tool has a few drawbacks:

• No macOS version
• Isn’t suitable for more complex data loss scenarios
• Recovered files don’t have original names.

Top 7 Recuva Alternatives for Mac

Here are the best 7 Recuva alternatives that can be used on any Mac for recovering missing files.

1. Disk Drill

Disk Drill is a versatile data recovery tool that is available for both Mac and Windows computers. It can be used to restore lost files from almost any internal or external hard drives, SD cards, USB drives, cameras, etc. Also, it’s compatible with most file systems (HFS, HFS+, FAT32, NTFS, and others), supports over 400 file formats, and can recover deleted folders.

It’s possible to say that this application is even better than Recuva since it offers a few handy extra features. It not only does an excellent job in restoring deleted or lost files but also can be used to prevent potential data loss and create byte-to-byte backups of your drive.

Disk Drill has both a free and a paid version available. Most of the features can be used with the free version, but there is a limit: you can recover data of up to 500 MB on Windows.

Price: $89 – $499

Supported Operating Systems: Mac (macOS 10.5 and newer), Windows (Windows Server 2003-2022, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 11).

Verdict: best versatile data recovery tool.

2. DMDE

DM Disk Editor and Data Recovery Software (DMDE) is an effective solution for searching and restoring lost files on your drives. However, the app’s interface is not as user-friendly as one might hope. So if you’re not well-versed in using your Mac or similar apps, it can be difficult for you to navigate this tool.

This application doesn’t limit itself just to data recovery. It has a few handy features that let you undelete partitions, create disk backup images, and can reconstruct RAID. Moreover, DMDE supports most of the file systems (NTFS, APFS, FAT32, HFS+, and more).

DMDE comes in free and paid editions. The free version allows you to try out all of the features, but it does have some limitations.

Price: $20 – $95

Supported Operating Systems: Mac (macOS 10.12 and newer), Windows (98/ME, 2K/XP, Vista/7/higher), Linux

Verdict: best for RAID reconstruction.

3. DiskWarrior

DiskWarrior is one of the oldest data recovery tools on the market. It can be used only with HFS or HFS+ formatted drives and is perfect for repairing failing hard drives and preventing potential drive malfunction. Also, it can rebuild directories and fix corrupt files.

However, its recovery features are quite limited. It can only recover missing data in cases when the file disappeared because of hard drive issues. So if you want to bring back a file or folder which you deleted mistakenly by yourself, this utility program won’t be of much assistance.

This application does not have a free version. So the only way to test DiskWarrior out is to actually purchase a license.

Price: $119.95

Supported Operating Systems: Mac (macOS 10.5 – 11)

Verdict: best for repairing failing hard drives and rebuilding disk directories.

4. PhotoRec

PhotoRec is a free and open-source file recovery software. It can be used to restore over 480 different file types (Microsoft Word documents, Text files, archives, JPEG, QuickTime movies, etc.) and can work with various storage devices.

Also, this utility program is compatible with several file systems — FAT, NTFS, exFAT, HFS+, and ext2/ext3/ext4. It can even be used with APFS file systems, as long as the partition isn’t encrypted.

This tool is pretty easy to use, despite the fact that it has a command-line interface. So if you don’t have experience using such applications or just prefer programs with a graphical user interface, then PhotoRec isn’t for you.

Price: free

Supported Operating Systems: macOS, DOS/Windows 9x, Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, Windows Server 2016/2012/2008/2003, Linux, BSD, Sun Solaris

Verdict: best for tech-savvy users that wish to recover individual files.

5. TestDisk

TestDisk is a free and open-source data recovery tool that’s quite similar to PhotoRec. The main difference between the two applications is that TestDisk specializes in restoring lost or deleted disk partitions and repairing bootable disks, while PhotoRec is designed mainly for restoring specific individual files.

This is also a command-line application, which makes it a bit complicated for an inexperienced user to navigate. But overall, it’s very easy to recover data with TestDisk as long as you’re comfortable with having to use commands to use the tool.

The biggest advantage of this utility program is that it supports most of the popular file systems: FAT16/32, exFAT, NTFS, HFS+, ext2/ext3/ext4, and more. Also, it works with various data storage devices, such as hard drives, SD cards, USB flash drives, etc.

Price: free

Supported Operating Systems: macOS, Windows (Windows 7, 8.1, and 10, NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003 and 2008, Vista), Linux, BSD, Sun Solaris

Verdict: best for recovering whole lost disk partitions and fixing corrupted file systems.

6. EaseUS

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is a utility program created by a company called EaseUS which became popular thanks to their partition manager app.

This tool can be used to restore data from Time Machine backup drives, SD cards, digital cameras, SSDs, hard drives, etc. Also, it supports over 200 file types and can effectively recover documents, images, videos, music, emails, and archives.

This file recovery application comes in both a free version and a paid one. The trial version allows you to recover up to 2 GB of lost data. This is a nice perk since it allows you to try out the app and see if it’s the one that you need before purchasing it.

Price: $89.95

Supported Operating Systems: Mac (macOS 10.9 and newer), Windows (Windows 11/10/8/7, Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019, 2022).

Verdict: best overall file recovery tool.

7. Exif Untrasher

Exif Untrasher is a freeware used specifically for recovering lost, deleted, or formatted pictures. The application is easy to download and can be installed by any user despite their tech knowledge.

It can be used both with internal and external drives (digital cameras, SD cards, flash drives, and more). The best part about it is that it is completely free. But, of course, you are free to make donations.

Since this tool can only restore image files, it is quite limited in terms of versatility. Another downside of the program is that there is no preview feature, so you won’t be able to see if you’ve found the image that you’ve been looking for until you actually complete the recovery process.

Price: free

Supported Operating Systems: Mac (macOS 10.6 – 10.13.4)

Verdict: best for recovering images.

FAQ: