Photo Recovery Software

Disk Drill is a flexible data recovery tool that can be used to perform deleted photo recovery with just a few clicks. It features multiple powerful scanning algorithms that are automatically executed in the optimal order to deliver the best data recovery results possible. As such, Disk Drill delivers professional performance in a beginner-friendly package.

With Disk Drill, you can recover virtually all photo file formats you may come across from any storage device. You can even preview lost images to ensure that you’re recovering the right files. Included with Disk Drill are multiple free disk tools designed to help you protect important files and keep your data better organized. All this and more makes Disk Drill the best software to recover deleted photos.

Key features:

• An intuitive user interface;
• Can preview found files before recovery;
• Supports over 400 file formats;
• Data protection tools included for free;
• The ability to pause, save, and resume scans;
• 500 MB free data recovery (Windows version only).

Pros:

• Beginner-friendly user interface
• RAW photo recovery
• Supports all common image file formats
• Extensive knowledge base with tutorials
• Recovers images from iPhone/Android devices (Disk Drill for Mac)

Cons:

• None

Pricing:

• Disk Drill Basic: can recover up to 500 MB of data;
• Disk Drill PRO: $89.00;
• Disk Drill Enterprise: $499.

Best for: Disk Drill is the best software to recover deleted photos because it combines exceptional ease of use with the ability to deliver professional picture recovery results.

Recuva provides users with basic file recovery capabilities and support for most common file types. It owes much of its popularity to the fact that the free version can recover an unlimited number of photos without any major restrictions. In addition to performing picture recovery, Recuva can securely delete sensitive photos and other data using military-standard deletion techniques to make it absolutely impossible for anyone to ever retrieve them back—not even with the most advanced photo recovery tools out there.

Key features:

• Virtual hard drive support;
• Deep scan mode;
• Automatic updates;
• Secure file deletion.

Pros:

• Clean user interface
• Fast scans
• Recovers an unlimited amount of data for free

Cons:

• Sub-par performance
• Limited customer support
• Stagnant development

Pricing:

• Recuva Free: $0;
• Recuva Pro: $19.95.

Best for: Even though it has been some time since Recuva was last updated, this photo recovery tool remains a solid option for addressing more straightforward cases of data loss.

PhotoRec is a versatile recovery tool that uses a menu-driven command-line interface to interact with users. As such, it’s not the right tool for casual users who are looking for an intuitive photo recovery program that doesn’t require an explanation. But if the lack of a graphical user interface doesn’t bother you, then PhotoRec can offer the ability to recover more than 480 file extensions in about 300 file families from hard drives, CD-ROMs, memory cards, and other storage devices.

Key features:

• Runs on just about any operating system;
• Works even with severely damaged file systems;
• Distributed under GNU General Public License (GPLV v2+).

Pros:

• Completely unlimited and free picture recovery
• Great performance

Cons:

• Lacks a graphical user interface
• Can’t preview recoverable files
• Not suitable for beginners

Pricing:

• PhotoRec is completely free and open-source.

Best for: There’s a good reason why PhotoRec is one of the most popular apps to recover deleted pictures among photographers who are not afraid of the command-line: it gets the job done for free.

As its name suggests, CardRecovery is a deleted photo recovery application whose main purpose is to recover lost, deleted, corrupted, or formatted photos from various memory cards, including all types of SD cards, CF (Compact Flash) cards, xD-Picture cards, and others. At its heart is the so-called SmartScan technology, which can quickly locate and restore lost photos without moving, deleting, or otherwise modifying other data and potentially causing additional data loss.

Key features:

• Unique and exclusive SmartScan technology;
• Supports almost all memory card types.

Pros:

• Limited to read-only operations
• Step-by-step recovery wizard
• Free trial available

Cons:

• Outdated user interface
• Limited file format support

Pricing:

• Free trial – limited functionality;
• Full version - $39.95.

Best for: If you intend to recover deleted photos only from memory cards, then CardRecovery is an affordable solution that delivers decent results thanks to its SmartScan technology.