10 Best Photo Recovery Software Solutions for Your Missing Images

Usability

Disk Drill's got your back when it comes to picture recovery with its intuitive design, perfect for users of any skill level. The scanning process is presented in real-time, so you'll always know how many files have been found and how much time is left. What's more, the results are organized into three easy-to-navigate categories: Deleted or lost, Existing, and Reconstructed. You'll also appreciate the advanced filters and multiple view options that make it a breeze to find exactly what you're looking for. All commonly used photo file formats can be previewed directly within Disk Drill's interface and recovered with a click. 

Recovery Performance

Disk Drill can handle a vast array of photo file formats, including raw photos captured by popular cameras, camcorders, and smartphones (NEF, CR3, RAF, SRF, and SRW, for example, are all supported). In many situations, The application can even recover the original file structure after formatting or partition loss, so just because Windows or macOS can't access the files stored on your memory card doesn't mean that Disk Drill can't recover them. In our in-depth review, the photo recovery software earned 91% out of 100% for its recovery performance, which is more than any other solution we've ever tested, and that says a lot.

Value

Disk Drill's value is hard to beat. Unlike many other software, Disk Drill offers a PRO version in the form of a lifetime license, not a monthly payment. The free Windows version allows you to recover up to 500 MB of data, while the Mac version can preview an unlimited amount of data. Disk Drill also includes a range of useful features like S.M.A.R.T. data analysis and data protection that make its cost-effective lifetime licenses even more attractive than they already are. Despite not being completely free, it easily secured the top spot in our list due to its impressive performance, wide range of features, and excellent price-to-quality ratio.

Usability

The program's optional graphical user interface makes it more approachable for Windows users, while its portable nature means you can launch it without installing it on your system. Though PhotoRec is known for being lightweight and capable of running on low-end computers, its interface may slow down during the scanning process, and selecting the device you want to scan can take some effort. The terminal version of PhotoRec isn't beginner-friendly, but with some patience, users can navigate the software to achieve great results.

Recovery Performance

PhotoRec's recovery performance is primarily driven by its robust signature scanning capabilities, which enable the software to identify and recover over 480 file extensions. As a multi-platform data recovery application, PhotoRec supports several popular file systems across Windows, macOS, and Linux, including FAT, NTFS, exFAT, ext2/ext3/ext4, and HFS+. To fully utilize PhotoRec's recovery capabilities, users need to be aware that not all signatures are selected for scanning by default. To include all available signatures in the scanning process, users must manually click multiple checkboxes.

Value

PhotoRec is a fantastic option for those looking for free and open-source picture recovery software. As a user, you don't need to purchase a license to recover your lost pictures regardless of how many you're missing. Sure, customer support is limited to volunteer forums, and there's a lack of additional functionality beyond data recovery, but that's to be expected. After all, you should never look into the gift horse's mouth. Overall, PhotoRec's advantages, such as its powerful recovery performance and being a free and open-source solution, are significant enough for it to secure second place on our list despite its UI drawbacks, the inability to recover data with original names, and the need to manually select what you want to recover, 
 

Usability

With no installation required, the 1.7 MB application can be easily transferred to any storage media, making it convenient for users on the go. DiskDigger's small size doesn't compromise its functionality, as it still offers a decent signature scanner for file recovery. However, it's worth noting that the program doesn't work well on high DPI monitors, resulting in a blurry interface and difficulties changing the interface language.

Recovery Performance

When it comes to recovery performance, DiskDigger has room for improvement. Although it offers free recovery, the software only supports quick and signature scans, with no clever scanning options. Unfortunately, its quick scan feature delivers subpar results on both Windows (FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS) and Linux (EXT4) partitions, often failing to find lost data. On the upside, DiskDigger supports most devices, and its signature scan abilities are fairly decent, offering plenty of hope for users in need of photo recovery (even raw image formats are supported well). Additionally, DiskDigger has an Android version, allowing users to scan their devices without connecting to a computer.

Value

The absence of disk copying and limited file preview options may deter some users, but for those seeking a cost-effective photo recovery solution, DiskDigger is worth considering. That's because the free license allows users to recover as much photos as they want but with a 5-second delay between each recovery. 

Usability

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard offers an intuitive interface, making it simple for users to navigate scan results. Scanning is fast, so you don't have to wait long for your results. However, there are some drawbacks, such as frequent pop-up ads for other products that can't be turned off and limited preview capabilities for popular photo formats.

Recovery Performance

While EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard provides above-average performance and reliably recovers commonly used file formats from Windows-supported file systems, it does have some issues. For example, it struggles with FAT32 and exFAT scanning, resulting in lost original folder structures, overlooked small files, and corrupted directories. This is a major issue because these two file formats are commonly used to format memory cards and external storage devices. Although the software can recover various raw photo file formats, support for some camera brands, like Sigma, is lacking compared to others, like Nikon.

Value

The free version of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard allows you to recover up to 2 GB of data, which is quite a generous offer, as long as you agree to mention the product on a social media network. However, the cheapest license is a monthly subscription costing $69.95, and lifetime upgrades start at $149.95, which might be a bit steep considering the limitations in some areas. Overall, though, it remains a decent option for those in need of photo recovery software.

Usability

Navigating DiskGenius can feel like a trip down memory lane—straight back to the Windows XP era. The software's interface hasn't quite caught up with the modern designs we've come to expect. That's especially problematic because the application is packed with far more features than your typical photo recovery tool. This makes it even more difficult to navigate and locate the specific functions you need. At least the software offers extensive filtering options, so separating lost photos from other recoverable data is painless.

Recovery Performance

When it comes to data recovery performance in general, DiskGenius doesn't deliver particularly impressive results, but where it shines is in RAW photo recovery. The software can retrieve a large number of RAW formats, such as CRW, ERF, KDC, MEF, or NEF, making it a great choice for photographers who have lost precious files. However, it's worth noting that some popular formats like Canon's CR2 and CR3 are not well-supported. This could be a deal-breaker for professionals using those specific formats, so it's something to keep in mind when considering DiskGenius for your recovery needs.

Value

DiskGenius is a one-time investment that pays dividends when it comes to the sheer number of features it offers. You can choose between three different tiers—Free, Standard, and Professional—each unlocking a richer set of capabilities. Even the free version packs a punch, offering complex partition management and disk cloning, albeit with a 64 KB file recovery limit.

Usability

Stellar Data Recovery is an easy-to-use photo recovery software that's accessible to users of all skill levels. The biggest usability highlight the application has to offer is the ability to seamlessly repair photos and videos that would otherwise not open even after being recovered. The biggest drawbacks include slow previews, limited preview capabilities, and the inability to view and restore files during a scan.

Recovery Performance

While Stellar Data Recovery is accessible, its performance falls short of the best photo recovery applications available. Many commonly used file formats can't be recovered without manual intervention, and some crucial scan types yield disappointing results. What's also disappointing is that many raw file formats are unsupported by the software's signature scanner, and only a few formats are supported well.

Value

Stellar Data Recovery provides a generous free version, allowing users to recover up to 1 GB of data. However, exceeding this limit can be costly due to the reliance on subscription plans, with lifetime upgrades being an expensive option. That's why we've placed it at its current spot on our list of the best photo recovery software for Windows & Mac.

Usability

Wondershare Recoverit boasts a modern and up-to-date interface, offering options to scan folders and specific locations like the Recycle Bin. Though this feature primarily enhances user experience, it does little to aid actual recovery. The software allows users to preview images, scaling and flipping them as needed. However, drawbacks include the inability to install without an internet connection, difficulty locating discovered partitions, and no option to save disk scan sessions.

Recovery Performance

The most critical aspect of any picture recovery software is its performance, and unfortunately, Wondershare Recoverit falls short in this area. While it offers multiple scan types for finding lost data, it performed poorly in our tests. The software claims to support 1000 file signatures, but in practice, it struggles to find even common file formats. When it comes to recovering regular and raw photo files, Recoverit does well with JPG, GPR, CR2, and a few others, but there are still many unsupported formats.

Value

Pricing for Wondershare Recoverit starts at $59.99 for the Essential plan and goes up to $99.99 for the Premium plan, which includes bootable media creation and video repair. Users can also download a trial that offers up to 100 MB of free recovery before needing an upgrade. However, accessing the trial version can be confusing, as users need to specifically download Wondershare Recoverit Free. Still, a free version is a free version, which is why we include the software in this listicle. 

Usability

Recuva, a completely free picture recovery software, offers two operating modes, simple and advanced, to cater to users of different expertise levels, and it supports the largest number of languages among data recovery tools. Recuva also integrates into the system context menu for a fast search of deleted files. Unfortunately, it preview just a few file formats, so choosing the correct pictures for recovery isn't always easy.

Recovery Performance

While Recuva scored only 31% in terms of performance, it was still able to recover a fair amount of lost data. The software struggles with restoring folder structures and file names, often resulting in corrupted files and disorganized recovered data. Scan speeds are decent, averaging between 100-200 MB/sec. Unfortunately, Recuva had difficulty recovering many image file types, with a large portion of DNG files suffering from corruption and all recovered 3FR images being in TIFF format.

Value

Despite its shortcomings, Recuva's most significant selling point is that it's entirely free, allowing users to scan and restore unlimited files without spending a dime despite not being the best choice for recovering digital photos in general.

Usability

DMDE's usability is its weakest aspect, especially concerning photo recovery. The biggest problem is the inability to preview many photo file formats before recovery, so you may find yourself in the dark as to which file you should select. Typically, the only solution is to select all found files, which somewhat negates DMDE’s fast recovery speed. There’s also the fact that the user interface is clearly designed for advanced users who perform function over form, so beginners could easily feel overwhelmed.

Recovery Performance

DMDE’s signature scanner is average at best, and it has limited support for modern photo formats out of the box (CRW, JP2, MRW, RAW, and RW2 are just some unsupported formats). The good news is that you can add custom file signatures to improve photo recovery capabilities, but this requires additional effort and skills. When recovering photos based on file system information, DMDE the results depend strongly on the condition of the file system. If all information is available, then the performance is good for all Windows file systems and even HFS+ (APFS and EXT4 can also be recovered but with limited results). But if the file system information has been erased, then FAT32 and exFAT recovery performance goes down sharply. Still, the overall performance is solid, and the software earns bonus points for being fast.

Value

DMDE provides a good value proposition for users looking for a cost-effective photo recovery solution. The free version can be used to recover up to 4,000 files per operation, and paid versions start at just $7 per month. Lifetime subscriptions are available as well, so you can choose to pay only once and use the software for as long as you want. Of course, you can’t expect an affordably priced data recovery software to deliver a ton of additional features beyond those closely focused on data recovery. The only truly extra feature offered by DMDE is the ability to clone storage devices (which can be useful when dealing with corrupted storage devices as you can scan the clone instead of the original device), so the software won’t help you, for example, repair corrupted photos.

Usability

AnyRecover's modern user interface and fast scanning speed make it a user-friendly choice for photo recovery. The program automatically utilizes multiple scan types, so users don't need to perform them manually. The recovery results screen can be filtered and sorted to make the recovery of certain data faster. However, the need for an additional download just to enable file previews is a bit puzzling. Additionally, AnyRecover doesn’t auto-resume scans of drives that reconnected as the scan was active, which is annoying but easy to overlook.

Recovery Performance

AnyRecover’s overall photo recovery performance would be much better if it wasn’t for its poor ability to restore data upon the formatting of exFAT partitions. The use of the exFAT file system has skyrocketed in recent years among photographers and videographers, and it’s a real shame that the software doesn’t support it well. At least FAT32, NTFS, and Apple’s APFS are supported to a satisfactory degree. Our signature scanning tests of AnyRecover’s raw photo recovery capabilities have awarded the software a rating of 58%. Only a relatively small number of raw photo file formats are not supported at all by the software, including CR3, RW2, and RAW. The rest can be recovered to a smaller or larger extent.

Value

The free version of AnyRecover can be used to preview lost or deleted data, and paid versions start at $59.99 per month. Lifetime subscriptions are also available. Despite the lack of a free recovery option, the software's modern interface and support for iOS device recovery make it an appealing choice for users prioritizing ease of use and specific device compatibility over extensive feature sets and best-in-class performance.