5 Best TestDisk File Recovery Alternatives in 2021

Tried TestDisk and didn’t like it? TestDisk can be considered a cult classic by fans of open source software, but it can be a little intimidating to use by a novice.

We’ve collected 5 TestDisk alternatives that can help you recover your data just as easily, with better-designed graphics user interfaces (GUIs), and with additional functions like data backup, permanent deletion, remote recovery, and more.

We’ll tell you what we like most about each TestDisk alternative, their price, platform availability, and what we think could use more work. We also included screenshots. Read on.

Why Not TestDisk?

TestDisk is a great tool, but it’s not perfect – in fact, TestDisk & PhotoRec (TestDisk’s companion app) were last updated in 2019. Meanwhile, premium utilities are updated nearly every month and can apply those updates automatically so you’re never working with an outdated app.

Here are a few other reasons why you might want to look at TestDisk alternatives:

UI & ease of use: By far, the biggest complaint we – and other users – have with TestDisk (and its companion PhotoRec) is its user interface (UI). It works and looks like the Command tool for Windows or the Terminal for macOS. The alternative utilities we listed in this article have modern graphical user interfaces (GUI) with 1-click recovery.
Compatibility for Mac users: TestDisk & PhotoRec are not yet natively compatible with Macs using Apple Silicon chips.
Separate tools: TestDisk by itself is more of an undeleter than an advanced recovery tool. If you’re trying to recover files that were lost due to a corrupt drive or partition, accidental formatting, or software failure, you’ll need to use PhotoRec instead. While they come in a single download, both apps are already visually confusing for novices. Knowing when (and how) to use either TestDisk or PhotoRec is an additional mental strain for someone who wants to quickly and easily recover their data.

⚠️ If your drive suffered physical damage, stop using it immediately and do not attempt to recover or repair it yourself. Send it to the closest professional data recovery center.

5 of the Best TestDisk Alternatives

TestDisk has a lot of things going for it – it’s free, it’s open source, it’s even well-loved by the community. However, there are a lot of data recovery software that can accomplish the same tasks (and more) in a more efficient and user-friendly way. We listed five of our favorites below.

Alternative #1: Disk Drill (Windows, Mac)

Disk Drill is a well-known data recovery utility and a solid TestDisk alternative for Mac and Windows. Disk Drill was created by Cleverfiles, a company that specializes in home user data recovery software. Disk Drill has been used by companies like Google, NASA, Samsung, The Boston Globe, and more.

Important Features

Advanced Recovery Multiple scanning modes with varying depth
Sleek GUI Clean and minimalist GUI that makes it easy for novices to use
S.M.A.R.T. Monitoring Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (or S.M.A.R.T.) is a system that’s built into drives. Its job is reporting imminent problems and failure possibilities. Data recovery software like Disk Drill typically give users access to these reports so they can backup their data in advance or prevent further damage.
File Preview Preview files before recovery; works with all formats (including video) and lets you check if your data is recoverable by software.
Bootable Boot Disk Drill using a USB stick to recover files from a corrupted computer
Recovery Vault + Guaranteed Recovery Backup Recovery Vault saves the metadata of deleted files, increasing their recovery rate while using Disk Drill. Guaranteed Recovery saves a complete copy of deleted files
Multi-tool Recovery, Backup, Disk Clean-up (Storage manager), Duplicate Finder, Data Shredder, etc.

Price

Tiers	Windows	macOS
Free	500MB Free Recovery, Unlimited Preview	Unlimited Preview
Premium	$89	$89
Lifetime Updates	$29	$29

💡 Without Lifetime Updates, Premium users can still update their software for free but only for minor updates within their client version. For example: users with version 4 can update to version 4.1, 4.2, etc.

✅ Pros

Multiple scanning modes
Easy to use
Portable
One-time flat payment
The free Windows version has 2GB free data recovery
Both Premium and Free versions offer unlimited file preview
Additional features are free as compared to other utilities that charge them separately

❌ Cons

The free Mac version does not offer free data recovery (but it offers unlimited file reviews)

How to recover data using Disk Drill

Download and install Disk Drill by clicking the download button below.

Data recovery for free
Your Companion for Deleted Files Recovery

Free Download
Open Disk Drill using the following methods
1. Go to Finder > Applications > Disk Drill
2. Press (CMD + Space) to open Spotlight Search and type “Disk Drill”
Select the drive you want to recover.
Using the dropdown menu on the right sidebar, choose your preferred recovery method and click “Search for lost data.” (For this example, we’ll use “All Recovery Methods”).
You can browse through all the files Disk Drill already found by file type or you can wait for the Deep Scan to finish its job.
Disk Drill will show you the files it found so far. You can preview any file on the right sidebar by clicking on it once – by using the preview feature, you’ll immediately know if your data is actually recoverable by any software before you attempt to recover it.

Disk Drill will show you the files it found so far. You can preview any file on the right sidebar by clicking on it once – by using the preview feature, you’ll immediately know if your data is actually recoverable by any software before you attempt to recover it.

If you can’t preview it, that means you should immediately stop using it and take it to a professional data recovery service to avoid further damage. Both the premium and the free version of Disk Drill offers unlimited previews.

Once you’ve chosen your file, click “Recover” and choose the destination folder for your recovered files.

💡Disk Drill Free for Windows offers 2GB of free data recovery, but Disk Drill Free for Mac does not. However, you can preview as many files as you want with both versions.

Alternative #2: Recuva (Windows)

Recuva is a standalone data recovery utility created by Piriform, the same company who brought us CCleaner (and a whole suite of other utility software). Recuva launched in 2007, 3 years after CCleaner first hit the market.

Recuva is another good TestDisk alternative that is cheaper than Disk Drill but is very lean in features – which might be attractive to some, but may feel lacking for users who are (rightfully) paranoid about their data or careless with their files by nature.

Recuva goes about scanning for files using a simple wizard that looks like a Windows program installation. You can enable Deep Scan from here.