It’s a nightmare situation: your Mac has been taking part in up for weeks and also you’ve been ignoring it, or simply haven’t been in a position to determine repair it. Then it refuses to start out up. Why didn’t you make that backup? Is there any means you may get again the misplaced knowledge out of your Mac? Fortunately there are apps that may recuperate your misplaced images and broken information out of your failed Mac’s arduous drive.
Knowledge restoration apps, like those we’ve reviewed under, can recuperate information with relative ease, so long as the listing indicating the place information have been initially saved is salvageable. If that isn’t the case, the software program can scan the info for acquainted patterns that might denote a file sort. As soon as it finds a file sort, there’s a superb likelihood that there might be knowledge in that file.
Whether or not you’re an informal person scrambling to recuperate your misplaced information in your Mac, or a full-time tech store doing the whole lot it could actually to retrieve a consumer’s most important paperwork from a dying arduous drive, these are the info restoration apps that get our advice.
PROMOTION
Knowledge restoration software program for Mac – EaseUS
Recuperate misplaced knowledge in 3 easy steps: automated scan, preview, and one-click restoration. Cowl any file format and cope with knowledge loss points. Undelete information from the Mac-based arduous drive, fusion drive, SSD, USB drive, reminiscence card, digital digital camera, and extra. Macworld really helpful, and a fantastic selection for each Mac and Home windows customers.
Now 25% OFF Unique Code: MACWORLD25
Trying to recuperate knowledge from a iPhone? Learn: Finest knowledge restoration apps for iPhone.
Finest knowledge restoration software program for Mac 2025
Right here’s our decide of the very best restoration software program for Mac we’ve reviewed.
Recoverit, Wondershare: Finest Mac knowledge restoration software program

Professionals
- Clear, inviting person interface
- Good set of instruments
- Good efficiency
Cons
- Downside with USB boot drive creation module
Value When Reviewed:
1 month/2 Macs: /£63.99 (normally £93.97); 1 yr/2 Macs: £66.99 (normally £113.97); perpetual license/2 Macs: £118.97 (normally £144.97)
Finest Costs At present:
Recoverit by Wondershare is centered across the common modules that you simply would possibly see in this sort of suite: Onerous Drives and Areas and SD Card for file restoration, Enhanced Restoration and Corrupted Video Restore for video and picture restoration and System Crashed Pc and NAS and Linux for added restoration options.
There’s a pleasant residence display screen and person interface and the modules work as anticipated. Knowledge restoration for arduous drives, places, and SD playing cards is straightforward and dependable, with Recoverit executing each a fast scan and diving right into a deep scan.
The video and picture restore modules work properly with broken information. The SD Card module was in a position to sift via a broken 8GB SD card, pull some video knowledge thought misplaced, and ship the info again cleanly to a restoration folder with out challenge.
Distant-based utilities enable for network-based drives to be situated or accessed manually to have knowledge recovered from them. This system may save recovered knowledge to a NAS drive or Google Drive, which is a pleasant function.
We had some issues with the USB boot drive creation module, however this could be on account of Apple’s issues.
Wondershare Recoverit presents a superb knowledge restoration bundle at a not-unreasonable, value. The corporate additionally provides reductions for college kids and educators, and small and medium companies. Whereas no trial model exists, the free model permits for all of Recoverit’s options for use, with knowledge restoration capped at 100 megabytes.
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Wondershare Recoverit overview
Stellar Knowledge Restoration for Mac: Finest for classy recoveries

Professionals
- Fast, clear interface
- Good knowledge restoration instruments and modules
- Spectacular net-based restoration module
Cons
- Repeated crashes for Clear Up Junk Information module
- Activation bugs
Value When Reviewed:
Customary version: £79.99 (at the moment £69.99) a yr, or £129.99 (at the moment £99.99) for a lifetime license. Skilled model: £129.99 (at the moment £99.99) a yr, or £199 (at the moment £149) for a lifetime license. Premium version: £209.99 (at the moment £99.99) a yr, or £319 (at the moment £199) for a lifetime license.
Finest Costs At present:
Stellar Knowledge Restoration for Mac focuses on recovering knowledge by way of customary scans, deep scans, drive picture creation, and different restoration instruments. It’s out there as a free trial, with customary, skilled, and premium editions out there on yearly or lifetime contracts. The software program helps each HFS+ and APFS quantity codecs and might be put in simply.
Stellar Knowledge Restoration’s essential energy is its in depth knowledge restoration engine, which helps lots of of file codecs and permits customers to go looking and recuperate by file sort, headers, and attributes. It additionally encompasses a good scan administration engine that permits customers to avoid wasting and work from earlier scans, and a picture creation function that permits customers to create a byte-for-byte picture of a quantity that may be restored later.
One attention-grabbing function is the Recuperate Non Booting Mac module, which permits customers to log into their Mac’s restoration partition, load Terminal, and enter a command to open a distant model of Stellar Knowledge Restoration (extra particulars in our full overview). Different modules equivalent to Search Massive Information and Search Duplicate Information carry out properly and supply a complete take a look at your drive.
The whole array of modules labored properly with take a look at drives, recovering knowledge as wanted, and snagging as a lot as doable.
Sadly, we did expertise some issues. Stellar’s Clear Up Junk Information crashed the applying repeatedly and needed to be pressure give up.
Different points included activating the serial quantity, which took a number of days and a number of calls and emails to kind out. Moreover, Stellar Knowledge Restoration refused to look within the macOS Latest Gadgets menu, stopping it from being shortly launched. Even after activating a Skilled tier account, the software program nonetheless presents an “Improve” button on its essential menu, which appears to be asking for more cash to be thrown within the firm’s normal course.
Regardless of these failings, Stellar Knowledge Restoration for Mac is an efficient program in a position to dig deep to assist reconstruct and recuperate deleted knowledge. There’s additionally Stellar Knowledge Restoration for iPhone.
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Stellar Knowledge Restoration for Mac overview

Professionals
- Wonderful toolset and restoration system
- Useful Scan Administration
Cons
- Excessive subscription value
- Final replace (v6) in 2023
- Insufficient tech assist
- Unable to create Sonoma restoration drive
Value When Reviewed:
Customary license: £74.32 for a 30-day; Skilled license: £375.34 for one yr
Finest Costs At present:
Knowledge Rescue provides some wonderful drive administration and knowledge restoration options, albeit at a steep value for infrequent customers.
The software program helps older variations of macOS and requires macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or later. Customers can obtain the software program and assign full drive entry, with a trial providing as much as 1GB of information restoration at no cost. The corporate provides a 30-day customary license in addition to a pricy skilled license.
The software program has a compelling toolset, together with Fast Scan or Deep Scan, view hex tables, safe erase, set drive parameters, handle digital RAID setup, and work with numbered sectors on drives and allocation blocks. It permits customers to work with as much as 15 scans, pausing and resuming as wanted – useful if you happen to’re a number of hours right into a Deep Scan. The software program runs properly within the background.
Knowledge Rescue 6 can create clone and restoration drives, dealing with totally different knowledge methods equivalent to Straight, Reverse, Bisect, and Section. Nevertheless, it doesn’t supply an choice to create a macOS Sonoma restoration drive as of July 2024.
There are different limitations. If the drive is mechanically failing, it’ll be more durable for knowledge to be pulled and reconstructed.
Technical instruments in Knowledge Rescue 6 supply loads to work with, however can get you in bother if you happen to aren’t acquainted with them. For instance, setting the fallacious drive parameters or boot level can require troubleshooting.
General, Knowledge Rescue 6 provides wonderful instruments, however Prosoft ought to handle points like lack of buyer responsiveness, the prolonged time between updates, the excessive, subscription-based price ticket, and an absence of a tutorial system.
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Knowledge Rescue overview
Disk Drill Professional, CleverFiles: Dependable and pleasant knowledge restoration

Professionals
- Pleasant interface
- Useful YouTube movies
- Good knowledge restoration efficiency
- Knowledge Shredder utility
Cons
- Occasional crashes
- Didn’t create viable boot drive
Value When Reviewed:
Primary: Free; Professional: £70.89; Enterprise: £397.47 (pay further for lifetime upgrades)
Disk Drill Professional from Cleverfiles is designed to recuperate knowledge and rebuild deleted information on Macs and varied different platforms and units. It really works with customary macOS file codecs like HFS+, Mac OS Prolonged, and APFS.
The fundamental model is obtainable at no cost and might recuperate as much as 500 megabytes of information. There’s a Professional model that helps one person and as much as three simultaneous activations, paid for as soon as with a further expense for lifetime upgrades. The Enterprise version has an analogous further expense for lifetime upgrades and helps 10 customers and infinite activations with precedence technical assist and DFXML forensic knowledge assist.
Disk Drill Professional requires macOS 10.15 Catalina or later and provides a number of new options, together with a RAID utility, NAS & Linux by way of SSH utility, instruments for recovering knowledge from iPhones, iPads, and Time Machine volumes, a scan session supervisor, S.M.A.R.T. monitoring, a macOS boot drive creator, a backup utility, a Clear Up utility to map drive storage, a replica file remover, an information shredder, and a free house erasure instrument. YouTube-based tutorial movies can be found.
Units might be scanned over a Wi-Fi community, and the S.M.A.R.T. perform supplies knowledge about drive temperatures, drive situation, and life share left. Disk Drill Professional runs the scan within the background and might bypass file permission errors on the info being erased. Throughout our knowledge restoration scans, greater than 90% of deleted information have been readily recovered.
Disk Drill Professional has some points, such because the macOS Installer utility failing to supply a bootable quantity after a number of assessments, the Latest Classes scan supervisor solely sporadically working, and Disk Drill Professional crashing into the spinning rainbow wheel if a course of is interrupted. Nevertheless, it provides dependable knowledge restoration from all kinds of units.
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Disk Drill Professional overview
EaseUS Knowledge Restoration Wizard for Mac: Respectable free model

Professionals
- Free model (as much as 2GB)
- Nice knowledge restoration instruments, file group, categorization
- Video Restore instrument
Cons
- Excessive value
- Unbootable Mac module did not find drives
- Unable to log into cloud-based providers
Value When Reviewed:
£95.99 a month for one Mac, £131.99 a yr for one Mac, £179.99 for a lifetime improve plan for one Mac
EaseUS Knowledge Restoration Wizard for Mac is a Mac port of the Home windows restoration software program.
There’s a free model with an honest 2GB recovered knowledge cap in addition to a paid model, which provides extra options equivalent to 1-on-1 distant help, is obtainable as a free trial, and requires Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) or later to run. The paid model provides one license for one Mac paid month-to-month, yearly or as a lifetime improve plan that covers one Mac. The month-to-month and annual license funds auto-renew.
The software program helps over 1,000 file sorts and provides particular modules for SD playing cards, cloud-based restoration, and storage. It helps APFS, HFS+, HFS, XFAT, FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS, making it helpful for working with drives from Home windows and Linux machines.
The core functionalities of information restoration, reconstruction, and group are its strongest factors. A pleasant interface guides customers in selecting the amount to recuperate from and designating the goal restoration drive or folder. This system organizes recovered and restored knowledge logically into classes equivalent to All Varieties, Photos, Paperwork, Audio, Movies, Emails, Archives, and Others.
The SD Card perform is beneficial, and the iCloud module makes it straightforward to log into iCloud (requiring Two Issue Authentication). The Video Restore module is pleasing for exporting cleaner copies of outdated movies. Nevertheless, some points want consideration, together with the Unbootable Mac module, which has the person shut down their Mac, boot into Restoration Mode, then boot off an exterior server run by EaseUS. Whereas it is a good thought in principle, the instrument went right into a steady loop of being unable to mount my M2 Mac inside and exterior drives. I allowed this course of to run in a single day, and after I awakened within the morning, the drives had nonetheless not mounted and the instrument couldn’t be labored with.
The cloud instrument was unable to efficiently log into Dropbox for restoration, and the applying required an administrator password each time the person launched it. Moreover, the software program offered a buyer suggestions survey each time the person exited this system, which was infuriating.
Knowledge Restoration Wizard for Mac excels at its core features and presents a horny technique of recovering knowledge from Mac, Home windows, and Linux volumes with a pleasant array of platform and file format assist. Nevertheless, the excessive value level, Unbootable Mac module failures, fixed want for an administrator password, and repeating buyer suggestions survey window let it down.
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EaseUS Knowledge Restoration Wizard for Mac overview
Knowledge Restoration for Mac, iBeesoft: Knowledge restoration and backup mixed

Professionals
- Pleasant person interface
- Good knowledge restoration
- Backup and video restore modules
- Good value
Cons
- Crashed Mac module didn’t work
- Imprecise 60-day money-back assure phrases
Value When Reviewed:
Private License: $59.95 (approx £46); Lifetime License for $129.95 (approx £100)
Finest Costs At present:
iBeesoft’s Knowledge Restoration for Mac features as an information restoration and backup utility and likewise features a video restore utility for the AV nerds on the market.
The app is predicated round a number of modules: Storage Units, Crashed Mac Restoration, Video Restore, File Backup, and Search Data. There’s a user-friendly interface and useful file categorizations, equivalent to All Varieties, Photos, Paperwork, Audio, Video, Emails, Archives, Others, and Unsaved Paperwork.
The software program can scan via your checklist of mounted drives, on the lookout for deleted information, reconstructing and recovering the whole lot it could actually. It’s straightforward to pick out particular information or all information for a given restoration to an exterior quantity as soon as a scan is full.
The Video Restore module means that you can drag and drop outdated video clips and improve their high quality earlier than exporting them. The Backup module means that you can specify information, folders, or a whole quantity and again up a replica as a .dmg file, which might be simply restored later.
That is to this point so good, however there are some components to kind out. The Crashed Mac module is designed to supply an simply downloadable .dmg file to create a boot drive to make use of as an emergency disk to assist recuperate knowledge to an exterior arduous drive, however the net server that hosted the file not working so the function couldn’t be examined.
There’s a Private License and a Lifetime License, in addition to a free model (with a 500MB restrict).
Knowledge Restoration for Mac hones in on its core options properly and is price a glance.
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iBeesoft Knowledge Restoration for Mac overview
Alsoft DiskWarrior

Professionals
- Good person interface and efficiency
- Locates and types out file and listing errors
- Customization and configuration choices
Cons
- Lack of APFS assist
- Excessive value
- Time Machine quantity restore requires booting from included flash drive
Value When Reviewed:
$119.95 (plus $21.95 for transport flash drive outdoors U.S.)
Alsoft has been producing high-quality utility software program for over 20 years. DiskWarrior, a preferred utility for recovering broken arduous drives, has been in use since 1998. Nevertheless, the most recent model of DiskWarrior 5.3.1, launched in 2024, appears to be falling behind in software program and file system assist.
The software program nonetheless helps the HFS+ format, FireVault 1 and a pair of, Core Storage for Fusion dries, RAID configurations, and disk photos and sparse bundles, nevertheless it has not been upgraded to assist the APFS format, which is more and more prevalent on new Macs and Apple’s push in the direction of this file system customary.
DiskWarrior is obtainable as a bootable USB flash drive that may boot Macs operating HFS+ format volumes. Its ease of use stays unchanged, making it straightforward to mount and unmount drives and volumes, carry out fast assessments, entry technical specs, arrange automated diagnostics, and obtain notifications via alerts, emails, AppleScript applications, or textual content messages.
Nevertheless, there’s unhealthy information: DiskWarrior 5.3.1 nonetheless lacks assist for the APFS customary. As extra drives are transferring in the direction of this file system, the corporate’s silence on this matter is regarding. A consultant inside the firm confirmed that Alsoft is engaged on model 6.0, which is able to supply full APFS assist. Nevertheless, modifications from Apple’s facet, equivalent to not permitting third-party kernel extensions and different technical modifications, have made the event course of harder and created extra roadblocks than earlier variations of DiskWarrior.
The shortage of a free trial model of DiskWarrior 5.3.1 raises issues in regards to the steep new person value and improve value, particularly when the software program lacks APFS assist and might solely work with sure volumes.
Generally a fantastic utility will get caught in improvement. There’s nonetheless a fantastic utility available right here, however Alsoft must put itself ready the place it could actually readily announce that an up to date model might be out at a given date and that it’s going to supply APFS assist.
Learn our full
DiskWarrior overview
What’s the greatest Mac knowledge restoration app?
Our best choice proper now’s Recoverit from Wondershare as a result of it does a superb job recovering knowledge, and at an inexpensive value.
How we select the very best Knowledge Restoration app for Mac
We strategy this not solely from an ease-of-use perspective for the person, but additionally by way of which software program can genuinely pull one thing helpful from a catastrophe. It’s not all the time the very best marketed or costliest restoration utility that succeeds, however one thing that may work with a quantity, proceed to check it, and never hand over on it by way of {hardware} situation and slowdowns. The software program you could go away to run in a single day to recuperate knowledge and have the very best likelihood of waking up and discovering one thing helpful recovered, that marks the very best software program the place Macworld is worried.
One other issue we think about is that the most suitable choice will depend upon a particular set of wants. For instance, one possibility could be the very best you probably have a decent funds, whereas an alternative choice might be higher for somebody who will solely use this software program as soon as, whereas the most suitable choice for somebody who expects to wish to make use of the software program many times will most likely be fairly totally different.
For that motive we specify who we suggest the app for. We additionally are inclined to solely embrace the apps that we suggest in our group assessments. If the app isn’t included right here it might be as a result of we don’t fee it in addition to those on this spherical up.
What it is best to think about when selecting the very best Knowledge Restoration app
Exterior of the worth level (some functions might be significantly costly, particularly given the providers they’re tied into), ease of use and total strategy are essential elements to think about. Some functions will give you all of the choices on the earth, however via a nigh-terrifying person interface that asks you to determine particular arduous drive sectors you’d prefer to determine and work with, which is past what a panicked person who might need misplaced their life’s knowledge desires to cope with.
What you’re on the lookout for is one thing highly effective, able to coping with your broken arduous drive/quantity, and able to conserving it mounted in your Mac because it’s working via broken sectors on a tough drive mechanism that will itself be failing.
As soon as that is full, it’s a matter of whether or not the applying can work steadily for the hours, days, or weeks which may be concerned in slowly pulling the info to an exterior arduous drive. From there, it’s a query of how the recovered knowledge might be reconstructed and the way shortly and simply the recovered knowledge might be labored with (i.e., will it’s important to rename and reorganize hundreds of information, will a particular file be capable to be opened by the applying that created it, and so forth.?)
In brief, it’s a query of “Effectively, I’ve recovered lots of of gigabytes of information, can I truly work with it or do I’ve to babysit it and rebuild the info and the way a lot time have I saved in the long term?” This, mixed with the anticipated value you’ll pay (both from an outright one-time buy or annual or multi-year subscription), and greatest practices equivalent to settings up native Time Machine and on-line backups assist kind what it is best to think about for a best-of-breed knowledge restoration utility, or a set of them. It’s not a query of if a tough drive will fail however when, and we’ll do the whole lot we will right here at Macworld to maintain you knowledgeable and prepared for when it will definitely occurs.
How we take a look at Knowledge Restoration software program for Mac
Once we take a look at knowledge restoration software program we simulate the expertise of those that lose knowledge in actual world situations. This contains the whole lot from recovering by chance deleted information, to trying to recuperate knowledge from a formatted disk.
We take a look at with each rotational and solid-state media, utilizing each newer and used drives. Throughout the assessments, we work to recuperate each massive and small information in addition to knowledge that’s been deleted from a number of drive format features. We evaluate ease of use, the software program’s strategy, what’s recovered, and the way this meets the person’s expectations.
We additionally consider reconstruction strategies, and the place this leaves the person (i.e., can a recovered picture be simply opened, or will it require a number of extra steps to rename and open the file?) to find out what to make of the software program and the way greatest to fee it.
Why you possibly can belief Macworld’s suggestions
Macworld’s Knowledge Restoration app reviewer, Chris Barylick is an Apple-Licensed Macintosh Technician with greater than twenty years expertise fixing Macs, coping with individuals, and writing about it. On this time, he’s seen nearly each situation that may be conceived of, heard the wailing of individuals whose Macs have been working nice simply the opposite day and whose arduous drives are making unusual clicking sounds and never booting, and the whole lot in between. All through this time, his purpose was all the time the identical: Get the arduous drive out of the pc, get it mounted, and determine one of the best ways to recuperate their knowledge and their work, it doesn’t matter what.
FAQ
Why does Knowledge Restoration take so lengthy?
Anticipate the info restoration course of to be time-consuming because the app items the bits of information again collectively. With endurance, most information that haven’t been overwritten ought to, in principle, be saveable.
Some drives can take days to completely scan, and the upper capability they’re, the longer the method. But when it’s irreplaceable images or essential paperwork which can be misplaced, you possibly can afford to attend.
Is there a free means to recuperate my misplaced Mac knowledge?
Sadly, this kind of software program is just about all the time going to have a excessive value related to it earlier than you possibly can recuperate what you want–however if you happen to’ve misplaced lots of of treasured images or the primary 1,000 pages of your novel, then no value is simply too excessive, most likely. Generally you possibly can pay for the software program for a month, do what you’ll want to do after which cancel. Generally you will need to subscribe for a yr. Different choices permit you to purchase it outright, however pay further for future updates. Your individual circumstances will affect which possibility is greatest for you. Moreover, many of those instruments supply a trial so you possibly can a minimum of see what it is best to be capable to recuperate earlier than you spend your cash.
There are a number of methods you possibly can attempt earlier than you spend cash on an app although, as you’ll see in our Find out how to recuperate knowledge from a broken Mac article.
Find out how to keep away from knowledge loss
Are knowledge restoration apps/providers secure, are you able to belief them?
Sure, they’re secure, however you’re going to need to perform a little research and/or learn some critiques to search out one thing that works greatest for you. It does the software program corporations no good to have their knowledge restoration software program be one thing that damages your Mac’s knowledge, and knowledge restoration functions use extraordinarily low-level {hardware} code to entry knowledge from failing units, so there’s that to think about.
Nonetheless, there are a number of knowledge restoration functions that supply free or trial intervals to check the software program, and you may all the time attempt these out for your self. Learn and take heed to trusted sources, attempt varied functions out for your self (you possibly can all the time attempt recovering knowledge you’ve deleted from thumb drives with the trial variations of those functions), keep in mind to arrange Time Machine and on-line backups and your knowledge needs to be secure. There’s a world of choices on the market and we’ll do what we will that will help you discover the very best one for you.
How does knowledge restoration software program work?
Most knowledge restoration software program works to mount the potentially-failing quantity that your knowledge is on, then it has to work to maintain it mounted and operating because it scans the drive’s sectors, provides you choices as to what you’d love to do with it, carries out the assessments and knowledge restoration choices, and works to avoid wasting the info to a purposeful drive previous to reconstructing it.
There’s loads for it to hold out, and every knowledge restoration utility and the corporate behind it approaches it otherwise. Some would possibly present a really normal, person pleasant interface in the direction of knowledge restoration whereas others would possibly supply extraordinarily particular, technical features to work with exact sectors of your arduous drive. Some would possibly present an choice to boot kind an exterior USB thumb drive or Internet-based working system to attempt to recuperate your knowledge, and every strategy can yield totally different outcomes
Why is knowledge restoration software program costly?
Knowledge restoration software program has all the time been infamously costly, however there are logical causes for this. First, there’s a particularly vital quantity of analysis and improvement concerned in creating and updating this software program, because it delves into low-lying system and firmware features as to how the pc communicates with its arduous drives and reads and writes knowledge to and from them.
Moreover, knowledge restoration software program usually isn’t the form of factor that’s initially bought with a brand new pc (equivalent to a replica of Microsoft Workplace, Adobe Inventive Cloud, and so forth.), and tends to solely be bought within the occasion of a catastrophe whereby your knowledge is susceptible to loss.
As such, the info restoration software program market tends to promote fewer copies and generally fees the next value for the copies it does promote.
Lastly, there are occasions the place the software program corporations present higher-end providers and tech assist, together with transport a broken drive off for disassembly and knowledge restoration. This may be thought of a brand new service altogether and that rather more costly to reclaim broken knowledge.
For extra recommendation about software program in your Mac, iPad or iPhone see all our Finest Picks and our newest macOS and iOS software program critiques.