Losing data on an SD card can be a frustrating and stressful experience. Whether you accidentally deleted your photos, formatted your card, or encountered a card error, you may wonder if there is any way to get your files back. Fortunately, many SD card recovery software tools can help you restore your lost data in various scenarios. But how do you choose the best one for your situation?
In this article, we will review the top ten SD card data recovery tools for Windows and Mac in 2023. We will compare their features, performance, compatibility, and ease of use, and help you find the most suitable one for your needs. Read on to learn more about these powerful tools and how they can help you recover your precious data from SD cards.
1. Is It Possible to Recover Deleted Data on an SD Card?
If you have accidentally deleted some data on your SD card, you may be wondering if it is possible to recover it. In most cases, you can recover deleted data, but it depends on several factors.
When you delete a file from an SD card, it is not erased immediately. Instead, the space used by the deleted files is marked as available for new data. The files become invisible to the operating system.
This is the moment you can still restore your data. Stop using the SD card and don’t write new data. If you continue using it, it will reduce the chances to recover data successfully.
Now, you can use the recovery software to scan the SD card and locate these invisible files. The software can then recover the files and restore them to their original location on the card.
However, in some cases, SD card recovery software will not work. For example, if your SD card is physically damaged, corrupted, encrypted, or overwritten with new data, you may not be able to recover your deleted files. Therefore, it is important to back up your SD card regularly and handle it with care.
2. Best SD Card Recovery Software in December 2023
If you’re looking to recover lost documents, videos, photos, or music files from an SD card, SD card recovery software can be a useful tool. We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 SD card data recovery tools for Windows and Mac computers to help you choose the best one for your needs. So, keep reading to learn more about each software and make an informed decision on which one to use for your needs.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is a powerful file recovery tool that can help you recover lost or deleted data from various devices and scenarios. It supports Windows and Mac operating systems, as well as external hard drives, SSDs, memory cards, USB flash drives, digital cameras, and more. It can also recover data from formatted, corrupted, or damaged partitions, as well as from crashed or inaccessible systems.
Pricing: free + paid versions
Individual
Bundles
Monthly
Annual
Lifetime Upgrades
Data Recovery and Protection Solution
Data Recovery for Windows and Mac
Data Recovery for Windows and iPhone
$69.95 /mo
$99.95 /year
$149.95
$62.93 /mo or $125.37 lifetime
$153.93 /mo or $223.93 lifetime
$123.93 /mo or $174.93 lifetime
Pros
A simple and intuitive user interface that guides you through the recovery process step by step.
It can recover a wide range of file types, including photos, videos, audio, documents, emails, archives, etc.
Support of different file systems, such as NTFS, FAT, exFAT, HFS+, APFS, etc.
Preview the recoverable files before restoring them, so you can check their quality and validity.
Repair corrupted photos and videos during the recovery process.
A free version that can recover up to 2GB of data.
Cons
It is relatively expensive compared to some of its competitors. The individual plan is $69.95 per month or $99.90 per year. You can also get lifetime access and upgrades for $149.90. Bundles will be even more expensive.
It’s quite slow in scanning and recovering large amounts of data or complex situations.
In some cases, it doesn’t recover all the data, especially if it is overwritten or severely damaged.
It may list some files as unrecoverable even if they are partially recoverable.
Recuva is a data recovery tool that can help you restore deleted or lost files from various devices and drives. It works with Windows operating systems and supports hard drives, SSDs, memory cards, USB drives, and more. It can also recover files from formatted, corrupted, or damaged drives, as well as from virtual hard drives.
Pricing: free, Professional version for $19.95 per year.
Pros
A free version that can recover unlimited data for personal use.
A clear and simple user interface that guides you through the recovery process with a wizard.
It can recover a wide range of file types, including photos, videos, music, documents, emails, etc.
Preview of the files to recover.
Secure overwrite feature that can permanently erase sensitive or confidential files.
Disk Drill is a data recovery software that can restore deleted or lost files from various storage devices, such as hard disks, USB drives, memory cards, cameras, and smartphones. It supports hundreds of file types and can scan and recover data from internal, external, and virtual drives. It also offers data protection tools, such as Recovery Vault and byte-level backups.
Pricing: free, the Pro version for $89 per year or $149 for lifetime upgrades, the Enterprise version for $499 per year or $598 for lifetime upgrades.
Pros
A free version that can recover up to 500MB of data and protect key files with byte-level backups.
A sleek and intuitive user interface that guides you through the recovery process with a wizard.
Ability to recover a wide range of file types, including photos, videos, music, documents, emails, etc.
It allows previewing files before recovery and predicting their recoverability.
It can mount the scanning results as a new disk to easily move files around.
Support Macs with Intel, Apple T2, M1, and M2 chips, as well as Windows computers.
Cons
No smartphone recovery support on Windows, only on macOS devices.
No portable version that can run from a USB drive without installation.
It requires low-level access to the scanned devices, which may pose some security or compatibility issues.
It may take a long time to scan large or complex storage devices.
Stellar Data Recovery is a data recovery tool that can help you recover deleted or lost files from various devices and situations. It works with Windows and macOS operating systems and supports hard drives, SSDs, memory cards, USB drives, and more. It can also recover files from formatted, corrupted, or damaged drives, as well as from optical media and smartphones.
Pricing: free, Standard for $59.99 per year, Professional for $89.99 per year, Premium for $99.99 per year, Technician for $199 per year, Toolkit for $299 per year.
Pros
A free version that can recover up to 1GB of data and preview the recoverable files before restoring them.
A clear and easy-to-use user interface that guides you through the recovery process step-by-step.
Recovering a wide range of file types, including photos, videos, music, documents, emails, etc.
Unlimited file extension types with the option to add new file types.
It can create and restore disk images to prevent future data loss.
Support of RAID arrays with different configurations and levels.
Cons
The MacOS version is more expensive than the Windows one.
It can be slow in performing deep scans and recovering large amounts of data.
No support of Linux file systems, such as ext4, ext3, or ext2.
No files preview in the free version.
It does not allow users to pause or resume the scanning process.
It does not guarantee a 100% success rate of recovery, as some files may be overwritten or damaged beyond repair.
R-Studio is a comprehensive data recovery solution that can handle data, partitions, and full disks. It supports various file systems and can recover data from local disks, removable disks, networked disks, and even virtual RAIDs. It has a functional demo mode that allows you to preview the files before recovery. It also has some disk management features such as cloning, imaging, and wiping.
Pricing: R-Studio—$79.99, R-Studio for Mac—$79.99, R-Studio for Linux—$79.99, R-Studio T80+—$80.00, R-Studio T80+ for Mac—$80.00, R-Studio T80+ for Linux—$80.00, R-Studio Corporate—$179.99, R-Studio Corporate for Mac—$179.99, R-Studio Corporate for Linux—$179.99, R-Studio Technician License—$899.00.
Pros
Extremely detailed scan reports.
Data recovery in complex scenarios.
Separate apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms.
A user-friendly interface with code completion, colored highlighting, and easy project management.
Data recovery from damaged, corrupted, formatted, or deleted partitions and disks, encrypted or compressed files and folders, as well as from remote computers via the Internet.
Raw disk data editing with a hex editor.
Cons
It might be considered overcomplicated if you just want a simple recovery tool.
High pricing with confusing pricing options.
Different syntaxes for doing one task when working with some data types might get confusing.
A complex and cluttered user interface that may be confusing for beginners.
It may not be compatible with some newer or uncommon file systems or devices.
Remo Recover is a data recovery software that can recover files, photos, videos, and documents that are lost, missing, or deleted. It supports various file systems and devices, including Windows, Mac, and Android. It has a graphical interface that is easy to use and a preview feature for images. It supports different file systems such as NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, HFS+, and APFS.
Windows: $69.97/month, $79.97/6 months, the lifetime plan for $199.97
Mac: Basic Edition—$59.97, Pro—$94.97
Android: $29.97
Pros
A lifetime license for each edition.
Recovering all file types and repairing some corrupted files from various scenarios such as accidental deletion, virus infection, partition loss, power failure, etc.
Recovering files from various storage devices such as hard drives, external drives, memory cards, USB drives, etc.
A clean interface with intuitive options.
Cons
It takes a long time to scan and is resource-hungry when scanning.
A preview feature is available only for images but not for other files.
It is not a budget option and has confusing pricing options.
It may not be able to recover files that are overwritten or corrupted beyond repair.
Recover My Files is a data recovery software that can help you restore files that have been deleted, formatted, corrupted, or lost due to various reasons. It supports a wide range of file types, such as documents, photos, videos, music, emails, and more. It also allows you to preview the files before recovering them and save them to a different location or device.
It supports various file systems and devices, including Windows PCs and external drives. It has a simple yet feature-rich user interface that lets you preview files before recovery and filter your search results.
TestDisk is a free and open-source data recovery software tool that can help you recover lost partitions and restore deleted files from various file systems. It can also fix boot sectors, partition tables, FAT tables, MFT, and more. It supports DOS, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and other operating systems. It has features for both beginners and experts and can be used to collect detailed information about a non-booting drive or to perform onsite recovery.
Pricing: free.
Pros
Powerful and versatile, able to handle many types of data loss scenarios.
A step-by-step user guide and rich online documentation.
The tool is portable and does not require installation, so you can run it from a USB drive or a live CD.
It is open-source and free, so you can modify it or contribute to its development.
Support of many file systems and operating systems.
Recovering partitions and files from various scenarios.
Fixing common disk errors and corruption.
Cons
A command line interface may not be very user-friendly for beginners or non-technical users.
Sometimes the tool doesn’t recover data from severely damaged or encrypted disks.
Incompatibility with some newer hardware or software.
Recoverit SD Card Data Recovery is made by Wondershare, which is a trusted brand in the data recovery industry. It can help you recover deleted or lost data from SD cards and other storage devices in various scenarios, such as accidental deletion, formatting, virus attack, etc. It supports Windows and Mac operating systems and can recover more than 1000 file formats.
Pricing:
Windows: Premium—$99.99/year, Standard—$79.99/year, Essential—$69.99/year, plans for Team & Business and Education
Mac: Premium for Mac—$139.99/year, Standard for Mac—$99.99/year, Essential for Mac—$79.99/year
Pros
Very high recovery rate and the ability to recover unlimited files.
Repairing corrupted videos and photos in different formats.
Recovering data from crashed computers by creating a bootable USB drive.
Remote data recovery from NAS servers.
A user-friendly interface and a file preview feature.
Cons
The app requires a license to recover more than 100 MB of data.
It may take a long time to scan large or complex disks.
The tool may not be able to recover data from physically damaged or overwritten SD cards or devices.
Incompatibility with some older or uncommon SD card models or formats.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a professional data recovery software for Windows and Mac users with a free version. It can recover deleted or lost files from various storage devices, such as hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, memory cards, and more. It can also handle different data loss scenarios, such as accidental deletion, virus attack, disk failure, file system error, etc.
SD card recovery software is a type of software that can help you recover deleted, formatted, corrupted, or lost data from your SD card.
3.2 How does SD card recovery software work?
SD card recovery software works by scanning your SD card for any recoverable data and displaying them in a preview window. You can then select the files you want to recover and save them to a different location.
3.3 How can I avoid data loss from SD cards in the future?
Some of the best practices to prevent data loss from SD cards are to back up your data regularly, eject your SD card properly, format your SD card with the correct file system, avoid using your SD card on multiple devices, and protect your SD card from physical damage, water, heat, and dust.
3.4 Can I recover data from a corrupted or formatted SD card?
Yes, you can recover data from a corrupted or formatted SD card with the help of reliable SD card recovery software. However, you should stop using your SD card as soon as you notice any signs of corruption or formatting to avoid overwriting your data.
3.5 How long does it take to scan and recover data from an SD card?
The scanning and recovery time depends on various factors, such as the size and condition of your SD card, the amount and type of data you want to recover, and the speed and performance of your computer. Generally, it may take from a few minutes to several hours to scan and recover data from an SD card.
3.6 Is it safe to use free SD card recovery software?
It depends on the source and quality of the free SD card recovery software. Some free apps may contain malware or viruses that can harm your computer or compromise your data privacy. Some may also have limitations or hidden costs that can affect your recovery results. Therefore, it is advisable to use reputable and trustworthy free SD card recovery software that has positive reviews and ratings from users and experts.
3.7 Can SD card recovery software recover all types of files?
Most SD card recovery software can recover a variety of file types including photos, videos, documents, and more. However, it’s best to check the software’s specifications to see if it supports the file type you need to recover.
3.8 Is there a risk of losing data during the recovery process?
There is always a risk of losing data during the recovery process, especially if the software is used improperly or on a physically damaged SD card. It’s important to follow the software’s instructions carefully and avoid using the SD card until the recovery process is complete.
4. Conclusion
You can lose your important data on an SD card due to many reasons. However, it is not the end of the world. Using the best SD card recovery software, you can easily and effectively recover your lost or deleted files.
In this article, we have reviewed and compared the top ten data recovery apps Each solution offers a range of features and capabilities, with some offering powerful scanning and recovery algorithms and others providing real-time scanning and recovery protection features.
Which one do you like the most?
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Marcus is a cybersecurity analyst with a focus on VPN and proxy services. As the founder and driving force behind a prominent VPN and proxy website, Private Proxy Guide, Marcus has emerged as a trusted authority in the digital realm. With a passion for staying ahead of evolving cyber threats, he has played a pivotal role in educating and empowering individuals and businesses to safeguard their online presence.
