Best 4 Free Mac Data Recovery Applications

These best 4 free data recovery applications for Mac are available online for download and vary in terms of interface and features. But they have few things in common i.e. they all are free to download, install, and use.

1. Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac

Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac is one of the best free data recovery applications for macOS with an easy-to-use Graphical User Interface (GUI). It recovers deleted data from MacBook, iMac, Mac mini, or their pro models. Plus, it retrieves lost data from external hard drive, solid-state drive, Time Machine backup drive, Boot Camp Partition, fusion drive, and encrypted drive. Apart from free drive scanning and free file preview, the software offers free saving of up to 1 GB data. You can perform Deep Scan, customize your recovery, and set data recovery preferences in the software. The application is compatible with macOS Ventura 13, Monterey 12, Big Sur 11, Catalina 10.15 and earlier. If you need to recover data more than 1 GB, activate the software to unlock unlimited data recovery capability.

2. TestDisk for Mac

TestDisk for Mac is a free and open-source Mac data recovery application that allows you to recover your deleted data, lost partitions, repair erroneous Mac storage drive, and boot an unbootable Mac. Unlike Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition, TestDisk has a character user interface (CUI) that requires expertise in using Terminal commands. An uninitiated user needs to learn the nitty-gritties of TestDisk commands to use the tool properly. So, the tool is appropriate for experienced Mac users and support personnel in organizations. Though the application uses CUI, it is still operable by most Mac users thanks to its comprehensive step-wise instructions. The software repairs corruption in various file systems including HFS+, Ext2/3/4, exFAT, NTFS, and FAT12/16/32. The best part is the software has no limit for recovering your lost data. But it has certain limitations, viz. no file preview before recovery, no deep scan, no customization, and it’s not easy-to-use.

3. MiniTool Mac Data Recovery Free

MiniTool Mac Data Recovery Free is a reliable and safe free Mac data recovery application that is available online. The application allows you to recover up to 1 MB of free data. It helps you to recover your lost photos, videos, music, documents, emails, etc. from Mac or Mac-based external storage drive. The application recovers data from empty Trash, unmounted drive, and lost partition. The software’s graphical user interface has multiple options, viz. Undelete Recovery, Digital Media Recovery, Damaged Partition Recovery, and Lost Partition Recovery. Use the application to load the previous scan result and recover in your leisure time. It supports macOS Ventura and earlier up to Mac OS X 10.5.

4. Recoverit Data Recovery Software Free

Recoverit Data Recovery Software Free is a powerful free data recovery application that is suitable for different data loss situations from various storage devices. By using the software, you can recover up to 100 MB data for free. The software also allows you to free preview your files before recovery. You can use the GUI-based tool to recover your lost graphics, videos, audio, outlook & archive files, and office documents. Also, recover lost data from formatted, RAW, or damaged partitions. The application is compatible with macOS Monterey 12, Big Sur 11, Catalina 10.15 and earlier up to 10.9. It supports recovery from APFS, HFS+, exFAT, FAT, NTFS, and Ext file systems.

4. Conclusion

We hope the blog helped you find the best free Mac data recovery software for your basic data recovery needs, such as recovery of Trash emptied data, erased volume, lost partitions, etc. on macOS Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, or earlier. We recommend going with Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac due to its user-friendly GUI, advanced features, and complete data recovery capability for all logical data loss situations.