Disk Drill Alternatives 2026: 5 Free Options
Disk Drill alternatives: TestDisk and PhotoRec, Recuva, Windows File Recovery and 2 more. Prices and licenses checked October 23, 2026.
•3 min read•Cloud Storage & Backup
Verdict:Leave Disk Drill if you only need a handful of files back and do not want to pay before you know it works. Its free edition scans and previews but will not recover anything, and Pro costs $89 a year or $149 for a lifetime licence. TestDisk is the strongest free pick: it is GPL, runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and can rebuild a lost partition table, but you drive it from a text menu. Recuva and Windows File Recovery cover plain deleted-file cases on Windows at no cost; Windows File Recovery needs a second drive and a command prompt. EaseUS and Stellar keep a graphical interface and give you a free allowance of roughly 1 to 2 GB, which is enough for a folder of documents but not a whole photo library. The trade-off is polish versus price. Disk Drill's preview and macOS support are easier than anything free here. Stop using the drive before you try any of them, because new writes can overwrite what you want back, and recover to a different disk. Stay with Disk Drill if you are on a Mac and need more than a few gigabytes; otherwise start with TestDisk or Recuva and only pay when the free tools find nothing.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TestDisk and PhotoRec | Free (Fully free, no recovery cap stated) | Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD | Lost partitions and free recovery | Docs only |
| Recuva | Free (Free edition available; see the vendor page for its limits) | Windows | Quick Windows undelete | Docs only |
| Windows File Recovery | Free (Free command-line app from the Microsoft Store; the support page states no price) | Windows | Windows users comfortable with a terminal | Docs only |
| EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard | Free (Free edition recovers up to 2 GB per the product page (user reviews on the page mention 1 GB)) | Windows, macOS | A small recovery with a graphical tool | Docs only |
| Stellar Data Recovery | Free (Up to 1 GB recovery on Windows and Mac; up to 10 files on iPhone and Android); paid from $59.99 per year (Windows Standard edition) | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Phone recovery and a cheaper yearly plan | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You need a few deleted files back on Windows without paying (Recuva is the pick)
- You lost a whole partition rather than single files (TestDisk and PhotoRec is the pick)
- You want a graphical tool with a free allowance (EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is the pick)
- You also need to rescue files from a phone (Stellar Data Recovery is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Disk Drill features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Disk Drill today: Free (Free Basic edition scans and previews recoverable files; recovering files needs PRO); paid from $89 per year (Pro one-year subscription) (Disk Drill pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Why people look for Disk Drill alternatives
Disk Drill Basic scans and previews recoverable files, but recovering them needs Pro. Pro is $89 a year as a subscription or $149 for a lifetime license, covers 1 user on up to 3 devices, and Enterprise is quoted on request. The one-year subscription renews automatically unless you cancel before the renewal date. All Pro purchases are non-refundable except where consumer protection law requires a refund.
TestDisk and PhotoRec
Compared with Disk Drill: Free under GPL v2 or later with no recovery cap, where Disk Drill only lets you scan and preview until you buy Pro. You trade a friendly interface for a text-driven tool, and it also repairs lost partitions and boot sectors.
Price: Free (Fully free, no recovery cap stated) (TestDisk and PhotoRec pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD. GPL v2 or later (open source).
Best for: Lost partitions and free recovery.
Recuva
Compared with Disk Drill: A free Windows-only edition that reviews describe as uncapped, so a first recovery costs nothing, unlike Disk Drill's scan-and-preview free tier. You lose macOS support, and check the vendor page for its limits.
Price: Free (Free edition available; see the vendor page for its limits) (Recuva pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows. Proprietary.
Best for: Quick Windows undelete.
Windows File Recovery
Compared with Disk Drill: Microsoft's own command-line tool for deleted files on local drives, installed from the Store at no stated cost. There is no scan view or file preview as in Disk Drill, and recovered files must go to a second drive.
Price: Free (Free command-line app from the Microsoft Store; the support page states no price) (Windows File Recovery pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows. Proprietary.
Best for: Windows users comfortable with a terminal.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
Compared with Disk Drill: The free edition recovers up to 2 GB according to the product page, so a few documents or photos can come back without paying, whereas Disk Drill's free tier recovers nothing. Check the product page for paid prices.
Price: Free (Free edition recovers up to 2 GB per the product page (user reviews on the page mention 1 GB)) (EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS. Proprietary.
Best for: A small recovery with a graphical tool.
Stellar Data Recovery
Compared with Disk Drill: Free up to 1 GB on Windows and Mac, and a yearly Standard edition from $59.99, against Disk Drill Pro at $89 a year or $149 lifetime. It also ships iPhone and Android versions, which Disk Drill's page does not list.
Price: Free (Up to 1 GB recovery on Windows and Mac; up to 10 files on iPhone and Android); paid from $59.99 per year (Windows Standard edition) (Stellar Data Recovery pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Phone recovery and a cheaper yearly plan.
Which one to pick
- You need a few deleted files back on Windows without paying: Recuva
- You lost a whole partition rather than single files: TestDisk and PhotoRec
- You want a graphical tool with a free allowance: EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
- You also need to rescue files from a phone: Stellar Data Recovery
Limits of this review
Docs-only for TestDisk and PhotoRec, Recuva, Windows File Recovery, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, Stellar Data Recovery: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Disk Drill. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked 2026-10-23: Disk Drill, TestDisk and PhotoRec, Recuva, Windows File Recovery, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, Stellar Data Recovery. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.