Last Updated Date: March 12, 2024
It’s one thing to lose data, but another to be faced with the dilemma of choosing the best recovery tool out of the many options available, such like what’s the best photo recovery software or effective software for USB.
It’s no lie that the best services are paid for. Most recovery software brands provide a free version, however, they put a limit to the file size recoverable. Regardless, to choose among the various free data recovery software Windows 11 available can be tasking.
We’ve tested and picked the 6 best free file recovery software to restore permanently deleted files on Windows 11.
The Benefits of Using Windows File Recovery Software
Using Windows file recovery software offers several benefits, such as:
- Security: According to a Global Data Risk Report, about 33% of all folders used by a company are open to everyone, leading to data leakage. Windows file recovery software ensures sensitive data remains protected from breaches.
- Convenience: Lost data can be recovered in 3 simple steps. Top Windows file recovery software have user-friendly interfaces and automated processes that make the recovery process easy and less time-consuming.
- Cost-effectiveness: Eliminates the need for third-party services like professional data recovery personnel. You can restore files independently with little to no cost. thereby, reducing expenses. Data recovery software ranges from free to $119.
- Versatility: Capable of retrieving files from several storage devices, including HDDs, SSDs, USB drives, SD cards, etc. Data recovery software also supports various file formats, including NTFS, FAT, exFAT, HFS, APFS.
- Reliability: Designed with advanced algorithms to conduct Quick Scan, which rapidly scrutinizes the system for lost data, as well as Deep Scan, which conducts a thorough examination of the system for deleted, corrupted, and overwritten data.
A Comprehensive Comparison of the Best 6 Windows 11 Recovery Tools
This table compares the various top-rated Windows 11 recovery tools and their respective features.
| Recovery Software | Compatible OS | Supported File Formats | File Size Limit for Free Recovery | Prices |
| Wondershare Recoverit | Windows 7/8/10/11 | FAT, NTFS, exFAT | 100MB | $69.99 (yearly)$119 (lifetime) |
| Stellar Data Recovery | Windows 7/8/10/11 | NTFS, FAT, exFAT, HFS, APFS | 1GB | Standard ($59.99)Professional ($89.99)Premium ($99.99) |
| Disk Drill | Windows 7/8/10 | FAT, exFAT, NTFS, HFS, APFS | 500MB | $89 (lifetime) |
| ONERECOVERY for Windows | Windows 7/8/10/11 | NTFS, FAT, HFS+, APFS, exFAT | – | $45.95 (monthly)$65.95 (yearly)$95.95 (lifetime) |
| FreeUndelete | Windows 7 | FAT, exFAT, NTFS | 500MB | $69.95 (lifetime) |
| TestDisk | Windows 7/8/10 | FAT, NTFS, exFAT | – | Free |
Best 6 Free Windows 11 Data Recovery Software
Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of the various free file recovery software for Windows 11:
Wondershare Recoverit Windows File Recovery Tool
This is a file recovery Windows 11 software that allows you to restore lost or deleted files from a wide range of file formats for documents, photos, audio, videos, emails, etc.
Wondershare Recoverit has an intuitive user interface with a variety of scan choices, such as Quick Scan and Deep Scan. While the Quick Scan is fast, but conducts a light examination to recover lost files, Deep Scan takes time, but conducts a thorough examination to restore all missing files, including those caused by accidental deletion, system crash, virus attack, unknown error code, or corruption.
One of the major features that sets this software apart from other options is its patented technology for video file recovery. For videos that are stored in thousands to tons of fragments on your storage media, Wondershare Recoverit automatically scans, gathers, and matches the fragments together, allowing you to retrieve full videos without omission or corruption.
Wondershare Recoverit free version offers limited services, such as limited scanning features and size of recoverable files. To enjoy premium services, you might need to subscribe to the paid version, which comes in two plans: $69.99 for a year and $119 for lifetime access.
User Experience
“I struggled with mounting my external drive which had about 83GB data to PC. Wondershare Recoverit restored 40640 files (pdfs, jpegs, doc, xls). So far, I am pleased.”–a user from Trustpilot
👍Pros
- Uses advanced data algorithms with high success rates to retrieve data from various circumstances.
- Supports a preview of data before recovery, allowing you to confirm that the recovered files are what you wanted.
👎Cons
- Can only retrieve file size of 100MB using the free version
- Upgrading to the professional version can be expensive
Stellar Windows 10 Data Recovery Tool
Stellar Data Recovery is designed for both individuals and businesses. Individuals are provided with DIY data recovery tools and businesses enjoy various advanced repair & conversion tools, such as Stellar Repair for Outlook, Stellar Repair for Exchange, Stellar Repair for MS SQL, Stellar Converter for EDB, and Stellar Converter for OST.
Typically, it’s one of the most-used free data recovery software Windows 11 because of its versatility to restore files successfully in various data loss situations. Also, it has an intuitive user interface that makes the recovery process easy to understand by both computer beginners and professionals.
Stellar Data Recovery free version offers limited services, which might require that you switch to the paid version to enjoy unlimited services. There are 3 categories for the paid version: Standard ($49.99 for a year), Professional ($79.99 for a year), and Premium ($99.99 for a year).
User Experience
“I couldn’t scan my SD card because the images disappeared. However, Stellar Data Recovery allowed me to restore these images. Special thanks to the customer support for helping me with the activation code.”—User Ang from Trustpilot
👍Pros
- Features advanced repair and conversion tools for various circumstances, such as Stellar Repair for Outlook, Stellar Converter for EDB, etc.
- Great customer support and live chat, providing immediate and helpful solutions to users’ data loss problems
👎Cons
- Can only retrieve file size of 1GB using the free version
- The recovery process can be slow
Disk Drill File Recovery Software
In the beginning, Disk Drill was focused on Mac data recovery until 2016, when the Windows version was released. Ever since then, the free data recovery software Windows 10/11 software has continually been used for restoring all file types thanks to its quick and deep scanning capabilities.
Disk Drill offers an extra layer of data protection by incorporating the Recovery Vault feature, where information about deleted files is stored. This feature involves creating byte-level backups of files, allowing you to recover your data in full in case of data loss or drive failure.
Furthermore, this software can easily recover high-resolution videos without impacting their quality, which is why it’s globally recognized as one of the top video recovery software. Its capabilities extend to the retrieval of over 400 file formats, including all of the popular video, audio, document, and image formats.
Just like other recovery software, the Disk Drill free version offers limited services. To enjoy all its features and benefits, you will have to switch to the paid version, which goes for $89 for a lifetime license.
User Experience
“I was unable to recover any file from my external hard drive, so I went to YouTube for a solution. I came across Disk Drill, watched the videos and read the reviews. I gave it a try and in a few hours, I got all my files back, including the ones I deleted intentionally.”—-A user from Trustpilot
👍Pros
- The Recovery Vault offer additional data protection by creating byte-level backups of files, which makes the recovery process easier.
- Supports all types of disk-based storage, such as HDDs, SSDs, optical discs, etc.
👎Cons
- Can only retrieve file size of 500MB using the free version
- Deep scanning can be time-consuming
ONERCEOVERY Windows 11 Recovery Tool
ONERECOVERY for Windows is a free data recovery software Windows 10/11 that’s revered by professionals all over the world for its ease of use, security, and high success rate for all data loss scenarios. It can handle data loss for over 1,000 scenarios, such as software crash, accidental human deletion, hard drive failures, and many more.
The software is very efficient in repairing corrupted files after recovery. It utilizes an AI system that identifies specific problems within the file structure. This recovery tool adapts to diverse photo, video, document, and partition corruption patterns, then responds flexibly to fix the issues. ONERECOVERY is the best data recovery tool to provide customized restoring solutions.
The free version of this file recovery Windows 11 software offers limited services, hence you might need to upgrade to the Pro version to enjoy premium benefits. The pricing is divided into 3 categories: $45.95 (monthly), $65.95 (yearly), and $95.95 (lifetime).
User Experience
“The videos in my Canon camera disappeared due to my daughter’s accidental tap. I was panicking really badly until ONERECOVERY entered the scene. It did its magic and recovered the videos. Thanks to this software.”—-User from G2
👍Pros
- Intuitive user interface, making it very seamless for both beginners and professionals to retrieve lost data
- Operates using a double scan mode that thoroughly go through the lost files to recover every detail
👎Cons
- The free trial version cannot be relied on for complex file loss cases
- Deep scanning takes time
FreeUndelete
FreeUndelete is another reliable free data recovery software Windows 11 utility that helps in recovering files and repairing corrupt Windows registries. Even though the aesthetics of the recovery tool looks outdated, it has a simple interface, allowing you to effectively use it by yourself without professional guidance.
This software allows for the recovery of over 100 file types, including documents, photos, videos, emails, multimedia, and database records. It conducts quick scans without too much drain on your resources. However, the recovery tool is not very efficient in scanning the whole drive. Oftentimes, you can only retrieve files that were deleted recently and the drive is unusable during the scanning period. Using the drive while scanning is going on results in midway termination.
FreeUndlete is free for personal use, but to use it for business and more complex purposes, you will pay a lifetime license fee of $69.95.
User Experience
“I accidentally deleted 10 of my large photos. I downloaded many recovery software, but none worked on large photos. However, this one did. It was fast, easy, and free. I can’t ask for more.”
👍Pros
- Doesn’t have pop-up ads, guaranteeing a smooth user experience with no disturbance
- Can recover lost data as individual files scattered across various locations on the storage or as folders, preserving the hierarchical structure of files.
👎Cons
- The interface is outdated, with an unattractive backgrounds that doesn’t appeal to users compared to other recovery software
- The scans are not thorough and tend to stop in the middle of the recovery process
TestDisk Win 10 File Recovery Tool
When we talk about the best free data recovery software Windows 10/11, TestDisk must make the list. It’s basically an open-source recovery tool that’s created to help restore lost partitions and repair no-boot devices.
This software is considered one of the most effective PC data recovery utilities that can be used for retrieving data in any situation. However, it’s a command-line tool, so it may not be ideal for some users, especially individuals who are not computer savvy.
Unlike other Windows 11 recovery tools, TestDisk only comes in one form, which is totally free. Hence, you don’t need to subscribe for Pro versions. However, it can only be used at home; it’s not suitable for commercial or business purposes.
User Experience
“I mistakenly deleted a ton of photos urgently needed at our agency. I tried all means to recover them, but I wasn’t successful until I googled and found TestDisk. It’s a bit hard to use, but definitely doable.”
👍Pros
- Offer users not only the advantage of cost-free access but also the benefit of transparency and community-driven development
- Seamlessly rectify and restore deleted partitions by navigating through complex disk structures and reconstructing partition tables
👎Cons
- Not suitable for users who prefer Graphics User Interface (GUI)
- Can only be used for personal purposes
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve provided the top 6 free data recovery software Windows 11 you can rely on for fully restoring your deleted files. Each of these free file recovery software for Windows 11 is secure, meaning that your system and storage devices won’t be exposed to further damage during the recovery process.
So, you can analyze these recovery tools based on the information provided above and choose the one that most appeals to your needs.
