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Did you accidentally delete some important photos on your PC and are now looking for a free photo recovery software? With so many options out there, the task of finding the right one can be quite a challenge. It’s important to find a solution that’s not only effective but also safe for your Windows or Mac system.
To help you make the right decision, we’ve curated a list of the top 14 free photo recovery software you can trust. These tools, available for both Windows and Mac, are both reliable and secure. Also, find a comprehensive and quick comparison to help you make the right choice.
Choosing a Free Photo Recovery Software — The Checklist
Freely accessible recovery tools for PC or Mac systems may pose significant security risks. It’s crucial to exercise caution when downloading free photo recovery software to protect your system from bugs and viruses. Here's our checklist, based on which you should pick your free photo recovery tools.
Top 14 Free Photo Recovery Tools 2024
Below are the 14 Free Photo Recovery Software for Windows and Mac computers that can recover deleted photos of different file types. Read on to find out which tool best caters to your specific needs.
1. Stellar Photo Recovery Free Edition (Windows & Mac)
Stellar Photo Recovery Free Edition recovers deleted photos from all types of storage media on Windows PCs and Mac. It supports recovery from formatted, corrupted, and virus-infected hard drives, memory cards, SD cards, flash drives, CF cards, and others.
Stellar Photo Recovery comes with a user-friendly interface and can restore photos from all brands of DSLR, camcorders, smartphone, iPhone, drone, etc. You can recover JPEG, PNG, GIF, RAW, CR2, SR2, REF, NEF, DNG, KDC, etc. It can scan and recover pictures from FAT16, exFAT, FAT32, NTFS, and NTFS5 Windows file systems.
Stellar Photo Recovery is different from other free tools as it offers advanced features, such as Deep Scan for comprehensive search of drives; customized file recovery options; create image of corrupt drive; save scan, resume recovery later; dual monitor support, and more. The software can also recover deleted videos and audio files.
Supported platforms: Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7, macOS Sonoma 14, Ventura 13, Monterey 12, Big Sur 11, Catalina 10.15, Mojave 10.14/10.13/10.12/10.11.
User experience & ratings: The Stellar Photo Recovery free edition offers a similar user experience as its professional edition. It is easy and fast. The product reviewers such as G2, Capterra, Digital Photography School, and ePhotozine rated the software over 4.7 Stars on different parameters — GUI, ease-of-use, speed, and overall performance.
Pros
- Recovers up to 10 photos for free.
- Recovers with original date and timestamp.
- Recovers RAW camera files.
- Deep scan available in free version.
- Recovers from BitLocker-encrypted drives.
Cons
- Limited number of file recovery in free version.
2. Remo Recover Free Edition (Windows)
Remo Recover Free Edition restores deleted or lost photos from Windows computer, camera memory card, USB, iPod, pen drive, etc. The software is simple and recovers pictures of popular file formats, including JPEG, JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, etc. You can use the software in cases of accidental deletion, emptied Recycle Bin, formatting, etc.
Remo Recover Free Edition supports FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, NTFS5, and exFAT Windows file systems. Remo Recover offers the ‘Save Recovery Session’ option to continue recovery later, anytime, and ‘Create Image’ of bad sector drive. It allows you to save the recovered photos in the Windows drive or CD/DVD.
However, the free version is slow and often fails to recover high-quality RAW image files from digital cameras.
Supported platforms: Windows 10/8/8.1/7, Vista, XP, Windows server 2008, and Windows 2003.
User experience & ratings: The software can successfully recover lost photos. However, there are reports of GUI rendering problems. A preview before recovery is also not available. Trustpilot and Techradar rate the software 4.8 stars and 4 stars respectively on overall performance.
Pros
- Recovers up to 1GB of photos for free.
- Recovers photos from all drives and cameras.
- Recovers documents, videos, audio, etc.
Cons
- No preview feature.
- Very slow to scan and recover.
- Deep Scan feature is absent in the free version.
- No customized recovery feature.
3. MiniTool Data Recovery Free (Windows)
MiniTool Data Recovery is a free photo recovery software. It has a straightforward user-interface that helps restore deleted photos from storage drives. You can pause, resume, or stop the scanning process in between. The scan results are sorted on a file type basis.
The MiniTool free recovery software is useful in situations of file deletion, virus attack, drive failure, etc. It can restore JPG, JPEG, TIFF, ARW, PSP, PNG, GIF, DCR, DNG, PSD, BMP, CRW, etc. Plus, the software can recover videos and audio files. It allows you to save only 1GB of recoverable photos in the free version.
Supported platforms: Windows 10/8/8.1/7.
User experience & ratings: The user-friendly software delivers a successful recovery. However, it is reported to be slow. Scan results often include previous versions of files, which may not be of use. The reviewer Capterra gives 4.4 stars to MiniTool Data Recovery in its review, while Cnet closes at 4.1 stars.
Pros
- Recovers up to 1GB of photos.
- User-friendly GUI.
- Recovers video and audio files.
Cons
- Slow scanning process.
- Doesn’t recover photos with the original file name.
- No extra features.
4. Disk Drill Free Photo Recovery (Windows & Mac)
Disk Drill is one of the reliable free photo recovery software. It can recover popular image file types, including JPEG, HEIC, JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, PSP, PSD, DNG, and AI. However, Disk Drill lacks a wide RAW file format support. It can only restore RAW files from Canon, Nikon, and GoPro cameras. It is compatible with NTFS, FAT, and exFAT file systems. Along with Quick Scan, it has a Deep Scan feature that helps in a thorough search of the drive for maximum recovery.
The software can retrieve lost or deleted photos from Windows hard drives, SD cards, SDXC, SDHC, camera cards, USB, and iPods. It can recover photos from formatted and corrupted Windows drives as well. The free version of Disk Drill lets you save up to 500MB of lost photos.
Supported platforms: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 10. The macOS supports Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, and below.
User experience & ratings: With an intuitive GUI, Disk Drill has an appealing interface. However, some users reported that the free version didn’t work on macOS. The Cnet users review rates the software with 3.7 stars whereas G2 gives 4 stars in their user review.
Pros
- Recover photos up to 500MB.
- Recovers popular image types.
- Allows preview photos before recovery.
Cons
- Limited RAW files support.
- Slow scanning process.
5. EaseUS Free Data Recovery (Windows & Mac)
The free edition of EaseUS data recovery software recovers deleted photos of any file type. You can recover RAF, DNG, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, RAW, CRW, CR2, and NEF, etc., file types from any Windows hard drive and external storage media. The GUI is user-friendly and comes with a preview feature. EaseUs photo recovery supports FAT, exFAT, NTFS, NTFS5, and EXT2/EXT file system.
The software algorithms allow you to restore pictures lost due to accidental deletion, corruption, emptied Recycle Bin, formatting, or improper file transfer.
Supported platforms: Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, macOS Big Sur, 10.15/ 10.14/10.13 and below.
User experience & ratings: EaseUS Data Recovery Free has successfully recovered deleted photos for most users. Based on the users’ real-time experience G2 appraises it 4 stars. However, Capterra gives 3.4 overall rating to the software.
Pros
- Recovers up to 2GB photos for free.
- Previews files before saving.
Cons
- Photos not recovered by their original name.
6. Recoverit Free Data Recovery (Windows & Mac)
The free version of Recoverit Data Recovery for Windows is a secure tool for recovering lost photos on both Windows and Mac. The software works in various photo loss situations, such as formatting, virus infection, drive corruption, or OS crashes. It supports photo recovery from Windows hard drives and external storage media. Recoverit supports FAT, FAT32, NTFS, ReFS, and other file formats.
You can restore digital photos shot with any DSLR, drone, or Android phone. The file formats from Fuji, Pentax, Sony, Panasonic, Canon, Nikon, etc., can be recovered using the software. It can retrieve deleted JPG, BMP, GIF, TIFF/TIF, PNG, CRW, CR2, NEF, PSD, ORF, RAF, SR2, MRW, DCR, WMF, etc.
Supported platforms: Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP, macOS Sierra (Fuji), El Capitan (Gala), and Yosemite (Syrah).
User experience & ratings: The free Recoverit Photo Recovery has limited features. Advanced features like ‘Save Scan’ or ‘Create image’ of corrupt drives with bad sectors are missing in the recovery tool. The software scores 8.3 out of 10 in TrustRadius reviews while G2 gives it 4 stars based on users’ feedback.
Pros
- Recovers up to 100 MB photos for free.
- Recovers RAW files from popular brands.
- Preview option available.
Cons
- Doesn’t allow to save scan and resume recovery later.
7. Recuva (Windows)
Recuva is a popular freeware program to undelete photos from hard drives, SD cards, flash drives, pen drive, etc. More so because it provides unlimited file recovery, unlike other free software. Recuva Data Recovery can get back your photos after deletion, emptied Recycle Bin, and formatting. You can recover JPEG, PNG, GIF, and RAW image file types.
Supported platforms: Windows 10/8/7, Vista, and XP.
User experience & ratings: Recuva is a basic photo recovery software with no advanced features or automatic updates. On Softonic, users review the software with 3.8 stars.
Pros
- Unlimited photo file recovery.
- Recovers photos, videos, and documents.
Cons
- No software updates.
- Unable to load photo preview.
- Cannot recover photos from corrupt drives.
8. iCare Data Recovery Free (Windows)
Another tool that lets you recover photos is iCare Data Recovery Free. It recovers photos from various kinds of hard drives, SD cards, USB thumb drive, pen drive, etc. You can restore permanently deleted photos and videos, audio files, documents, and emails from Windows PC using the software. It supports FAT, FAT32, EXFAT, NTFS, NTFS5 file system.
You don’t need to install iCare Data Recovery Free on your system. You can use it online.
Supported platforms: Windows 10/8.1/7/Vista/XP/2000.
User experience & ratings: The free version of iCare Data Recovery is not always effective in recovering data from formatted or corrupt drives. Based on user experience, Cnet rates the software at 3.5 stars.
Pros
- Recovers unlimited photos.
- Recovers over 600 file types.
Cons
- Deep Scan feature absent.
- Doesn’t support Windows Server recovery.
9. Windows File Recovery (Windows)
Microsoft offers its own file recovery software — Windows File Recovery. It is a free recovery tool for Windows 10 version 2004. It can recover deleted JPEG, PDF, and PNG file types from hard drive, USB drive, memory cards, SD cards, or SSD. Plus, you can use it restore Office files, ZIP, MP3, MPEG, MP4, ZIP, and files.
The software supports NTFS, FAT, exFAT, and ReFS file systems. You can download Windows File Recovery from the Microsoft Store.
Supported platforms: Windows 10/11.
User experience & ratings: The software uses command-lines interface to recover your photos, which many may not find easy to use. It uses 2 modes - Regular and Extensive, to recover deleted files. For photo recovery from the ‘Pictures’ folder on PC Extensive mode is used that uses file extension in command line. For example: Winfr C: E: /extensive /n \Users\username\Pictures\*.JPEG /n\Users\username\Pictures\*.PNG username /username.
Pros
- Recovers unlimited photos.
- Supports recovery from digital cameras.
Cons
- Not easy to use.
- No photo preview available.
- Recovers only a few file type.
- Cannot recover RAW image files.
10. PhotoRec Data Recovery (Windows & Mac)
PhotoRec is open-source software to retrieve photos, videos, and documents. It supports deleted photo recovery from hard drives, SD cards, SmartMedia, Microdrive, USB flash drives, etc. It can recover photos from Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, Olympus, Sony, Pentax, and other digital cameras.
The software can efficiently function in situations of deletion, formatting, drive corruption, file system corruption. The photo recovery tool can restore photos from exFAT, FAT, EXT2/EXT3/EXT4, and NTFS file system.
Supported platforms: Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, Windows Server 2016/2012/2008/2003, and macOS X.
User experience & ratings: As the user-interface is not graphical but text-based, you may find PhotoRec tricky to use. Some users also complained that the software was not always able to retrieve all photos in their case. Softonic gives 3.8 stars based on user experience with PhotoRec software.
Pros
- Recovers unlimited photos.
- Works on formatted and corrupt drives.
Cons
- GUI is not user-friendly.
- Cannot recover RAW image file formats.
11. Gihosoft RePicvid (Windows & Mac)
The free version of Gihosoft RePicvid photo recovery software recovers deleted photos from hard disk, SSD, SD card, memory card, USB drive, pen drive, etc. With the RePicvid free tool, there’s no limit on the number of files or image size recovery. The software retrieves any number of deleted JPG/JPEG, TIFF, RAW, PNG, BMP, GIF, PSD, CRW, CR2, SR2, MRW, DCR, NEF, ORF, RAF, and other formats.
With RePicvid, you can get back lost photos shot with a camcorder, DSLR, digital camera, Android, Tablet, etc., of known brands, be it Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, or others. The software recovers pictures lost due to formatting, partition loss, virus attack, OS crash, etc. However, unlike other free tools, RePicvid free version doesn’t support video, audio, or other file recovery.
Supported platforms: Windows XP to Windows10, macOS X Yosemite, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, and 10.6.
User experience & ratings: The user-friendly wizard of RePicvid has a 3-step photo recovery process. It is one of the best photo recovery software in the free category. G2 users rate the software at 4.5 stars.
Pros
- Unlimited photo recovery.
- Preview photos before saving.
- Free lifetime update.
Cons
- Cannot recover videos and audio.
- Slow scanning
- Doesn’t support the .latest Windows 11 and macOS Monterey.
12. Lexar Recovery Tool (Windows)
Lexar Recovery Tool is an easy-to-use free recovery software that replaced the company’s previous Lexar Image Rescue software. The new Lexar Recovery Tool is for USB flash drives, SD cards, and hard drives deleted photo recovery. The software supports FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS file systems, and also helps you format various storage drives.
The software can recover deleted JPEG, JPG, TIFF, PNG, CR2, SRW, DNG, ORF, RAF, and other image file formats used in digital cameras, SLRs, DSLRs, etc. In addition, you can retrieve photos, videos, and audio captured from surveillance cameras, drones, and dash cams. The software supports recovery from popular imaging brands, such as Sony, Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Samsung, DJI, Mavic, Midrive D02, PaPaGo dashcam, Gosafe 560, MiNi, Philips, and others.
Supported platforms: Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, macOS
User experience & ratings: Lexar Recovery Tool can successfully recover deleted photos from removable media and hard drives. The software is easy to install, and the GUI is simple. On overall performance, Lexar Recovery Tool gains 3.8 stars.
Pros
- Recoverable photos preview available.
- Recovers RAW photos from popular cameras.
- Recovers documents, videos, and audio.
Cons
- Limited features.
- Slow scanning.
13. SanDisk RescuePRO- (Windows and Mac)
SanDisk RescuePRO recovery software is often bundled free with SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC, SDHC,or CFexpress cards. It can recover various file formats such as GIF, JPEG, ARW, BMP, CR2, CRW, DCR, ERF, MOV, MP4, MP3, AVI, and more. The software can restore image files from GoPro, Canon, DJI, Nikon, Sony, and other well-known cameras. It also supports RAW images recovery at full size and resolution.
Beside photos, the free data recovery software can get back deleted videos, audio, documents, and other file types from SmartMedia, CompactFlash, MMC, Memory Stick, SD Cards, PCMCIA, Microdrive, VideoCD, DVD, etc. Plus, RescuePRO has SD card wiping and backup image creation features.
Supported platforms: Windows 7 or higher, macOS X 10.8 or higher.
User experience & ratings: The GUI is not direct and needs improvement. Considering drive support and user interface limitations, SanDisk RescuePro gains 3.0 stars. Users report prompt customer support from SanDisk.
Pros
- Unlimited photo recovery.
- Recovers RAW image formats.
- Recovers videos, audio, documents, etc.
Cons
- Do not recover 2D/3D vector graphics.
- Hard drive recovery absent.
- GUI is not straightforward.
14. Exif Untrasher (Mac)
Mac users who have deleted or lost their JPEG photos can try Exif Untrasher recovery tool. The free photo recovery for macOS can restore deleted JPEG from memory cards used in DSLRs, SLRs, smartphones, etc. Exif Untrasher is a light program that is quick to install.
However, JPEG recovery is not so fast with Exif Untrasher. First, you must create an image of the storage disk from which the files need to be recovered. Once the disk image is created, you can restore photos from it using the software. However, creating image of the drive every time makes the photo recovery process cumbersome. Further, many users reported that Exif Untrasher is not effective on large SD cards.
Supported platforms: macOS Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, OS X El Capitan, and OS X Yosemite.
User experience & ratings: With limited file format recovery and the additional create image step in the photo recovery process, Exif Untrasher software is not a desirable choice for all. However, on CNET, users rate the software at 4.6 stars out 5. Softonic too reported over 24000 downloads since 2011.
Pros
- Unlimited JPEG files recovery.
- Free Mac JPEG recovery.
Cons
- Slow and not easy to use.
- RAW file recovery absent.
- Cannot recover from large storage drives.
14 Free Photo Recovery Software —Comparison Table
| Free Recovery Limit | Supported Formats | Formatted/Corrupt Drive Recovery | Preview | |
| Stellar Photo Recovery Free Edition | 10 media files each up to 100 MB | JPEG, PNG,TIFF, HEIC, GIF, RAW, CR2, SR2, REF, NEF, DNG, KDC, etc. | Yes | Yes |
| Remo Recover Free Edition | 1GB | ARW, NEF, KDC, K25, NRW, J6I, CR2, DNG, CRW, MRW, SR2, ORF, PEF, RAW, RAF etc. | Cannot recover from corrupted drive. | Yes |
| MiniTool Data Recovery Free | 1GB | JPG, JPEG, TIFF, ARW, PSP, PNG, GIF, DCR, DNG, PSD, BMP, CRW, etc | Yes | Yes |
| Disk Drill Free Photo Recovery | 500MB | JPEG, HEIC, JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, PSP, PSD, DNG, and AI. | Yes | Yes |
| EaseUS Free Data Recovery | 2GB | RAF, DNG, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, RAW, CRW, CR2, and NEF, etc. | Yes | Yes |
| Recoverit Free Data Recovery | 100 MB | JPG, BMP, GIF, TIFF/TIF, PNG, CRW, CR2, NEF, PSD, ORF, RAF, SR2, WMF, etc. | Yes | Yes |
| Recuva | Unlimited recovery | JPEG, PNG, GIF, and RAW | No | Preview loading issue |
| iCare Data Recovery Free | Unlimited recovery | JPEG, PNG, TIFF, GF, etc. | No | Yes |
| Windows File Recovery | Unlimited recovery | JPEG, PNG RAW files recovery absent | No | No |
| PhotoRec Data Recovery | Unlimited recovery | JPG, BMP, GIF, TIFF/TIF, PNG, etc. | No | No |
| Gihosoft RePicvid | Unlimited recovery | JPG/JPEG, TIFF, RAW, PNG, BMP, GIF, PSD, CRW, CR2, SR2, etc. | Yes | Yes |
| Lexar Recovery Tool | Unlimited recovery | JPEG, JPG, TIFF, PNG, CR2, SRW, DNG, ORF, RAF, etc. | Cannot recover from corrupted drive | Yes |
| SanDisk RescuePRO | Unlimited recovery | GIF, JPEG, ARW, BMP,CR2, CRW, DCR, ERF, etc | Cannot recover from corrupted internal HDD | Yes |
| Exif Untrasher | Unlimited recovery | JPEG | Cannot recover from corrupted drive | No |
Conclusion
In this post, we have compiled the top 14 free photo recovery software for you to choose from. However, as is the case with any kind of free-ware – success is not guaranteed, so make your choice wisely.
Using the tools mentioned above, you can recover your valuable photos in JPEG, PNG, TIFF, GIF, RAW, and other formats from PCs, smartphones, digital cameras and other storage mediums. Though most free programs offer limited or no extra features, trusted tools like Stellar Photo Recovery Free Edition, offer some outstanding features and perform like a pro.
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