15 Professional and Free SD Card Recovery Software
The SD card is a flash memory card format. It is widely used for digital cameras, cellphones, tablets, and other portable devices. Moreover, it can be used as an external backup drive. Due to fast wear and tear, SD cards may not be durable. The SD card data recovery software for Mac and Windows enables users to get their data back. This article identifies the top list and helps you discover the right one.
PAGE CONTENT:
Part 1: Comparison of Top SD Card Recovery Software
Methodology
We researched the popular SD card recovery software based on Google search results. Moreover, we collected hundreds of users’ reviews and reports. When we tested these tools, we focused on a few aspects, like price, success rate, supported formats and data types, supported devices, ease of use, bonus features, and more.
| Price | Supported Formats | Support Platforms | |
| Apeaksoft Data Recovery | $22.45 per month, $55.96 per year, $71.96 lifetime | All types of files | Mac OS X 10.7 or above Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP |
| Disk Drill | Free, $89.00, $499.00 | Over 350 formats | macOS and Windows |
| Ontrack EasyRecovery | Free Start at $59.99 | Major file formats | macOS and Windows |
| R-Studio | Free Start at $49.99 | FAT, exFAT, NTFS, ReFS, HFS+, APFS, UFS, and Ext family | MacOS, Windows, and Linux |
| UFS Explorer | Start at $64.95 | FAT variants, exFAT, NTFS, and ReFS | macOS 10.15 and above Windows XP and later Linux 6.0 and above |
| DiskGenius | Free $69.90 per month, $99.90 per year, $129.90 lifetime | FAT, exFAT, NTFS, ReFS, and Ext4 | Windows |
| MiniTool Power Data Recovery | Starts at $69 | FAT, exFAT, NTFS, ReFS, and Ext4 | Windows 11/10/8 |
| Wise Data Recovery | Free Start at $39.97 per year | FAT, exFAT, and NTFS | Windows and macOS |
| Stellar Data Recovery | Free Start at $89.99 | HFS+, FAT32, exFAT and NTFS | Windows and macOS |
| DMDE | $7.00 to $133.00 | NTFS/NTFS5, FAT12/16, FAT32, exFAT, Ext2/3/4, HFS+/HFSX (Beta) | Windows, Linux, and macOS |
| TestDisk | Free | Ext, FAT, NTFS, and APFS | Windows Vista and above macOS 10.6 and above Linux |
| PhotoRec | Free | Ext, FAT, NTFS, and APFS | Windows Vista and above macOS 10.6 and above Linux |
| Windows File Recovery | Free | NTFS | Windows 11/10 |
| Recuva Free | Free | FAT, exFAT, and NTFS | Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP Linux |
| IObit Undelete | Free | FAT, exFAT, and NTFS | Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP |
Part 2: Top 5 Pro SD Card Recovery Software for Mac
Top 1: Apeaksoft Data Recovery
Apeaksoft Data Recovery is a flexible SD card recovery tool on Mac OS X and Windows. It is able to scan your formatted or damaged SD card and look for data. Then, you can extract your files, even if they are corrupted. More importantly, it delivers a high success rate.
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- Easy to use.
- Recover all file types.
- Retrieve deleted, formatted, and damage SD cards.
- Offer fast recovery speed.
- Provide a powerful preview feature.
- It may take a while if you have lots of files on your card.
Here are the steps to recover data from an SD card:
Step 1. Scan your card
Download and install the SD card data recovery tool for Mac. Then, open it and insert an SD card into your MacBook. Choose Mac Data Recovery, go to USB / SD Card Recovery, select your card, and click Scan Disk.
Step 2. Preview files
When the card scan is complete, view files by type in the Type List tab or by path in the Path List tab. The Filter option allows you to quickly locate specific files.
Step 3. Recover SD card
Next, select the files you want to retrieve and click the Recover button. Set an output folder on the local hard drive and confirm data recovery.
Top 2: Disk Drill
Disk Drill SD card Recovery is one of the most popular SD memory card recovery tools for macOS. With a range of features, it is designed to retrieve data from SD memory cards and local hard disks. Plus, it provides a free edition.
- Support a wide selection of formats.
- Back up SD cards byte-to-byte.
- Offer a quick and deep scan.
- Easy to navigate.
- The free version can only recover 500MB of data.
- The preview feature needs improving.
Top 3: Ontrack EasyRecovery
Ontrack EasyRecovery is a reputable data recovery software for corrupted SD cards on macOS. It can recover more data than competitors. It works for deleted and formatted data on SD cards.
- Recover up to 1 GB of data for free.
- Rich in advanced options.
- Include a secure-delete feature.
- Work for damaged SD cards.
- The configuration is complex.
- The interface is unclear.
Top 4: R-Studio
R-Studio is a leading cloud-based SD card recovery program for macOS, Windows, and Linux. It is designed for data recovery for small, medium, and large-sized businesses. Users can try the free edition before subscribing.
- Scan corrupted SD cards.
- Run on macOS, Linux, and Windows.
- Recognize major file systems.
- Integrate a backup feature.
- The free version can recover files of less than 256KB.
- Each platform requires a separate license.
Top 5: UFS Explorer
UFS Explorer is another powerful SD card recovery for macOS, Linux, and Windows. It supports a wide range of storage types, including SD memory cards, USB drives, NAS devices, local hard drives, and RAID systems.
- Integrate configurable scanning.
- Outstanding RAID support.
- Offer advanced imaging tools.
- Support virtual machine.
- The free demo is limited.
- It lacks a scan session manager.
Part 3: Top 5 Pro SD Card Recovery Software for Windows
Top 1: DiskGenius
DiskGenius is one of the best data recovery software programs for SD cards on Windows, released in 2010. In addition to data recovery, it includes a variety of bonus features, like data backup, partition management, and disk utilities.
- Offer flexible plans.
- Include bonus features.
- Recover 65% of data on SD cards.
- Fix bad sectors on an SD card.
- The interface looks outdated.
- It is only available for Windows.
Top 2: MiniTool Power Data Recovery
As its name indicates, MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a powerful SD card recovery tool for Windows. The intuitive interface makes it popular among ordinary users. It works on Windows 7 or Windows 11.
- Offer affordable subscribe plans.
- Integrate accurate preview features.
- Provide custom options.
- Support multiple file systems.
- Folder structure and file names may be lost.
- The free version can only recover up to 1GB of data.
Top 3: Wise Data Recovery
Wise Data Recovery is a popular data recovery tool for broken SD cards and other scenarios. The user-friendly interface helps users go through every step of the SD card recovery process. Plus, the scanning results are almost 90%.
- Integrate a clean interface.
- Affordable and reasonable.
- Recover up to 1GB of data for free.
- Lightweight and fast.
- It lacks real-time support.
- There is no deep scan.
Top 4: Stellar Data Recovery
Stellar Data Recovery is a simple recovery tool for a damaged SD card on Windows. The free edition lets you recover up to 1GB of data. It allows users to restore deleted, lost, and formatted files from their SD cards.
- Scan SD cards quickly.
- Recover most file types.
- Detect lost sectors on the SD card.
- Support byte-to-byte backups.
- The scan process is slow.
- The file signature support is limited.
Top 5: DMDE
DMDE is a decent SD card recovery tool on Windows, Linux, and macOS. It is a good option for beginners since the prices are reasonable, although it has limitations. It can quickly recover lost photos, videos, or documents.
- Excellent recovery of SD cards.
- Preview files on the SD card.
- One-time purchase with no subscription.
- Offer compelling free options.
- It is not as user-friendly as competitors.
- It doesn't display a timer for recovery.
Further Reading
Part 4: Top 5 Free SD Card Recovery Tools
Top 1: TestDisk
TestDisk is a free SD card recovery software tool on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is completely free due to being open source. It is able to retrieve a corrupted SD card, rebuild the NTFS sectors, and get back lost files.
- Free and open source.
- Repair NTFS sectors on SD cards.
- Portable and fast.
- Work on RAW drives.
- The text-based interface is not friendly to beginners.
- It lacks a preview or filter.
Top 2: PhotoRec
PhotoRec is a photo recovery tool for SD cards. It runs from the command line and is suitable for advanced users. It was developed by the same team behind TestDisk. It can restore over 480 file formats, covering multimedia, documents, archives, etc.
- Completely free to use.
- Offer a high success rate.
- Work across platforms.
- Lightweight and portable.
- It lacks a GUI.
- The filenames and structure will be lost.
Top 3: Windows File Recovery
Windows File Recovery is the free SD card file recovery tool developed by Microsoft for Windows 11 and 10. Much like TestDisk, Windows File Recovery is based on command lines for data recovery of local hard drives and external SD cards.
- Available from Microsoft Store.
- Recover recently deleted files on NTFS.
- Produce decent results.
- Free of charge.
- It works on command lines.
- It lacks preview features.
Top 4: Recuva Free
Recuva Free is another data recovery software for SD cards. It integrates advanced file recovery features for personal use. If you accidentally deleted files on an SD card and cannot find them in the Recycle Bin, it is worth trying.
- No hidden paywalls in the free version.
- Excellently recover documents.
- Run from USB without installing.
- Offer preview features.
- The recovery results are inconsistent.
- Scan time estimate is unreliable.
Top 5: IObit Undelete
IObit Undelete is a free and quick file recovery tool for SD cards. It is designed for accidentally deleted or lost data recovery from SD memory cards, including photos, documents, videos, and other file types. The clear interface minimizes data loss impact.
- Free to download and use.
- Portable and no installation requirement.
- Scan multiple SD cards at the same time.
- Integrate a straightforward user interface.
- It only works on Windows.
- It equips limited advanced recovery features.
Conclusion
Now, you should learn at least the top 15 SD card data recovery software on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Some of them require a license, while others are free to use. Following our unbiased reviews, you can find the right tool according to your situation. Apeaksoft Data Recovery is a great option for beginners to recover lost data from a corrupted or damaged SD card quickly. The cross-platform design offers a consistent experience on different platforms.
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