Which one is the best photo recovery software for Windows PC? Check out this post's ranking, criteria, comparison, and introduction to select the most suitable one.
Artists, photographers, and ordinary people dedicated themselves to various fields, creating, editing, saving, sharing, and storing photos in their daily lives.
They may keep their precious photos on local hard drives on a Windows PC and also on an external storage device, etc.
No matter where they have stored the photos, the panic and “depression” they feel when those photos get lost may be the same.
With this, users can recover photos from Recycle Bin before permanent deletion. If unlucky, the pictures have been removed and gone for good; they must seek other methods.
In this case, sagacious users will turn to photo recovery tools for help. Users can easily get their deleted or lost pictures back using a delete photo recovery app.
Then, how to pick out the best one? This article lists 6 eligible apps out of specific standards. Now, before we show you the criteria, let’s take an overview of the ranking.
This will navigate you to the corresponding part quickly.
What should be taken into consideration when choosing good image recovery software?
We have picked out 6 tools that meet the following criteria.
Sometimes, these universal standards can help you pick other apps, like a suitable partition recovery tool.
Considering all these aspects, we pick out 6 eligible image recovery software. Before the detailed introduction, viewing the overall rating and comparison can be of great help for you to choose your one.
The indicators here are from the criteria introduced above. Respectively, they stand for:
Check the comparison of the software on list.
| Software | Usability | Capability | Speed | Compatibility | Price | Rating | Availability |
| MyRecover | β β β β β | High | 5 – 40 min | Windows 11/10/8/7/Server | $49.95 | 9.7 | Download Now >> |
| Recoverit | β β β β β | High | 10 – 40 min | Windows & Mac | $69.95 | 9 | -- |
| MiniTool | β β β β β | High | 10 – 1 hr+ | Windows & Mac | $89.00 | 8.5 | -- |
| Recuva | β β β β β | Relatively high | 2 min - 1hr+ | Windows | $24.95 (buy-out) | 8 | -- |
| PhotoRec | β β βββ | Relatively low | 30 min – 1 hr+ | Windows /Mac/Linux/DOS | $0.00 | 7 | -- |
| R-Studio | β β β ββ | Relatively high but demanding | 10-1 hr+ min | Windows/Mac/Linux | $79.99 | 7 | -- |
Now, check the details of each tool in the following parts.
To recover deleted photos effortlessly, you need an effective delete photo recovery app to help you out. Among the tested tools, MyRecover stands out due to its comprehensiveness, convenience, competitiveness, and compatibility.
It works well with internal/external HDD/SSD/USB/SD cards, NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/ReFS, and is compatible with Windows 11/10/8/7 SP 1 & Server.
According to the test, it shows these advantages & disadvantages.
First of all, it provides a simple & clean user interface; and the 3 steps required for data recovery are as easy as ABC.
It allows users to select and recover files in 2 ways: recover from the original location and retrieve files in specific types.
What’s more, it successfully recovers intact photos from the original directory. Most of the filenames and paths remain complete.
With the help of Filter: Pictures, users can readily target and locate their needed images.
| Free Version | MyRecover Pro | MyRecover Technician | Availability | |
| Monthly | $0.00 | $29.95 | $99.00 | Upgrade now >> |
| Yearly | $49.95 | $199.00 | ||
| Lifetime | $69.95 |
$299.00 |
||
| Differences | Recover data free 30MB each time | Recover unlimited data on 1 computer/license | Recover unlimited data on unlimited computers/licenses |
Recoverit supports a wide range of recoverable data types and multiple storage devices. It recovers deleted/formatted photos and files from Windows PC/Mac/USB/SD card/digital camera, etc.
Also, it offers enhanced recovery: corrupted photo recovery & bootable disk in the Premium version.
It offers eye-pleasing UI design and thoughtful tips for the filters/recovery process, allowing users to learn the operation quickly.
What’s more, it offers 2 ways of data recovery: recovery from File Location & File Type. Files that have missing directories will be separately listed.
| Free | Essential | Standard | Premium | |
| 1 Month License | $0.00 | $59.99 | $69.99 | $79.99 |
| 1 Year License | $69.99 | $79.99 | $99.99 | |
| Perpetual License | $119.99 | $139.99 | $159.99 | |
| Differences | Recover 100 MB of free data in total | Recover unlimited files on 1 PC | Computer crash recovery for 1 PC | Recover & repair files on 2 PCs |
MiniTool Data Recovery Software recovers 100+ types of files from internal/external storage devices, including graphics like JPG/JPEG/TIFF/GIF, etc.
Its performance in scanning and recovering photos is not that perfect, but it still can be of some help.
The GUI is simple and clean, adding no pressure for users. While scanning, users can preview the scanned pictures in full resolution (free versions users need to download the previewer first).
Before the scanning finishes, users cannot filter the current scanned files to target their wanted pictures. Thus, it takes more time for users to access the deleted photos.
| Free | Monthly | Annual | Perpetual | Standard | Deluxe | Enterprise | Technician | |
| Personal | $0.00 | $69.00 | $89.00 | $99.00 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Business | -- | -- | -- | $119.00 | $199.00 | $399.00 | $499.00 | |
| Differences | Recover 1 GB of data free in total | 1 License for 1 PC | 1 License for 3 PCs | 1 License for 1 PC/Server | 1 License for 99 PCs/Servers | 1 License for 299 PCs/Servers | ||
Recuva supports searching and showing image formats only, which is pretty convenient for users who want to recover deleted photos from their digital cameras, local drives, USBs, etc.
In addition, if you know the file location, it saves more time by scanning the specified location only.
With the provided Recuva Wizard, users can easily follow the guide to choose the source drive/ file type to scan; that is to say, users can save time by searching the exact folder/directory and the specific type.
In addition, quick and deep scans’ scanning durations differ a lot. The quick scan can only be as short as 2 minutes, while the deep scan can last over 1 hour.
What is disappointing is that it offers no preview for pictures, which is quite inconvenient.
| Free | Pro | |
| Price | $0.00 | $24.95 |
| Differences | Only supports data recovery | Automatic updates |
PhotoRec, as the name shows, is image recovery software. Not exclusive to photo recovery, it also assists users in recovering other types of data, like documents, music files, videos, etc.
As a command-line app, it is more suitable for users with expertise like commands and parameters.
If you are new to computers or unfamiliar with the required knowledge, it is not recommended. Find some PhotoRec alternatives to help you.
Firstly, without GUI, it costs a pretty good amount of time for users to learn how to use it. All the operations are required to be completed with keyboards.
The process is relatively long & complex: users need to choose source drive > select file system (users need to check the file system manually) > choose scanning mode > select destination.
Besides, users can specify the destination of the recovered files. But the original paths/filenames cannot be kept.
It’s free & open source.
R-Studio features its comprehensiveness. It supports multiple file systems, data loss situations, and file types. This app scans the chosen places or the whole drive. Also, it offers in-depth data analysis in the Tech version.
It is advanced, though it is demanding as well. It provides a great load of functions and options, and correspondingly, the GUI isn’t designed to be simple and clear enough. So, it will be pretty challenging for common users.
β Performance:
While scanning, it shows the sector-to-sector scanning process; after scanning, you can see files organized according to your needs and preferences: files can be sorted by extensions (types).
It also supports previewing scanned files at quite a high resolution.
The Demo version does not support recovering files larger than 256 KB.
| Demo | FAT | NTFS | Standard | T80+ | Corporate | Technician | |
| Prices | $0.00 | $49.99 | $59.99 | $79.99 | $80.00 | $179.99 | $899.00 |
| Differences | Cannot recover files larger than 256KB | Only support FAT/exFAT/Ext2/3/4 | Only support NTFS/ReFS/Ext2/3/4 | Multi-file-system |
Commercial use; No permanent license |
Multi-file-system; Recovery over network |
Multi-platform; Commercial use |
| Note | These prices are only for 1 license. | ||||||
With all these details of overall reviews, performances, pros & cons, and prices, you will be able to figure out which photo recovery software suits you best.
With efficiency, ease of use, compatibility, price, and other criteria are taken into consideration, MyRecover is standing-out and worth trying.
Developed by AOMEI, the benchmark of the data recovery industry, embedded with advanced scanning algorithms that are automatically executed in an optimal order to provide the best data recovery results.
with this tool, you can effortlessly recover permanently deleted photos on computers.
Now, let's look at some of the main features of this softwareπ―:
Here are three steps to recover photos for PC with a professional Windows data rescue tool that can greatly save your time and effort and get you out of trouble.
Step 1. Install and run the software > Hover the mouse over the drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan. If you want to recover photos from an external hard drive or SD card, connect it to your computer first.
Step 2. It will automatically find deleted or lost pictures, you can click each folder from the Scanned files list to browse data.
Step 3. Go to Deleted files > navigate to the original location > select the pictures you need to restore > click Recover x files. Or go to Other missing files > Image > select your wanted photos to restore.
Actually, in the event of data loss, remedies will be limited. The best way to protect your files is to make regular backups on Windows. Here, it is highly recommended to use a free file backup software- AOMEI Backupper Standard to make it.
As the best free file backup software, AOMEI Backupper Standard can help you back up photos (family pictures and videos) in a simple and efficient way. You can use it to backup files in Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista. It’s an automatic file backup, and full/incremental/differential backup features can greatly help you backup your important files without any data loss.
Now, download this tool and follow the easy steps below to back up Windows photos with this utility.
Step 1. Launch AOMEI Backupper Standard > click File Backup under the Backup tab.
Step 2. Click Add File/Add Folder to choose the files or folders which you want to backup.
Step 3. After selecting the files, choose a backup destination to save your photos. You can backup files to external hard drive, NAS network location, or other locations Windows can detect.
Step 4. Finally, click the Start Backup button to start the process
Note: If your computer fails due to a disaster, you can use its Create Bootable Media tool to start your computer, and then use the above software to recover your computer from an unexpected system crash or startup error.
This post gathers a list of eligible photo recovery software for Windows out of the criteria: capability, usability, compatibility, and price. Among the ranking tools, MyRecover can be your firm helper in image recovery.
Using it, you could effortlessly recover deleted photos from healthy/formatted internal and external storage media.
Besides the info provided above, you may need more related information about data rescue apps. Check it out.
Yes. When images get deleted from storage devices, they will not actually be wiped from the device right away. Instead, they will be marked as “deleted” and “ready to be overwritten”, and meanwhile, the pointer to the files are removed. They can be recovered as long as new data do not overwrite the pics. Therefore, it is better to stop using the device immediately after deletion.
No, at least it is not safe to do so. By authorizing the software and letting it access the file system on your devices, you can have the data rescue app help you perform photo recovery. The software can ensure that it does not acquire or steal your private data, while websites won't. Thus, it is not secure to grant it access to your machines. But, if you mean recovering your photos from the cloud storage, then you could turn to OneDrive, Google Drive, and other cloud services to recover deleted photos online.
Considering comprehensively, MyRecover is your second-to-none choice. It is competent, convenient, compatible, and cost-effective. It firmly helps you recover photos, videos, documents, emails, etc.
Data recovery from iPhone will be pretty different. For efficiency, convenience, capability, and price, iPhone users may as well try AOMEI Data Recovery for iOS, which can recover 10+ types of iPhone data, including photos, videos, notes, WeChat history, etc.
It is hard to do so because, after a long time, deleted data are desperately likely to have been overwritten by new data added in. In this case, deleted files will lose info and get corrupted/gone for good.