Recuva Review: Is it the Best Free Data Recovery Software in 2025?

Recuva is a highly popular free data recovery software with a straightforward interface and limited features. It is primarily focused on recovery features and performs the job well. However, today I will thoroughly review it and assess its effectiveness in recovering various types of files.

Data recovery is a complex topic, and verifying the full effectiveness of any software isn’t easy. There are numerous types of storage devices and hundreds of file types. We obviously can’t check every kind, but we can try to give our best. Therefore, I will use three types of drives: SSD, HDD, and a flash drive. I will use two types of datasets with mixed data. I will keep the data size smaller to properly compare the results.

Recuva offers a free version with unlimited data recovery capabilities. However, the Pro version (starting at $24.95) offers priority support, automatic updates, and virtual hard drive recovery, along with the advanced recovery features.

We will review the free version here and assess its performance. We have already reviewed some other data recovery software which you can check here.

Test Setup

As discussed above, I prepared three drives for this. I securely erased all of them and verified the clearance using a hex editor. The test data is approximately 100 MB, comprising videos, images, text, JSON, and TXT files. There were a total of 67 files in that folder.

Scenario 1: Accidental File Deletion

So, I moved the test data folder to my internal SSD for this test. Then, I deleted the folder and also deleted it from the recycle bin.

The next step is to run Recuva and choose the type of data I want to recover. I just selected All data because I have mixed data to recover. Then, I can choose to scan the entire system or select the dedicated drive or partition where I want to recover the data.

Since I have enabled the Deep Scan option, the test runs three times. For my 100 GB partition, it took approximately 2 minutes for the test to complete. Out of 67 files, 67 were found, and then I proceeded with the recovery.

The recovery took just a second, and everything was again in my system. I also ran both the recovered and deleted folders in checksum and had comparisons, and all the contents of the folder were exactly the same. So, I would say it was a 100% recovery.

Recovery Results

Scenario 2: Formatted Flash Drive

In this test, I again moved the same test folder to my flash drive and just formatted it. I chose a 16GB USB 2.0 flash drive for this again, and like every time, I securely erased it first. I verified its clearance in a HeX editor before moving my data to it.

After formatting it, I knew the data wasn’t precise immediately from the NAND flash cells, and it should be recoverable. I then ran the test with the same settings I used above. I chose the Deep Scan option again and continued with the scan process. Because this drive is small and the data is relatively simple, the deep scan took 10 minutes.

Recuva recovered 59 files out of the 67 from the deleted test folder. I ran both the folders in QuickHash, and the file count differed by 8 files. However, I checked all the recovered files manually and none of them was corrupted. I found out that some images and an audio file were missing from the recovered folder. Here is the hash comparison.

Recovery Results

Scenario 3: Corrupted Partition

I would not recommend this to anyone, but I just changed some binary values in the NTFS partition header data using a Hex editor on a partition on my SSD. I have some random and unimportant data on it. Usually, these corrupted drives can start working fine after formatting, but I am simulating a scenario where you have some data on this drive, and the partition becomes corrupted somehow. I corrupted it in many places, including the header and footer sections, both, because it is an NTFS drive.

This resulted in an error: F:\ is not accessible, and the Device is not ready. I knew what happened here. These were just some wrong Hexadecimal values from the GPT partition table, but this ultimately resulted in the system detecting a partition error or corruption. Now, I ran the deep Recuva Deep Scan again on the same partition to see if it can fix this corruption or not.

So, when I selected my F drive for the scan, it threw the same error that the device is not ready. After messing around for some time, I concluded that it can’t do anything with the corrupted drives.

Recovery Performance: Goods and Bads

The unlimited free data cap can be beneficial in cases of accidental file deletions and formatted drives. The user interface is really easy and simple to use. The recovery percentage is relatively high if your drive is in good health and you recover it promptly after deletion. Read about TRIM to know about some cases where data recovery might be impossible in SSDs. The Pro version is relatively cheaper if you plan to upgrade. The Deep Scan feature is great, and it always comes with some extra files that are missed in the routine scan. It supports a wide range of files, and the scans are completed pretty quickly. The software is lightweight, compact in size, and consumes minimal system resources.

There should have been an option to scan or repair corrupted drives. If a partition table is missing, Recuva cannot recover it. It only works on partitions recognized by Windows, such as FAT, exFAT, and NTFS. It doesn’t support macOS or Linux. Deep scans can be slow. Additionally, advanced features such as RAID reconstruction and raw image recovery are also possible.

Besides these drawbacks, I personally liked the functionality and performance of Recuva as a free software. It is best for casual users recovering deleted files from healthy drives. It can even achieve 100% data recovery, and you may not have to spend anything for it. However, if your drive becomes corrupted for some reason, you will need to explore alternative options.

Comparison with competitors

Recuva is fairly simple and may look outdated to some users. Other data recovery software, like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and Stellar Free Data Recovery software, look modern with some other features. But Recuva isn’t known for its design or special features. It is known for its unlimited data recovery at no cost. In most cases, it saves people hundreds of dollars, which is what beats most of its GUI competitors. Here is its comparison with some other popular recovery programs.

Conclusion

Recuva Free is worth trying before you proceed with a paid data recovery software. It might not be perfect, but with deep scans, a healthy drive, and immediate recovery after deletion, it can surely recover your data.

It excels at recovering deleted files from hard drives, USB drives, and memory cards, with support for multiple file systems like FAT, exFAT, and NTFS. The deep scan and file preview features make it practical for most casual recovery needs, and the portable version adds flexibility for damaged systems. However, it cannot recover lost partitions, RAID setups, or virtual drives, and it lacks advanced customer support. For simple, everyday file recovery, mainly for Windows, it’s a solid, free solution.