The Best Open Source Recuva AlternativesTop File & Hard Disk Recovery Tools like Recuva

The best open source alternative to Recuva is TestDisk. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Recuva and 15 is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Recuva are PhotoRec, Autopsy Forensic Browser, GNU ddrescue and RecoveRx.

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Recuva alternatives are mainly File Recovery Tools, but if you're looking for Photo Recovery Tools or Hard Disk Recovery Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Windows + Free + Disk Imaging and Linux + File Recovery. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Recuva.
Recuva iconRecuva
  618
  • ...

Retrieve lost files from your PC, recycle bin, or portable devices with a free and user-friendly tool offering deep scans and secure overwrites.

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Recuva alternatives page was last updated Apr 28, 2025
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  1. TestDisk icon

    TestDisk

     383 likes
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    Recovers lost partitions, repairs non-booting or damaged disks, restores deleted partition tables, supports FAT, NTFS, ext, and exFAT file systems, operates via command-line, converts dynamic disks to basic, runs cross-platform without installation.

    144 TestDisk alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    Starting TestDisk

    TestDisk Features

    1.  Repair Partitions
    2.  Recover disk partitions
    3.  NTFS Partition Recovery
    4.  Photo Recovery
    5.  Support for FTP
    6.  Reporting

    TestDisk VS Recuva

     
    Comments about TestDisk as an Alternative to Recuva
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    Feb 1, 2019
    4

    The best one out there. It can edit/restore partitions, list and copy files and folders and it's very fast.

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    Nov 10, 2021
    3

    It's focused on recovery partition. In the case of you have to recover folders or files, is not really helpfull

    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Negative May 15, 2019
    -1

    Not user friendly at all, I couldn't find a single line saying this was a file recovery software, only partitions

    Show more comments
    3 of 5 comments
    Recuva Icon
    TestDisk icon

    • Most users think TestDisk is a great Recuva alternative.

    • TestDisk is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Recuva.

    • TestDisk is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Recuva.

    • TestDisk is Free and Open SourceRecuva is Freemium and Proprietary
  2. PhotoRec icon

    PhotoRec

     179 likes
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    PhotoRec is file data recovery software designed to recover lost files including video, documents and archives from hard disks, CD-ROMs, and lost pictures.

    143 PhotoRec alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    PhotoRec screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Disk drive recovery
    2.  DRM Free
    3.  Photo Recovery
    4.  Recover Corrupted Files
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Text-based
    7.  NTFS Partition Recovery
    8.  Finds deleted files

    PhotoRec VS Recuva

     
    Comments about PhotoRec as an Alternative to Recuva
    Guest
    Positive Jun 2, 2023
    0

    Photorec is simple, light, yet powerful, but it recovers files roughly, without names and metadata.

    Recuva Icon
    PhotoRec icon

    • Almost everyone thinks PhotoRec is a great Recuva alternative.

    • PhotoRec is Free and Open SourceRecuva is Freemium and Proprietary
    • PhotoRec is LightweightRecuva is not according to our users
  4. Autopsy Forensic Browser icon

    Autopsy Forensic Browser

     20 likes
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    Autopsy® is a digital forensics platform and graphical interface to The Sleuth Kit® and other digital forensics tools. It can be used by law enforcement, military, and corporate examiners to investigate what happened on a computer.

    103 Autopsy Forensic Browser alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Autopsy Forensic Browser screenshot 1

    Autopsy Forensic Browser Features

    1.  Photo Recovery
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  NTFS Partition Recovery

    Autopsy Forensic Browser VS Recuva

     
  5. GNU ddrescue icon

    GNU ddrescue

     18 likes
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    GNU ddrescue is a data recovery tool. It copies data from one file or block device (hard disc, cdrom, etc) to another, trying hard to rescue data in case of read errors.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Linux
    GNU ddrescue screenshot 1

    GNU ddrescue Features

    1.  Portable

    GNU ddrescue VS Recuva

     
  6. RecoveRx icon

    RecoveRx

     4 likes
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    RecoveRx allows to rescue erased files like digital photos, documents, music and videos from memory cards, MP3 music players, USB flash drives, external hard drives and solid state drives.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • TW flagTaiwan

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    RecoveRx screenshot 1

    RecoveRx Features

    1.  Photo Recovery

    RecoveRx VS Recuva

     
  7. Kickass Undelete icon

    Kickass Undelete

     12 likes
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    Kickass Undelete is a free, fully featured, file recovery tool for Windows. Accidentally deleted a file? Never fear; the data is probably still on your drive and may be recoverable. Kickass Undelete finds all of the deleted files on your hard drive, flash drive or SD card and...

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Kickass Undelete screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    Not updated since 2018-12-10 according to https://sourceforge.net/p/kickassundelete/git/ci/master/tree/

    Kickass Undelete Features

    1.  Portable

    Kickass Undelete VS Recuva

     
  9. TOKIWA DataRecovery icon

    TOKIWA DataRecovery

     6 likes
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    DataRecovery is freeware and made by TOKIWA to undelete accidentally deleted files even from recycle bin.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • JP flagJapan

    Platforms

    • Windows
    TOKIWA DataRecovery screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The program is no longer updated since August 2013. Last version, v2.4.7, released in November 2012, can be still downloaded for free.

    TOKIWA DataRecovery Features

    1.  Portable

    TOKIWA DataRecovery VS Recuva

     
  10. FreeRecover icon

    FreeRecover

     7 likes
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    FreeRecover is a free file recovery program for NTFS drives. It allows you to search though and preview deleted files to find lost data. It also estimates the integrity of the deleted files, as well as retrieves their original file paths.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Discontinued

    Last updated in 2017

    FreeRecover Features

    1.  NTFS Partition Recovery

    FreeRecover VS Recuva

     
  11. Scrounge NTFS icon

    Scrounge NTFS

     5 likes
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    Data recovery program for NTFS file systems. Reads each block of the hard disk to and retrieves rebuilds file system tree on another partition.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Discontinued

    The program is no longer updated. Last version, 0.8.6, released in June 2009, can be still downloaded from the official website.

    Scrounge NTFS Features

    1.  NTFS Partition Recovery

    Scrounge NTFS VS Recuva

     

  12. safecopy - Data Recovery

     3 likes
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    safecopy is a data recovery tool which tries to extract as much data as possible from a problematic (i.e. damaged sectors) source - like floppy drives, hard disk partitions, CDs, tape devices, ..., where other tools like dd would fail due to I/O...

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    safecopy - Data Recovery screenshot 1

    safecopy - Data Recovery VS Recuva

     
10 of 15 Recuva alternatives