What SD Card Recovery Software is Best in 2025?

Let’s guess—you accidentally deleted important files from your memory card, formatted it, or it’s corrupted, and now you’re searching for the best software to recover your data. Or maybe you’ve already tried some recovery tool you found online or in a forum, and now you’re looking for something better.

The good news is there’s no shortage of data recovery software out there. The bad news? There are really a lot of options to sift through. That’s why we rounded up 10 popular tools—trusted by casual users and data recovery pros alike—and put them to the test to finally answer: “What is the best data recovery software for SD cards in 2025?”

Overview of Popular SD Card Recovery Software for PC

To answer this question, we started with a detailed look at the current SD card recovery software market. No surprises here (at least for us)—the best and most popular tools have been around for years, and some have been trusted for decades.

In fact, there’s much more software out there, but we had to draw the line somewhere, and we decided to stop at 10. It’s a popular number for rankings and allows us to analyze each tool in detail. We aimed to include not only the software that’s wildly popular with everyday users but also more niche tools that are highly regarded in the data recovery community. Let’s take a quick look at what they are.

As explained earlier, software popularity wasn’t a factor in our selection process. Popularity doesn’t always mean quality (you will see it for yourself further on in the article). However, to offer a broader view, the chart below shows the average monthly search volume (Ahrefs.com) for each product, both in the U.S. and worldwide. To make sure data is accurate, we combined searches for product name variations (e.g., “Disk Drill” and “Disk Drill Data Recovery”) and differentiated between specific products and broader company names (e.g., “R-Studio Data Recovery” instead of just “R-Studio,” which is also an IDE, and specific EaseUS product names to avoid confusion with their other offerings).

Our Methodology for SD Card Data Recovery Tool Review

Okay, so we have 10 contenders. To identify the ultimate winner, we decided to pit them against each other because, in the end, there can be only one. For fairness and consistency, we developed a set of tests and parameters to evaluate each tool. Here’s what we focused on:

• 🧩 Usability. A recovery tool needs to be intuitive. We checked how easy it is to install, navigate, and use each app. Tools that kept things simple while offering clear instructions scored higher. However, we didn’t disqualify tools from this competition based solely on their looks. Some software, like PhotoRec, has a basic and outdated interface, yet it offers powerful recovery capabilities that make up for the lack of polish. On the other hand, tools like UFS Explorer pack so many settings and menus that they can overwhelm casual users. While these tools aren’t the most attractive or beginner-friendly, they show their strength in other areas.
• 🛠️ Recovery performance matters more than anything else. A sleek interface means nothing if the tool can’t recover your files. To make this evaluation as fair as possible, we tested each tool using the exact same scenarios. We ran two tests: one for the simplest and most common scenario of accidentally deleted files, and another for a severely corrupted SD card. Not enough specifics? We’ve included all the details about the tests below so this list doesn’t get overly long.
• 🚀 Speed may not be the most important factor, but no one wants to wait forever for a recovery process to finish. We measured how long each tool took to complete both quick and deep scans in the same scenarios. Tools that balanced speed with accuracy scored higher. However, we also considered cases where a tool finished faster but found fewer files than others that took longer. In those instances, we favored thoroughness over speed. It’s all about finding the right balance.
• 🔗 Compatibility. When it comes to compatibility, two main things are likely important to you: (1) that the software works on the operating system you’re using, and (2) that it supports the file system of your device (assuming your device has a recognizable file system). With this in mind, we selected tools that work on popular platforms like Windows and macOS, and we also gave extra credit to software that extends support to Linux users. We looked for programs that handle common SD card file systems such as FAT32 and exFAT (some tools, however, don’t rely on the file system at all, bypassing it entirely—we’ll discuss it later). Tools with added support for niche file formats, like RAW camera files or specific video codecs, stood out as versatile options. A truly compatible tool meets the needs of both casual users and professionals working with complex setups. Compatibility can often make the difference between an average program and a top-tier SD card recovery tool.
• 💰 Cost-effectiveness. You might have noticed that all the tools we listed earlier offer free versions. While most SD recovery software isn’t completely free, all on our list include some type of trial/demo to give you a taste of their capabilities. Apps with more generous trials scored higher in our evaluation because there’s a big difference between a tool that lets you recover a few hundred megabytes or a couple of gigabytes and one that only allows a few kilobytes—something that feels laughable these days. We also considered how well the price reflects the tool’s recovery performance and features. While many tools fall within a similar price range, the value they provide can vary significantly.

Testing Scenarios for Memory Card Recovery Software

As we mentioned, to be fair, we evaluated each app in the same scenarios. Here’s what we looked at:

• 1️⃣ Simply deleted files. For this test, we used a memory card with a FAT32 file system (one of the most widely used formats) and a specific dataset (we’ll provide a detailed list of file types used later). This scenario focused on how well the software could recover files based on the file system. Since the file system and files were intact (and nothing had been overwritten), the file format shouldn’t matter. This is the simplest scenario and should, in theory, be the easiest for all tools. It’s straightforward and self-explanatory: the files are still on the card, just marked as “deleted” by the system.
• 2️⃣ Recovery from a corrupted SD card. It’s one of the trickiest issues to deal with. In this scenario, we tested how each tool performed when it couldn’t rely on the file system, like in severe corruption cases where the card appears as RAW. To simulate this, we reformatted the card in the same file system (FAT32 → FAT32, which is a more destructive scenario than reformatting to a different file system in terms of file system pointers, not the files themselves) and then used HDD Low Level Format Tool to perform a quick wipe, leaving the card in a RAW state. This case is much more challenging for SD card data recovery software because it forces the tools to depend solely on file signatures. It’s a tough test that shows how good the software is at recognizing different file types and recovering data when the file system is completely gone.

To make sure each software was tested on equal terms and to save time, we low-level formatted the SD card before each data loss simulation. This wiped anything that might still be on it, so only our test files would show up in the results. Then, we transferred our batch of test files, simulated data loss—either by deleting the files or putting the card in a RAW state. After that, we removed the SD card from the reader and switched on the physical write-protection lock to put it in read-only mode. This guaranteed that no tool could alter the card during scans, so every test would be under identical conditions. Since they all scanned the same SD card with the same lost data—down to the last byte—the results were consistent and fair. For our tests, we used a 16 GB Kingston SD card for the first test with the simple deletion case, and a 32 GB SanDisk Ultra SD card for the second test with the corrupted, RAW state scenario.

Head-to-Head Comparison of the Best SD Card Recovery Tools

Finally, it’s time to look at the results. We tested every tool across the same parameters and compared how they performed. We’ll go through the results step by step, starting with usability.

🧩 Usability

Usability is where a recovery tool either shines or stumbles. The best apps make recovery simple, even if you’ve never used this kind of software before. We paid attention to how easy each tool was to install, navigate, and use, looking for a balance between simplicity and functionality.

Disk Drill was a clear favorite in this category. Its sleek interface made the whole process feel straightforward, with everything organized and easy to follow. You didn’t have to dig around to figure out how to start a scan or recover your files—it just worked. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and Stellar Data Recovery offered a similarly user-friendly experience, with step-by-step guidance, but their preview features weren’t as capable.

Disk Drill UI

EaseUS-slide

Stellar-slide

Then there’s PhotoRec. It’s powerful, but let’s be honest—the command-line interface feels like something out of the ’90s. If you’re on Windows, you can use qPhotoRec, a basic UI for PhotoRec, but it’s not much of an improvement. There’s no file preview, no file selection features—just raw recovery functionality. While it gets the job done, it’s not ideal for most users.

UFS Explorer, on the other hand, goes in the opposite direction. It packs in every feature imaginable, but the endless settings and menus make it hard to get started without feeling overwhelmed. The same applies to R-Studio and DMDE—both tools offer powerful functionality but present it in a way that feels overly technical and cluttered. These tools cater more to advanced users.

ufs-slide

r-studio-slide

DMDE-slide

Lets take a look at all tools:

🛠️ Recovery Performance

As we stated earlier, recovery performance is what it’s all about. You can’t claim to be the best memory card recovery software just because of slick looks. Each tool had to prove itself where it matters most—bringing files back from the brink.

As you know, we tested all the tools in two scenarios. The first involved files that were simply deleted, simulating a common mistake of removing something unintentionally. The second focused on a severely corrupted SD card, like the cases of equipment failures, that leave the card unreadable.

To make these tests realistic, we used around 200 files on our SD cards to mimic real-world scenarios. These files included both common and uncommon types that you’d typically find on memory cards. While many associate SD cards mainly with photo and video storage from cameras, they are also widely used in smartphones, gaming consoles, dash cams, drones, and various embedded devices. This means SD cards can contain a much broader range of file types. Our dataset reflected this diversity.

Here’s how each SD file recovery software performed:

As expected, all tools performed best in the first scenario with simply deleted files, recovering most files. This scenario is straightforward since the file system is intact, and tools can use it to find and restore data. PhotoRec performed the worst here, but that’s no surprise. Unlike other tools, it only has one mode that doesn’t rely on the file system to locate files. It also can’t restore file names or folder structure. That said, for the file types it supports, it did a solid job, so we can’t hold this result against it—it’s just how the tool works.

The second scenario was more telling. Disk Drill, R-Studio, and UFS Explorer led the pack, recovering close to 90% of files (93% for Disk Drill)  even without relying on the file system. These tools demonstrated strong signature-based recovery and broad format support.

Tools like DiskGenius and Recuva struggled with advanced formats and large files in these tests.

If you use your SD card with professional equipment like digital photo cameras or video cameras, two tools should grab your attention: Disk Drill and UFS Explorer. Both excelled at handling RAW photo formats and video files like ProRes and MOV.

🚀 Speed

In terms of speed tests, we measured each tool with a digital stopwatch in the second scenario using a RAW 32GB SD card, with the default scanning method. Many recovery tools offer separate Quick and Deep scan options, and those scan times can vary even on cards of the same size. However, we wanted to simulate a real-world scenario—because let’s be honest, most people don’t dig through menus to fine-tune their scan settings. Instead, they press the big “Scan” button and let the software do its job, expecting it to find as much lost data as possible.

For accurate, consistent testing, we used a known working SD card, kept the same connection for all software, and made sure no other programs or processes interfered during scans. This kept the results clean. We tested each tool with our SD card over a USB 3.1 connection, here are the results:

When it comes to scan speed, Disk Drill, DiskGenius, and R-Studio were the quickest, finishing in about 5 minutes. UFS Explorer, PhotoRec, and DMDE took a bit longer, landing between 5.5 and 6.5 minutes. Recuva was the slowest, with 7 minutes.

In our case, the differences weren’t huge. That said, if you’re scanning a high-capacity SD card that’s been used with different file systems, the gap in speed could be much more noticeable. In those cases, if speed matters, the faster tools will get the job done quicker.

🔗 Compatibility

As we discussed in our Methodology, compatibility is multifaceted. All the software on this list is available for Windows and Mac, which are the two most popular platforms for home users. However, some tools, like Recuva and DiskGenius, are only available for Windows. On the other hand, three tools—R-Studio, PhotoRec, and UFS Explorer—also support Linux, and we factored that into our final score.

We tested all tools with the FAT32 file system since it’s one of the most commonly used formats on SD cards. While all these tools technically support FAT32, their results varied widely. As you’ve seen, two tools claiming the same file system support don’t always deliver the same performance.

We also considered how many file systems each tool supports overall. While you might need a recovery tool for an SD card today, in the future, you might need it for a system drive or an external HDD. In those cases, support for file systems like NTFS, exFAT, and others becomes equally important.

Here’s a compatibility summary of SD card recovery tools:

We have nothing more to add here—it all comes down to what system you’re using and your exact recovery scenario.

💰 Cost-Effectiveness

Most tools here are paid software, but all offer some kind of trial or demo version. These free versions are usually limited in some way—most commonly by putting a cap on the size of data you can recover. It’s also worth mentioning that what you get for the price varies greatly. Some tools come packed with additional features, while others are barebones, offering no extras that have become expected with recovery tools, like disk health monitoring or backup options. Let’s break down what each tool gives you for the price:

Of course, if you’re only looking at price, nothing beats free—PhotoRec and Recuva’s free version won’t cost you a dime and can work in basic cases. But if you factor in (recovery results + ease of use + extra features) / price, then Disk Drill is the clear winner. It delivers top-tier recovery, a great interface, and useful extras—all for a one-time payment.

Other strong contenders include R-Studio and UFS Explorer, which offer professional-grade recovery but are more complex to use. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and Recoverit Wondershare are solid options too, but their subscription pricing makes them less cost-effective in the long run.

Final Scorecard for SD Card Recovery Tools

Okay, now we think it’s time to look at a scorecard. Based on our experience with each SD card recovery software, we rated them on a star scale for each of the criteria we established in the methodology section: Usability, Recovery Performance, Speed, Compatibility, and Cost-Effectiveness. Let’s see which tools shined the brightest.

So Which One Is the Best SD Card Recovery App?

And so, the title of the best SD card data recovery software goes to… Disk Drill! The stars speak for themselves. With top ratings in every category—Usability, Recovery Performance, Speed, Compatibility, and Cost-Effectiveness—Disk Drill dominated our tests and earned its place at the top.

1

Disk Drill Platform: Windows, macOS Distributed as: Freemium

272 149

It’s not all about numbers. If we had to distill its success into one sentence, it’s that Disk Drill makes no sacrifices. Sure, it looks slick and modern, but under the hood, it’s just as powerful as tools marketed for professionals. At the end of the day, it’s this balance between usability, performance, and features that we believe earned it the top spot. If we had to find a flaw, it would be that it doesn’t support Linux or offer built-in disk management tools—but when it comes to data recovery, it’s hard to beat.

R-Studio and UFS Explorer deserve honorable mentions. Both delivered excellent recovery performance and compatibility, both are great options for advanced recovery tasks. However, they fell short on usability, which we placed first in our Methodology for a reason. We strongly believe that recovery tools, especially for DIY users, should prioritize ease of use alongside power.

2

R-Studio Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux Distributed as: Freemium

161 123

3

UFS Explorer Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux Distributed as: Freemium

90 72

If we had to choose a completely free and unlimited tool, we’d go with PhotoRec. Yes, it’s not pretty, and yes, it only has one scan mode—but it’s free, open-source, supports a wide range of file types. If you can get past the lack of a graphical interface, PhotoRec is one of the best no-cost options out there.

FAQ