This is a review of Wondershare Recoverit, a popular data recovery tool for Windows and macOS.
Unfortunately, I’m no stranger to data loss. I’ve worked in the tech industry for several decades, offering tech support and training, and writing software reviews for business users. I’ve taken an in-depth look at Wondershare Recoverit to let you know how successful it is at recovering lost data.
I found it effective at recovering recently deleted files, but some reviewers found the application failed to recover every file when testing the application.
However, it’s easy to use and users seem very satisfied, so you may want to scan your drive using the free trial to see if your lost data can be found.
In this Recoverit review, I’ll explore the types of data the application can restore, how long this is likely to take, and weigh up your chance of success. I’ll also list other features that are offered and whether it’s suitable for beginners or advanced users.
Let’s get started.
Contents
Wondershare Recoverit rescues deleted files, photos, music, emails, and more on PCs, Macs, and attached storage devices.
A number of plans are available, and the prices for the Windows and Mac versions differ.
Windows version:
- Essential: $45.95/month, $59.95/year, $69.95 lifetime
- Standard: $59.95/month, $69.95/year, $79.95 lifetime
- Advanced: $69.95/month, $79.95/year, $89.95 lifetime
Mac version:
- Essential: $75.95/month, $79.95/year, $89.95 lifetime
- Standard: $95.95/month, $99.95/year, $139.95 lifetime
- Advanced: $105/95/month, 119.95/year, $159.95 lifetime
The Mac prices are significantly higher than the Windows version.
The Essential plan will meet many users’ needs, and the Standard version adds the ability to create a bootable recovery disk. The Advanced plan can be used on two computers rather than one and adds the ability to repair corrupted videos.
A free trial will show you if your files can be recovered before paying for the application.
Wondershare Recoverit can help in many data loss scenarios, but its scans take longer than other comparable tools. However, it’s likely you’ll have a greater chance of success by using an alternative, and I’ll recommend a few below.
Recovery Features
How is data recovery possible? When you delete a file, it is not removed from the directory or folder that lists your files, nor is its data removed from your drive. It is simply marked as being deleted and that space is allocated as being available.
But recovery is not guaranteed. In time, as you create new files, both the directory entry and data are likely to be overwritten, so you have the best chance of success by attempting recovery early.
Methods of data recovery offered:
- A quick scan of the directory structure for deleted files
- A deep scan of a partition for lost files and file fragments no longer listed in the directory structure
Supported storage media: Works with any storage media.
Disclaimer: It is difficult to recover data from solid-state drives (SSDs). The TRIM technology that increases their efficiency also makes it impossible to recover your files once the trash has been emptied.
Supported file systems: Common Windows and Mac formats including NTFS, FAT, HFS+, and APFS.
Supported file types: 1,000+ file-formats including popular image, music, document, video, archive, and email formats.
Additional Features
Wondershare Recoverit offers a number of additional features:
- Pause and resume
- Saving scans for recovery at a later time
- Sorting and searching the files located to narrow down the results to a more manageable number
- Previewing located files
- Bootable recovery drive (Standard and Advanced plans)
- Repair corrupted videos (Advanced plan)
However, it lacks a few features offed by some other recovery applications:
- Imaging and cloning
- Recovery Vault to store deleted files for guaranteed recovery
- File overwriting (secure delete)
- Defragmentation
- Deleting duplicates and other cleanup features
- SMART monitoring for early warning of failing hard drives
- Mail-in recovery service
User Experience
Wondershare is simple to set up and easy to use. Data recovery does not require any technical computer knowledge and can be done in three steps:
- Download and launch the app
- Scan the disks that contained the lost files
- Preview the lost files that were located and get them back
Useful tips are displayed as you use the application.
User satisfaction is high. The app was rated 4.3 stars on Trustpilot by 1,345 users. [1]
Performance
Scanning for lost files can be time-consuming. How fast is Wondershare Recoverit?
To find out, I copied a folder containing 10 files to an empty 4 GB USB stick then deleted it. A scan with Recoverit took 14 minutes on Windows and 9 minutes on Mac. That’s fairly slow. In fact, on both platforms its scan was second-slowest. The slowest app on Windows took 47 minutes, and on Mac, 10 minutes.
Another reviewer performed a deep scan on a 16 GB flash drive, and it took 21 minutes. [2] He found that the estimate of the remaining time given by the app is wildly inaccurate. For example, the estimate for one scan was 70 hours when it completed in just 10 minutes.
These scans were performed on relatively small flash drives. On large hard drives, expect the scan times to be much longer: many hours, and possibly days.
Effectiveness
Data recovery can never be guaranteed. How successful is Wondershare Recoverit?
In my own test, both the Windows and Mac versions were able to recover all ten deleted files, including PDFs, a Word document, and MP3s. They were also able to locate other lost files that were deleted previous to my test.
Almost all of the other data recovery apps I tested were able to do the same. Recovering recently deleted files is a task that can be done fairly reliably with a good chance of success.
Another reviewer performed two recovery tests using the Windows version. [3] First, he formatted a USB flash drive that contained 10 files: a JPG, XLSX, PPT, DOC, MP3, PDF, PNG, MKV, MOV, and MP4. A deep scan was required to locate the lost files, plus many that were deleted previously.
Deep scans cannot recover file names, so each file was given a serial number, making it more difficult to identify the files he wanted to restore. He decided to restore all of them and that took about three minutes.
The app recovered DOCX, PNG, PDF, MOV, and MP4 files. Unfortunately, only the PNG file was intact—the others had been corrupted. An MKV video had been recovered as M4V and M4A files. A number of files were missing: JPG, XLSX, MP3, and PPT.
Wondershare Recoverit failed that test and doesn’t seem to be the best choice for formatted drives, though it did successfully recover 15 JPG files that were deleted prior to the test.
His second test was to scan the My Documents folder for ten lost files on an old hard drive. The quick scan only found a DOCX file, and this was displayed with its filename and other metadata. A deep scan located 3,878 files on the drive and these did not have the original file names. That’s a lot to look through to find ten lost files!
He was able to use searching, sorting, and previewing to make the job a little easier. He spent 30 minutes through the files and didn’t find all of them. Some of the test files that he found were corrupt, and others that had been deleted a year ago were intact.
How does that compare with the experience of others? Many user comments on Trustpilot are positive, stating that all of their lost files were successfully recovered. Others were not successful, and one user reports getting a full refund after a failed recovery attempt. [4]
Customer Support
The Recoverit Support Center provides searchable help for every stage of the recovery process: [5]
- Download & Update
- Install & Uninstall
- Program Crash
- Device Connection
- Scan Process
- Preview & Recover
- WinPE Bootable Media Errors
- Registration & Account
- Purchase Issues
- Refund & Renewal Service
- Licenses & Policies
- How-to Guides
Support can be contacted via a chatbot or web form. As mentioned above, they seem responsive.
FAQs
Is Wondershare Recoverit safe?
Yes. Its scans won’t overwrite your current files or affect them in any way. Scanning with various antivirus programs found no malware.
Is Wondershare Recoverit free?
No. The free trial version will show you the lost files that can be located, but you need to purchase a license to recover them.
Alternatives
If Wondershare Recoverit isn’t right for you, here are some alternatives I recommend.
Stellar is an easy-to-use application with a wide variety of features. It is a reliable and effective application, but its scans are often even slower than Recoverit’s. It’s available on both Windows and Mac.
Data Recovery offers an easy-to-use wizard that will scan your drive quickly for lost files. It’s available for both Windows and Mac.
Recuva is Windows-only recovery software from the CCleaner developers. The free version will meet many users’ needs.
R-Studio is an advanced tool suitable for data recovery professionals. It’s available for both Windows and Mac.
Final Verdict
Wondershare Recoverit is a highly-rated data recovery application for Windows and Mac. It successfully recovered my ten recently deleted files, and many other users report they were able to recover their lost files. In most cases, the free trial version will show you whether the app will be successful before you need to pay.
However, you have a greater chance of success by using another tool, especially in more complex data recovery scenarios. I recommend Stellar Data Recovery, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, and Recuva Professional (Windows only) for those looking for a reliable, easy-to-use tool. Like Recoverit, the free trial version will show you if your lost files can be located.
If you’re computer savvy enough to try a more advanced tool, R-Studio consistently recovers more data than its competitors in industry tests. It has a steeper learning curve and you’ll need to spend time reading the manual, but when it’s crucial that you recover your lost data, it will give you the best chance of success.
References
