Disk Drill vs TestDisk and PhotoRec (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Disk Drill and TestDisk and PhotoRec share a 2.6 GPA, both have a free plan, and TestDisk and PhotoRec has no paid plan to buy, against $4.08 a month when paid by the year for Disk Drill.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Disk Drill grades higher on features and ease of use. TestDisk and PhotoRec grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Disk Drill
Data recovery app for Mac and Windows with free disk tools
TestDisk and PhotoRec
Free open-source tools for lost partitions and deleted files
Which one is for you
Pick Disk Drill if
- Fits if you need one recovery after a deleted folder or a formatted card
- Works for people who want to see what is recoverable before paying
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to recover files without paying, as free is scan and preview on Mac and capped at 100 MB on Windows
- Watch out: every PRO purchase is non-refundable except where consumer law says otherwise
- Tight if you need more than 3 devices, as a PRO licence covers one user on up to 3
- Watch out: deep scans of Mac system disks rely on a kernel extension the app installs
- Pricey if you only need it once, since a year is $49
Pick TestDisk and PhotoRec if
- Fits if you've lost a partition and can work in a text menu
- Works for people who care about getting files back and not about their names
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a graphical tool, as the main programs are text-based
- Skip it if you need file names and folders back, since PhotoRec generally doesn't restore them
- Watch out: the 7.2 Mac build listed is 64-bit Intel and M1 Macs can run it
- Too light on hand-holding for a first-time rescue, as the site points graphical-tool seekers to a partner product
How we grade them
| 2.6GPADisk DrillGood | 2.6GPATestDisk and PhotoRecGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPRO Lifetime is $69 once, under two years of what the category's middle subscription costs. The yearly option is $49, which is mid-range for the category. | AFree under GPL v2 or later, with no paid edition. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free edition scans and previews but, on Mac, does not recover; the Windows page says up to 100 MB. The disk health, cleanup and duplicate tools are free. | AFree outright with no cap. No cap, no trial and no paid tier. |
| Features | BRecovers from drives, cards, cameras and RAID, reads Time Machine, and adds disk health, cleanup, duplicates and backups. Nothing in the listing is missing from the job. | CPartition repair, undelete and signature-based recovery on many media, but PhotoRec recovers by type and names and folder structure are generally not restored. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record. You install it and run a scan, though deep scans on Macs need a kernel extension it installs. | DNo rating on record. The main programs are text-based and menu-driven, and the graphical QPhotoRec ships separately. |
| Platforms and integrations | CMac and Windows desktop only. No phone app, web version or published integrations. | CWindows, Mac and Linux, desktops only. Windows, Mac and Linux desktops only; no phone or web version. |
| Best for | getting back deleted files on a Mac or PC | free recovery of lost partitions and deleted files |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Disk Drill and TestDisk and PhotoRec. How we grade
Price against what you get
Disk Drill starts at $4.08 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. TestDisk and PhotoRec has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
Disk Drill scores higher, and starts $4.08 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other desktop utilities on the chart, 1 scores higher than Disk Drill for less, and none scores higher than TestDisk and PhotoRec for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Disk Drill can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- TestDisk and PhotoRec is open source, according to its own site.
- Disk Drill also covers disk cleanup.
At a glance
| Disk Drill | TestDisk and PhotoRec | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $49 per year, or $69 one-time | Free |
| Free plan | Disk Drill Basic scans storage and previews every recoverable file; the Windows page says it recovers up to 100 MB for free. Disk health, cleanup, duplicate finder and backup tools are included in the free edition. | Free software under the GNU GPL v2 or later, with no paid edition. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | CleverFiles Inc. | CGSecurity |
| Price read from | cleverfiles.com | cgsecurity.org |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Disk Drill
- Unlimited recovery needs PRO; the Mac page describes the free edition as scan and preview only.
- All PRO purchases are non-refundable except where consumer law requires a refund, according to the vendor's FAQ.
- A PRO license covers 1 user on up to 3 devices; business use is allowed, and larger teams get a custom Enterprise quote.
- On Macs, deep scans of system disks rely on a kernel extension the app installs.
TestDisk and PhotoRec
- PhotoRec recovers files by type, so names and folder structure are generally not restored.
- The main programs are text-based; a graphical front end, QPhotoRec, is shipped separately.
- The 7.2 download page lists a 64-bit Intel macOS build (macOS 10.15 or later) and notes Apple M1 Macs can run it.
- The site's own pages point buyers who want a graphical Mac or Windows tool to a partner product, Disk Drill.
Key features
Disk Drill
- File and partition recovery
- Scans drives, SSDs, memory cards, USB sticks, cameras and RAID arrays for deleted files and lost partitions, and previews results before recovery.
- Time Machine and snapshots
- On Mac it reads Time Machine backup disks and local snapshots as extra places to find overwritten files.
- Disk health monitoring
- Free S.M.A.R.T. monitoring watches connected disks for signs of trouble.
- Cleanup and duplicate finder
- Shows what is using disk space and finds duplicate files in several locations.
- Byte-to-byte backups and recovery drive
- Creates disk and partition images and a bootable USB drive for recovery.
- Data protection
- With protection enabled, recovery of protected files is free, according to the vendor.
TestDisk and PhotoRec
- Partition table repair
- TestDisk can fix a partition table, recover a deleted partition and make a disk bootable again when faulty software or human error caused the problem.
- Boot sector and table repair
- Rebuilds or restores FAT and NTFS boot sectors from backups, fixes FAT tables, repairs the NTFS MFT from its mirror, and locates ext backup superblocks.
- Undelete and copy files
- TestDisk can undelete files from FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ext2 and copy files off deleted FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ext partitions.
- Signature-based recovery
- PhotoRec searches for known file headers, so it still works when a file system is damaged or reformatted. Its file list covers more than 480 extensions.
- Read-only access
- PhotoRec reads the drive or card read-only and warns you not to save recovered files to the same partition.
- Many media types
- Works with hard disks, SSDs, memory cards, USB drives, CD-ROMs and raw or EnCase E01 disk images.
Plans
Disk Drill
Basic$0
Scan and preview recoverable files, plus the free disk health, cleanup, duplicate finder and backup tools.
PRO One-Year Subscription$49
per year, renews yearly
Unlimited recovery on Mac and Windows, all updates while subscribed, 1 user on up to 3 devices.
PRO Lifetime License$69
one-time
Same as the subscription, with updates included permanently. Shown as $69 against a crossed-out $119 with no end date given.
TestDisk and PhotoRec
Free$0
Both programs, as portable downloads with no installer.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Disk Drill or TestDisk and PhotoRec?
As of Nov 13, 2026, TestDisk and PhotoRec is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $4.08 a month when paid by the year for Disk Drill. Disk Drill starts at $49 per year, or $69 one-time, and TestDisk and PhotoRec is free.
Which has a free plan, Disk Drill or TestDisk and PhotoRec?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Disk Drill and TestDisk and PhotoRec have a free plan.
Which platforms do Disk Drill and TestDisk and PhotoRec run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only TestDisk and PhotoRec lists a Linux app. Both list macOS and Windows apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.