DiskGenius vs Stellar Data Recovery (2026): which should you pick?

Pick DiskGenius if

• Fits if you need partitions and cloning in one Windows tool
• Works for people who only need to scan and preview lost files

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you're staying free, as the free edition recovers only small files
• Pricey if you want Professional, with a one-month licence at $69.90
• Watch out: dynamic-to-basic conversion and full backup access are Professional only
• Watch out: licences cover one PC unless you pick a family or technician tier, and the refund policy is conditional

Pick Stellar Data Recovery if

• Fits if you deleted something by mistake and want to see what is recoverable first
• Works for people with a card or USB drive that stopped being read

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you are recovering a large drive, as free stops at 1 GB
• Pricey if you need imaging or non-bootable recovery: Professional is $69.99 per PC
• Skip it if you want a known license term, because the page does not say whether it is perpetual
• Watch out: Mac editions have their own pricing that was not read
• Watch out: RAID recovery is Technician only at $199

DiskGenius

• The Free edition recovers only small files; recovering any size and saving partition tables needs Professional.
• Dynamic-to-basic disk conversion and full backup access are Professional-only.
• The site describes a Windows utility and the download page names Windows versions; no macOS version is listed.
• A 30-day conditional refund policy applies, and all licenses are for one PC unless a family or technician tier is chosen.

Stellar Data Recovery

• The Windows page does not say whether a license is perpetual or time-limited, so confirm before buying.
• Windows prices are the ones listed here; the Mac editions are Standard-to-Technician with their own pricing that was not read.
• Windows edition supports Windows 11, 10, 8.1 and 8, and Windows Server 2022, 2019 and 2016; a license covers one PC.
• The free version is capped at 1 GB of recovered data.

DiskGenius

Data recovery

Scans HDDs, SSDs, USB drives, SD cards and RAID arrays, previews found files and copies them out without writing to the source disk.

Partition management

Resizes, extends, splits and formats partitions and converts between GPT and MBR without wiping the disk.

Cloning and Windows migration

Clones a disk or partition and moves Windows to a different SSD, HDD or USB drive without reinstalling.

Backup and restore

Creates disk and partition image backups; the comparison table lists basic backup in Free and full access in Professional.

Disk utilities

Checks HDD and SSD health, benchmarks disk speed, erases sectors and repairs Windows boot errors.

Ext4 and RAID tools

Reads, writes and formats Ext4/3/2 drives, and includes BitLocker, hex editor and RAID tools, limited in the Free edition.

Stellar Data Recovery

Drive and card recovery

Recovers from HDD, SSD, SD cards and USB drives, including lost partitions.

Preview before recovery

Preview the files found, then save them to a different drive.

Disk imaging

Professional and above can image a disk before recovering from it.

Non-bootable systems

Professional and above can recover data from a PC that will not start.

File repair

Professional can repair corrupt videos and photos.

RAID recovery

Technician recovers from software and hardware RAID arrays.

DiskGenius

• Free$0

  Partition management, cloning and Windows migration; recovers only small files and previews lost partitions.

• Professional One-Month$69.90

  for one month, paid once, with no renewal

  License code for 1 PC, valid one month after activation, with free remote assistance.

• Professional One-Year$99.90

  for one year, paid once, with no renewal

  License code for 1 PC, valid one year after activation, with free remote assistance.

• Professional Lifetime$129.90

  one-time

  Personal license for 1 PC (family 5 PCs and technician 20 PCs tiers are also listed), with lifetime free upgrades.

Stellar Data Recovery

• Free$0

  Free download that recovers up to 1 GB, per the vendor's Windows and Mac pages.

• Standard$39.99

  per PC; license term not stated on the page

  Listed at $49.99 crossed out, with no end date. Recovers documents, photos and videos, including from lost partitions and encrypted drives.

• Professional$69.99

  per PC; license term not stated on the page

  Listed at $79.99 crossed out, with no end date. Adds non-bootable system recovery, disk imaging, SMART monitoring and photo and video repair.

• Technician$199

  per PC; license term not stated on the page

  Listed at $299 crossed out, with no end date. Adds RAID recovery and reconstruction (RAID 0, 5, 6, SHR and nested).