data recovery program · CGSecurity

TestDisk and PhotoRec

Free open-source pair: TestDisk repairs lost partitions, PhotoRec carves files from damaged or formatted drives.

62/100

#5 of 11 data recovery programs
Facts checked 8 Oct 2026

In short

Both tools are free under GPL v2+, with no stated limit on recovered data^1,2.
PhotoRec says it recognises more than 480 file extensions, about 300 file families¹.
TestDisk recovers lost partitions, undeletes files on FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ext2, and copies files off ext3/ext4².
Windows builds are ZIP files that run without an installer³.
Both tools work on raw (.dd) and Encase (.E01) disk images⁶.

TestDisk and PhotoRec suit people who want free, open-source recovery with no cap on what they save and who can work in a text interface^1,2,3. They cover lost partitions, formatted drives and many file types^1,2. The catch: no photo repair, no file preview and no BitLocker unlocking are published, and the main tools are text-mode programs^2,9.

Best for: People who want free recovery with no size limit and can use a text-mode tool.

Where the points come from

Price26 of 26

What it finds15 of 20

Drives and systems7 of 19

Tools5 of 26

Trust and support9 of 9

Price 26 of 26 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Free recovery limit	100Free open-source tools; no limit on saved data is stated, so recorded as no cap^1,2.	9 / 9
Cheapest paid licence	$0Entirely free, licensed under GPL v2+^1,2.	11 / 11
One-time licence	YesEntirely free product with no licence fee^1,2.	3 / 3
Money-back period	30Entirely free product, recorded as 30 under the rule.	3 / 3

What it finds 15 of 20 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Signature (raw) scan	YesPhotoRec searches for known file headers and ignores the file system¹.	6 / 6
Lost partition recovery	YesTestDisk is designed to recover lost partitions and fix partition tables².	6 / 6
File types listed	480PhotoRec says it contains more than 480 file extensions, about 300 file families¹.	3 / 4
Repairs damaged photos or videos	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's PhotoRec or TestDisk pages^1,2.	0 / 4

Drives and systems 7 of 19 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Drives and media	Hard drive or SSD, USB drive, SD or memory card, Optical discPhotoRec works with hard disks, USB keys, memory cards, CD-ROMs and DVDs; raw and E01 images only^1,5.	4 / 6
File systems beyond NTFS and FAT32	exFAT, APFS or HFS+, ext4TestDisk page lists APFS, exFAT, HFS/HFS+ and ext2/3/4 among file systems where it finds lost partitions; PhotoRec adds exFAT, ext4, HFS+^1,2.	3 / 4
BitLocker drives	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's pages; the docs point to Microsoft's Repair-bde tool for BitLocker⁹.	0 / 4
RAID recovery	Not publishedNot published as RAID data recovery; TestDisk lists Linux md RAID only among partition types it finds, and PhotoRec lists md devices as media^2,5.	0 / 5

Tools 5 of 26 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Disk image before recovery	Not publishedDocs describe working on existing .dd and E01 images and point to ddrescue for imaging^4,6; the source has an Image Creation menu that the docs do not describe¹².	0 / 6
Bootable recovery media	Not publishedNot published as a project-built rescue disk; docs describe a Fedora live USB and the download page mentions live CDs^3,11.	0 / 5
Preview before you pay	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's PhotoRec or TestDisk pages^1,5.	0 / 7
Pause and resume a scan	YesPhotoRec step-by-step page says it asks to resume the recovery when restarted after an interruption⁵.	3 / 3
Drive health check	Not publishedNot published; the docs send S.M.A.R.T. checks to smartmontools instead⁷.	0 / 3
Runs without installing	YesDownload page says both are portable applications; extract the files and run, no installer³.	2 / 2

Trust and support 9 of 9 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Open source	YesLicensed under GPL v2+, with source on GitHub and the project's own git server^2,8.	6 / 6
Support with a paid licence	YesFree product with a public support forum linked from the project site¹⁰.	3 / 3

The rule behind each line: how we score data recovery programs.

Plans and prices

As the vendor lists them, before tax. Prices are in US dollars unless the plan shows euros; the points use US dollars, with euros converted at the ECB rate.

Plan	Price as listed	Per month	Notes
Free1 PC	Free^1,2	$0	Open source under GPL v2+; donations accepted

Strengths

Free and open source under GPL v2+, with no stated limit on recovered data^1,2,8.
TestDisk recovers lost partitions and fixes partition tables².
Runs on Windows from a ZIP file with no installer³.
PhotoRec can be interrupted and asked to resume the recovery next time⁵.
Public support forum on the project site¹⁰.

Limits

The docs recommend a separate tool, ddrescue, to copy a failing disk to an image file before recovery⁴.
The docs send S.M.A.R.T. checks to a separate tool, smartmontools⁷.
The BitLocker section points to Microsoft's Repair-bde tool, not recovery inside TestDisk⁹.
The documentation shows a Fedora live USB for damaged PCs, not a rescue disk the project ships itself¹¹.

Other data recovery programs

1
Stellar Data RecoveryPeople who need partition, BitLocker or photo repair features and accept a paid licence
75/100
$59.99/yrcheapest paid licence
2
DMDETechnical users who want RAID, imaging and partition tools
66/100
$20.13/yrcheapest paid licence
3
Tenorshare 4DDiG Windows Data RecoveryPeople who want one program for recovery, bootable rescue and repairing damaged photos
65/100
$59.95/yrcheapest paid licence
4
R-StudioPeople who need RAID, BitLocker or virtual-disk recovery with a permanent licence
65/100
$79.99/yrcheapest paid licence

All 11 data recovery programs

Sources

PhotoRec, CGSecurity. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
TestDisk, CGSecurity. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
TestDisk Download, CGSecurity. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
TestDisk documentation: DDRescue, data recovery from damaged disk, CGSecurity. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
PhotoRec Step By Step, CGSecurity. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
TestDisk documentation: running TestDisk and PhotoRec, CGSecurity. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
TestDisk documentation: SMART status, CGSecurity. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
cgsecurity/testdisk, GitHub. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
TestDisk documentation: repairing a file system, CGSecurity. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
CGSecurity home page, CGSecurity. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
TestDisk documentation: creating a live USB, CGSecurity. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
testdisk/src/adv.c, GitHub. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.

Website: www.cgsecurity.org · Markdown version · We are not affiliated with CGSecurity.