Recuva vs Stellar Windows Data Recovery Comparison

Though the basic principle behind every data recovery app is the same, these solutions can still be categorized into two types of programs: those that hold the hand of users from start to finish and those that care only about performing the job of data recovery as effectively as possible. Recuva and Stellar perfectly represent each side of these two categories, with Recuva being the program that emphasizes functionality more and Stellar being a solution where the focus is to be as user-friendly as possible. Now there is only question left: which type of data recovery software is more convincing?

The program also ensures that recovery is as smooth as possible by providing multiple filters to help look for specific files and folders, and as a handy extra the program will also indicate whether the files it found can be recovered at all with a clever traffic light coloring system. Recuva can fully reconstruct the original file structure of deleted folders and even includes useful functions such as the ability to recover files from virtual disc images, securely delete files by overwriting them and therefore making them unreadable and utterly destroyed with a single click.

This will already be convincing enough for many users, but we haven’t even revealed the cost of Recuva. The good news is that the program can be enjoyed entirely for free with no limitations on its most important features. However, even the professional version only costs $19.95, adding virtual disc image recovery, priority customer support, and automated software updates into the mix alongside a sweet 30-day risk-free trial. This price can be reduced even further, too, by purchasing licenses in bulk or as part of a special software bundle.

The software also comes with toggleable deep scans for internal hard drives, but regular scans are available for virtually any kind of media storage including HDDs, CDs/DVDs, and memory cards. Speaking of which, scans can be interrupted and resumed any time during the process but they are also available for virtual disc images as well as already deleted partitions. It’s a frustration for multi-screen users that the software always positions itself in the center of the screen, but otherwise Stellar more than makes up for this oversight.

Similar to its rival here, Stellar also sports a free version but in this case it can only recover 1GB of data. To enjoy the program’s unlimited recovery features as well as free customer support for one year, you can pick Stellar Home for $59.99. However, opting for the Professional version costs either $79.99 per year or a $99 one-time fee, and supports disc image and optical drive recovery. Whichever version is preferred, all purchases are protected by a 30-day money-back guarantee.