If you deleted something accidentally on Windows, you are much probably recommended to use Recuva, which helps to recover files for free. But there are several similar questions that we encounter frequently: “Does Recuva work on Mac?”, “Is Recuva available for Mac?”, "Is there a Recuva for Mac?"...
The short answer is NO! Until now, there's no Recuva for Mac, no Recuva for Android and no Recuva for iPhone or any other smartphone platforms. But we’ve got the solution to download and use Recuva on Mac in this guide. If Recuva turns to be useless on your Mac, 7 best Recuva alternatives for Mac are at your disposal.
Recuva is a data recovery software developed by Piriform – also the developer of well-known CCleaner. The current version of Recuva is v1.53.2096, which was released on 13 Jun 2023. Recuva will work on any PC running Microsoft Windows 98 or later, including the commonly-used Windows 11, 10, 8/8.1, 7, Vista and XP. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are supported, but not RT tablet editions. Recuva software runs on NTFS, FAT, and exFAT format drives.
Though Recuva doesn’t have a Mac version, we can still download and use Recuva on Mac, by setting up a virtual Windows system on your Mac. However, this is not easy. You need a Windows license first, then free download, or even pay for a virtual Windows system software to run it on Mac.
Virtual Windows machine, for example Parallels Desktop or VMare Fusion, is a kind of program that lets users clone an existing desktop system over a network to run Windows app on Mac. You’re allowed to have a free trial of these programs before purchase. Here I’ll walk you through creating a Windows virtual machine and then running Recuva on it.
This method has worked for me, I’m now able to use Recuva and have Windows opened at the same time. If it’s not helpful in your case or you find it too complicated to run Recuva on Mac, proceed to check out its alternatives.
Another option to recover files on Mac as the way as Recuva does on a Windows PC is using a Recuva alternative for Mac that can work equivalently, even better than Recuva.
We’ve Tried and Tested 20 Mac Recuva Alternatives and Here’s Our Honest Feedback.
The closest equivalent to Recuva for Mac is Cisdem Data Recovery, which is definitely the best performer in our tests, with 97% recovery rate of photos, videos, documents, etc. While other apps may be priced higher and return less than half the results of Cisdem.
Coming in close behind Cisdem Data Recovery is Stellar Data Recovery for Mac. A more complex file recovery software that can recover data from Time Machine backups, corrupt BootCamp partitions, and inaccessible hard drives.
For free Recuva alternative on Mac, an open-source data recovery program - PhotoRec should be considered. Although it lacks a simple interface and has a lower recovering rate, it still offers an excellent data recovery solution for Mac users.
I would recommend Cisdem Data Recovery to all our readers. With superior recovery rate, a secure overwrite feature and advanced scanning algorithm, Cisdem Data Recovery becomes one of the best Recuva for Mac alternatives out there.
It exceeds the average recovery rate of other similar apps (as high as 97% for all major file types: documents, photos, videos, audios, archives, etc.). It also happens to be one of the most cost-efficient Mac data recovery software on the market currently. Its simple steps to achieve file retrieval enables it to be the top choice for any novice users, with no need of much professional knowledge.
Where Cisdem Data Recovery beats Recuva:
Where Cisdem Data Recovery loses to Recuva:
Price: $69.95 for a month, $99.95 for one year, $149.95 for lifetime
Supported platforms: macOS 10.9 or later (including the latest macOS Sonoma 14), Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP
Ranking only second to Cisdem in our tests, Stellar Data Recovery is also a feature-rich data recovery software we can opt for. You can select which file types to search and recover beforehand, which is pretty suitable for beginners and non-technical users.
Where Stellar beats Recuva:
Where Stellar loses to Recuva:
Price: $89.99 for Professional, $99.99 for Premium, $149 for Technician
Supported platforms: macOS 14 and lower
A video tutorial on how to use Stellar Data Recovery for Mac here.
Data Rescue 6 for Mac from Prosoft Engineering is the data recovery app that does give excellent recovery rates, picking up more missing files than most. But it doesn’t quite measure up to Cisdem and Stellar when it comes to recovery options. You can’t scan by file type and file size, neither pause during the scanning process.
Where Data Rescue beats Recuva:
Where Data Rescue loses to Recuva:
Price: $79 for 30 days, $399 per year
Supported platforms: macOS 10.12 or later
Disk Drill for Mac is different from the normal data recovery software. In addition to recover data on Mac, this tool also has the ability to monitor, protect, backup, clean up, remove and erase Mac files. It also provides advanced features for data protection and system maintenance.
Where Disk Drill beats Recuva:
Where Disk Drill loses to Recuva:
Price: $89 for single user, $499 for enterprise
Supported platforms: macOS X 10.5+
Wondershare Recoverit Data Recovery gives an outstanding performance during partition recovery in our practical tests. It’s able to go back to the previous state of your partition, recovering a lost or corrupted partition and the data on the original partition easily.
Where Recoverit beats Recuva:
Where Recoverit loses to Recuva:
Price: $79.95 per year
Supported platforms: macOS 14 or lower
Developed by cgsecurity, PhotoRec is an open-source and free data recovery application trusted by people all around the world. Influenced by its name, PhotoRec might be misunderstood to restore photos only, while it’s a tool that can deal with more than 400 formats of file on Mac. Moreover, it is available on almost all major platforms to recover deleted/lost/formatted data.
Where PhotoRec beats Recuva:
Where PhotoRec loses to Recuva:
Supported platforms: macOS 10.6+
Here’s a tutorial on how to use PhotoRec step by step.
Coming in the same installation package with PhotoRec, TestDisk could be another free alternative of Recuva for Mac you can try. TestDisk specializes in getting back corrupted partitions, fixing non-booting disks and rebuilding boot sectors.
Where TestDisk beats Recuva:
Where TestDisk loses to Recuva:
Supported platforms: macOS 10.6+
A video tutorial on how to use TestDisk here.
Connie Yu has been a columnist in the field of data recovery since 2011. She studied a lot of data loss situations and tested repeatedly to find a feasible solution tailored for each case. And her solutions are always updated to fix problems from the newest systems, devices and apps.
Renata Taggart
To be honest, Recuva's interfaces are not that friendly to us computing beginners. I've met quite a few troubles when using it, though it's completely free. I think I might try other alternatives you write about later......
Eason
I just switched from a Windows PC to a Mac. I used to use Recuva on my PC, but now I will use Cisdem data recovery, I like it, a good alternative to Recuva, thanks for recommendation!!
Jenkins11
good
Gilbert
Hey. Does this only recover MAC type files? what if I have some windows executable files in my MAC partitioned hard drive?
Rosa Reyes
Cisdem DataRecovery is especially designed for Mac. If it is stored in your Mac partitioned hard drive and readable in your Mac, then they can be recovered. But if not, you need then try recovery tool for Windows users, maybe pandora recovery tool?
Hackney19
It is with regret that there is no recuva for Mac. But recuva alternative for Mac is also great. I tried Cisdem DataRecovery, it also recovered all my lost files. It is good.
Helen
The steps of how to use recuva alternative to recover lost files on Mac is very detailed. I can learn using it easily. This article is very useful.
Robin984
I found this article from Google when I search Recuva for Mac. there are so many data recovery tool, I don't know which one is the best. This article analyzed 4 tools and summarized features can disadvantages. Cisdem Data Recovery is OK. It recovered all my lost photos. It is great!