Recuva for Mac 2023: How to Download Recuva for Mac and Its Alternatives

If you deleted something accidentally on Windows, you are much probably recommended to use Recuva, which helps you recover files for free. But there is one question that we probably get 1-2 times per day, "Is there a Recuva for Mac?"

The short answer is NO. There's no Recuva for Mac, no Recuva for Android and no Recuva for iPhone or other smartphone platforms — and there probably never will be. But we’ve got the solution to download and use Recuva on Mac in this guide. If you test out that Recuva turns to be useless on your Mac, there are 8 best Mac Recuva alternative for your choice.

 Best Data Recovery for Mac and Windows

Recuva Failed? Use The Best Recuva Alternative

• Retrieve files from internal hard drive and external storage devices connected to Mac and Windows
• Restore lost, deleted, trash emptied, formatted files or data lost due to different reasons
• Recover 200+ types of files: video, image, audio, document, archives, etc.
• Repair corrupted or unplayable videos
• Use both quick and deep scan to find the most files
• Preview files before recovery process
• Filter files for quick search
• Recover files to local drive or to cloud

Free Download   Free Download

What is Recuva?

Recuva is a data recovery software developed by Piriform – also the developer of well-known CCleaner. The current version of Recuva is v1.53.1087, which released on 07 Jun 2016. That’s to say, it doesn’t support latest Windows 11, but can still work properly on Windows 10, 8, 7 and earlier.

There's a lot to like about Recuva. It has an installable and portable version. It offers impressive functions for its price tag. Also, it has a simple interface and provides quick and deep scan to recover files at most. You will find a bunch of reasons why users pick Recuva as follows:

• Quick to download and install
• Simple and user-friendly interface
• Supports recovering popular file types, like pictures, music, videos, documents, compressed files, etc. 
• Can scan by file type or scan by file size
• Fast scan and recovery speed
• Able to preview before recovery
• Support removable media, like flash drives, SD card, USB, or floppy disks
• Affordable price or free to use
• Works both on FAT and NTFS systems
• High reputations and reviews

How to Download and Use Recuva on Mac?

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, even pay for a virtual Windows system software to run it on your Mac.

Virtual Windows machine, for example Parallels Desktop or VMare Fusion, is the program lets users clone an existing desktop system over a network to run Windows app on Mac. You can have a free trial of these programs before purchase. Here I’ll talk you through creating a Windows virtual machine and then run Recuva on it.

1. The first thing you need to do is follow these instructions to install Windows 10 on Mac for free.  
2. Free download Recuva from piriform and install it in your Mac using the virtual Windows machine.  
3. Use Recuva Wizard to recover your deleted files now. 

This method has worked for me, I’m now able to use Recuva and have Windows open at the same time.  

7 Best Recuva Alternatives for Mac That Work Equivalently, Even Better

Another method to recover deleted files on Mac as the way as Recuva does on a Windows is using a Mac Recuva alternative that can work equivalently, even better than Recuva.

We’ve Tried 20 Recuva Alternatives and Here’s Our Honest Team’s Feedback.

Ultimately we have decided that the closest equivalent to Recuva for Mac is Cisdem Data Recovery. it was the best performer in our tests. Recovery 97% of the photos, videos, and documents, etc. while the other app may be priced higher and return less than half the results.

Coming in close behind Cisdem Data Recovery is Stellar Phoenix. A more complex file recovery software that can recover data from Time Machine backups, corrupt Bootcamp partitions, and inaccessible hard drives.

If you are looking for free and open source data recovery software on Mac, then PhotoRec is the app to consider. While it lacks a simple interface and has a lower recovering rate. it still offers an excellent data recovery solution on Mac.

1. Best Overall----Cisdem Data Recovery for Mac

I would recommend Cisdem data recovery to all our readers. With superior data recovery rate. a secure overwrite feature. and the ability to recover files from damaged or formatted files. Cisdem Data Recovery is one of the best Recuva Mac alternatives out there. 

It exceeds the average recovery rate of other similar apps. (can retrieve as many as 97% of the photos and documents). It also happens to be one of the most affordable Mac data recovery software on the market. it’s 3 step data recovering feature makes it the first choice for any novice users.

Cisdem Data Recovery VS Recuva

Where Cisdem Data Recovery beats Recuva:

• Three-step recovery process.
• Recover more than 200 file formats, including keynote and numbers, which is not supported by most of the tools.
• Repair damaged videos.
• Preview before recovery.
• Filter files with keyword, file size, date created, date modified.
• 3 subscription plans and 30-day money back guarantee.
• Recover files to local drive or to Cloud services.

Where Cisdem Data Recovery loses to Recuva:

• The free version only allows files scan and preview.
• No version for Windows users.

How to Use Best Mac Recuva Alternative?

• Step 1. Download and open Data Recovery on Mac.
  Free Download
• Step 2. Select the location.
  You'll see the main window as follows. Go to Disk Data Recovery and select the location where you want to recover files from.
• Step 3. Scan Mac partition or external storage device.
  Click the “Search for lost files” button to begin scanning lost data on it. It will auto run both quick and deep scanning, you can pause or stop the scanning at any time.
• Step 4. Preview and recover lost files.
  After scanning, you’ll see a list of the recovered files. Preview them one by one and click “Recover” to begin restoring all deleted files on Mac.

Here is the YouTube video guide:

2. Runner-up---Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery

Stellar Data Recovery is a feature-rich data recovery software for Windows and Mac.  it is very simple to use. You can select which file types to search and recover beforehand. Very suitable for beginners and non-technical users.

Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery VS Recuva

Where Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery beats Recuva:

• Recover deleted emails.
• Restoring data from Time Machine backups.
• Recovery data from corrupt Bootcamp partitions.
• In-app previews of recovered files.
• Supported Platforms: Windows 11, 10, 8, 8.1, 7, Vista, XP, and, macOS.
• Recovers from CD/DVD drives.

Where Stellar Phoenix loses to Recuva:

• Stellar returns fewer deleted files than Cisdem or Data Rescue products.
• $99.00 at Stellar Information Technology Private Limited.
• Its free version only recover data up-to 1gb, also it has a limit on one file size which should not be more than 25mb. Which is a trick.

A video tutorial on how to use Stellar Data Recovery for Mac here.

3. High Recovering Rate---Data Rescue 6 for Mac 

Data Rescue 6 from Prosoft Engineering is a data recovery app for the Mac OS X 12 or earlier. It does give excellent recovery rates, picking up more 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, Also, you can’t pause during the scanning process.

It has a free version which allows you to recover 2GB of data. (Free version requires email registration for activation.)

Data Rescue VS Recuva

Where Data Rescue beats Recuva:

• Offers a “Clone” feature that clones your drive or your failing drive onto a healthy one. and then scans the clone drive for recoverable files. 
• It scans for 150 recognized file types. 
• Scan virtual machines and recover data from a Boot Camp partition.
• Duplicate file recognition to find duplicates in the scan results.
• SSD and RAID compatible.
• Available for Windows, Mac.

Where Data Rescue loses to Recuva:

• More expensive than some alternatives. Pay for the files you want to recover, starting from $19, or get unlimited access with $399.96.
• Don’t support file size and file type filtering.
• Slow data scanning and recovery speeds.
• A little complicated for beginners.

4. Multifunctional---Disk Drill

Disk Drill for Mac is different from the normal data recovery software. it can recover lost or deleted data. it also provides advanced features for data protection and system maintenance. 

Disk Drill VS Recuva

Where Disk Drill beats Recuva:

• Can recover data in the form of a disk image (ISO).
• Provides extra disk tools: disk cleanup, duplicate finder, disk health, etc.
• Allows filtering of scanned files by types and date.
• Can save the recovery session for later use.
• Preview option available.
• Supports HFS, HFS+, FAT, FAT32, ex-FAT, NTFS, or EXT3/EXT4 file system.

Where Disk Drill loses to Recuva:

• Restart required after installation.
• Scan time more than average. Even for drives that are not very large.
• Only 500 MB space can be recovered in the free version.
• It has a beautiful interface. but as it has so many functions in one, it is difficult to navigate and cluttered for a novice user.
• It doesn't show a file's condition before recovering it.
• The Pro version will cost you $89.

5. Best for Partition Recovery---MiniTool Power Data Recovery

MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a tool popular for its partition recovery. It works in four different modes. “Undelete Recovery”, “Damaged Partition Recovery”, “Lost Partition Recovery”, and “Digital Media Recovery”. It’s good for partition recovery and accidental delete recovery. which don’t involve big volumes.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery VS Recuva

Where MiniTool Power Data Recovery beats Recuva:

• Simple interface, provide different recovery modes for different data lost conditions.
• Provide a Free version with a restore capacity of 100MB. 
• Lost Partition Recovery.
• Can pause midway during the scanning process.
• Available for Windows, Mac.

Where MiniTool Power Data Recovery loses to Recuva:

• Below-average performance recovering video and music files.
• Many features only work in the paid version.
• No upgrade support.
• A full license will cost you $79.

6. Best Recuva Mac Free Alternative 1: PhotoRec 

PhotoRec is an popular Data Recovery software on Mac, it is open-source and free. Also, it is available on almost all major platforms.

PhotoRec VS Recuva

Where PhotoRec beats Recuva:

• Recover in read-only access, which means it won’t overwriting files during recovery.
• Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
• Supports recover more than 440 file formats.
• Supports file systems like FAT, NTFS, exFAT, ext2/ext3/ext4 and HFS+.
• Freeware, so there is no cost to use the app.

Where PhotoRec loses to Recuva:

• Command-line interface which may intimidate some users.
• No customer support.
• Recovering all deleted files at once, not the one or two you need.  

Here’s a tutorial on how to use PhotoRec step by step.

7. Best Recuva Mac Free Alternative 2: TestDisk 

TestDisk is an open source software that runs on all major platforms including the Mac OS Mojave.  it can get back deleted/lost partitions, fix non-booting disks, and rebuild boot sectors. 

TestDisk VS Recuva

Where TestDisk beats Recuva:

• Can recover/rebuild boot sector.
• Available on all major platforms such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, etc. 
• Totally Free and open source data recovery app. 
• Recovering files from lost partitions.
• Undelete files from FAT, exFAT, NTFS, and ext2 file systems.

Where TestDisk loses to Recuva:

• Recover lost partitions takes a very long time.
• Low data retrieve percentage.
• Command-line UI. More suitable for expert users. not ideal for computer newbies.

A video tutorial on how to use TestDisk here.

Wrap Up