Disk Drill
8.4#2 in data recovery softwareFrom $89 a yearFree planmacOSWindows
VisitDisk Drill vs GNU ddrescue
GNU ddrescue
6.9#36 in data recovery softwareFree planFree planLinuxSelf-hostedWindows
VisitWhat both publish
| Fact | Disk Drill | GNU ddrescue |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | The Mac edition can scan Time Machine backup disks and snapshots, and the Windows comparison lists NAS and Linux scanning via SSH. | The GNU project links to ddrescueview for viewing mapfiles and ddrutility and Partclone for related recovery workflows. |
| Memory card recovery | Yes | Yes |
| Operating systems | macOS 10.15+; Windows 10+ | POSIX systems recommended; Cygwin support is discussed in the manual |
| Purpose | Disk Drill scans storage devices to find and recover deleted, lost, or damaged files. | GNU ddrescue copies data from a file or block device to another, trying to rescue readable parts first when read errors occur. |
| Recovery sources | Internal and external hard drives,SSDs,USB flash drives,SD/CF cards,memory cards,digital cameras,virtual hard drives,RAID arrays,disk images | Files,devices,partitions,optical media (CD-ROMs/DVDs),kernel-supported devices including ATA,SATA,SCSI,floppy disks,and flash media cards such as SD |
| Support | CleverFiles says its technical support team operates in CES and EST time zones and provides do-it-yourself recovery support worldwide. | The project directs bug reports and discussion to the bug-ddrescue mailing list. |
Disk Drill plans
- BasicFree
- PRO Subscription$89 a year
- PRO Lifetime License$149, paid once
- Enterprise—
- Disk Drill BasicFree
- Disk Drill EnterprisePriced on request
GNU ddrescue plans
- GNU ddrescueFree
Pick Disk Drill if…
Disk Drill may suit people trying to recover files from supported storage devices on Windows or Mac. The free edition is useful for scanning and previewing, while PRO is for personal use and Enterprise is listed for organizations.
Pick GNU ddrescue if…
GNU ddrescue suits users who need to copy data from damaged or error-prone files and devices, with progress tracking that supports resuming interrupted work. It is aimed at POSIX systems; Cygwin users should heed the manual's warning.