15 Best iPhone Recovery Software: a Detailed Comparison

The purpose of iPhone data recovery software is to undelete lost files from iPhone’s internal memory, including photos, messages, contacts, videos, audio files, documents, and more. Because iPhone users with limited recovery experience often find it difficult to decide which iPhone data recovery is the best, we decided to compare some of the most popular solutions currently available, and here’s what we’ve found out.

Quick Comparison of iPhone Recovery Software

What to Consider When Selecting an iPhone Data Recovery Tool?

There are many iPhone data recovery tools on the internet—both free and paid—but they vary greatly when it comes to their usability and data recovery performance. Here’s what you should consider when choosing an iPhone data recovery tool:

• 🛡️ Reliability: Unfortunately, not all software is safe and reliable. There are many malicious and poorly optimized applications that do more harm than good, and you need to avoid them at all cost, otherwise you might make the already bad situation even worse.
• 🆕 Compatibility: The iOS recovery software of your choice must be compatible with your operating system and support your iPhone. Since a new version of iOS is released roughly once a year, it’s a good idea to pick iOS recovery software that’s actively developed and frequently updated.
• 🕹️ Ease of use: Data recovery doesn’t have to be complicated—at least not if you select the right data recovery software. There are many software solutions that make it possible to recover data from an iPhone with a few simple clicks and without any expert knowledge.
• 🗃️ Performance: The iPhone can open, modify, and create countless different file formats, and the best iPhone data recovery software solutions can recover everything from images to audio and video files to documents and file archives.
• 💰 Price: Just because free iPhone recovery software solutions are readily available doesn’t mean that you should avoid paid software. If you value your data, it often makes sense to purchase the full version of one of the best iPhone data recovery apps on the market and get your data back right on the first try.

Top 15 Best iPhone Recovery Tools

After putting several dozen iPhone recovery tools through their paces, we’ve been able to come up with the following list.

1. Disk Drill iPhone Data Recovery

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Disk Drill for Mac is a popular iPhone recovery tool that delivers professional data recovery performance in a sleek package. With its intuitive user interface, Disk Drill has made it possible for hundreds of thousands of users to painlessly recover data from all major devices, including iPhones and other members of the iOS family.

To recover data from an iPhone with Disk Drill for Mac, you need to connect your iPhone to your Mac and scan it by clicking the Recover button. In just a few minutes, you should see all recoverable files. Disk Drill for Mac lets you preview files before recovery, making it easy for you to recover only what you really need.

In addition to direct device scans, Disk Drill for Mac can also scan any past iTunes backup stored on your Mac. This makes it possible to recover even files that have been deleted a very long time ago, and it’s one of the reasons why Disk Drill for Mac is the best iPhone recovery software.

Free version: The free version of Disk Drill for Mac can preview all recoverable files, but it can’t actually recover them. To do that, you need to purchase the PRO version, which costs $89.00 and can recover over 400 different file formats.

2. Dr.Fone iPhone Data Recovery

Wondershare Dr.Fone is a comprehensive iOS recovery software solution that boasts one of the highest data recovery rates in the industry. The company behind it has been in the data recovery business for well over 15 years, and their products are consistently praised by users and reviewers alike.

It doesn’t matter if you need to recover lost contacts, text messages, photos, or voice memos because Wondershare Dr.Fone can do it all. This recovery software can recover directly from an iOS device, and it can also retrieve data from iTunes backup files and iCloud. Regardless of how you decide to recover your files, you will always be able to get from start to finish with just a few clicks.

Free version: There’s a free trial version of Wondershare Dr.Fone that you can use to scan your iPhone without paying, but don’t expect it to recover your data, because that’s not something that it can do. That said, it’s nice to have the option to verify that the software works before you spend $79.95 on a lifetime license or $69.95 on a yearly license.

3. Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone

Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone doesn’t fail to attract with its polished user interface that makes it immediately obvious that this software means business. You can use this iPhone recovery software to recover data from older iPhones just as easy as from the latest models, including iPhone 12 Pro, 11 Pro, 11, XS, XS Max, XR, and X.

To undelete lost data with Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone, you need to select the type of data you want to recover, begin the scan process, and save recoverable data to a suitable location on your computer. Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone can recover Camera Roll, messages, notes, reminders, voice memos, contacts, bookmarks, and more.

Free version: As is often the case with free iOS recovery software, the trial version of Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone can only preview recoverable files—not actually recover them. The good news is that the least expensive version of this iPhone recovery software costs just $39.99 for a year of use.

4. iMyfone D-Back

Would you like to recover notes, photos, videos, messages, contacts, call history, Safari history, voice memos, and more from any iPhone? If so, iMyfone D-Back is a solid choice because you can use it to perform iPhone recovery without any special knowledge or skills.

We like the fact that iMyfone D-Back can fix many common system issues, such as when iPhones get stuck on the white Apple logo. What we don’t like is how expensive the unlimited lifetime plan is. Paying $69.95 to recover data seems like a lot when there are so many affordable alternatives.

Free version: The free trial version only allows you to see lost data. To recover them, you need to purchase the full version of iMyfone D-Back.

5. EaseUS MobiSaver

EaseUS MobiSaver is one of the best iPhone data recovery apps if you’re not looking for a truly free solution and are willing to spend some money to get great results. You can use it to safely and quickly retrieve lost data, including text messages, contacts, call history, photos, videos, notes, and more.

EaseUS MobiSaver can recover lost data directly from your iPhone, or you can use it to retrieve files from iTunes Backup or iCloud backup. All recent versions of macOS are supported, but we have found scanning to be on the slower side.

Free version: The free version of EaseUS MobiSaver can recover notes, call history, calendars, reminders, Safari bookmarks, and more, but there are some major limitations that you should know about. Specifically, the free version of EaseUS MobiSaver can restore only 5 contacts and 1 photo or video. Need more? Then you need to purchase the Pro Edition for $79.95.

6. Tenorshare UltData

Tenorshare is another well-known software company, and it primarily focuses on smartphone data recovery and system repair. Tenorshare UltData offers 3 types of iOS recovery: Restore from Device, Restore from iTunes backup, and Restore from iCloud backup – this is pretty standard amongst most iPhone data recovery software. Nevertheless, it works as advertised for everything from SMS messages to Voice Memos and Safari History. It’s also highly compatible, supporting older devices like the iPhone 4 and iPod 1, as well as all versions of the iPad.

Free version: Tenorshare Ultdata does not offer free data recovery. However, you can preview as many files as you want. This is very useful for determining if your data is still recoverable. You will also get to see all the files Tenorshare Ultdata found – but you’ll be prompted to upgrade.

7. iBeesoft iPhone Data Recovery for Mac

iBeesoft iPhone Data Recovery is another well-rounded software company that develops data recovery tools not only for smartphones, but also for Windows and Mac computers. It’s not an all-in-one app though, so you need to download the iPhone Data Recovery tool individually… But as of this article, they’re offering a solid discounted bundle with iPhone recovery AND macOS recovery for $59.90.

It offers 3 familiar recovery services: Recover from Device, Recover from iTunes Backup, and Recover from iCloud Backup. We didn’t notice anything remarkable about its performance, but it gets the job done.

iBeesoft iPhone Data Recovery doesn’t have a repair tool, but that also makes it more affordable ($39.95 for a 1-year subscription). It’s compatible with device models iPhone 4 and above, and iPod Touch 1 and above, as well as all versions of the iPad.

Free version: While you can preview files for free, you can’t proceed with recovering them. Still, the ability to preview files will help you determine whether or not your data is salvageable. This limitation is also standard across most data recovery software.

8. iMobie PhoneRescue

iMobie PhoneRescue is a trustworthy software for troubleshooting and data recovery for iPhone. It was one of the first solutions to support macOS Catalina, and it continues to introduce new features at a steady rate, giving its users a lot of value in exchange for their hard-earned money.

We recommend iMobie PhoneRescue to all iPhone users who have lost data and are facing iOS system issues, including White/Blue/Black screen of death, frozen iPhone, and so on. Instead of downloading and potentially paying for two different software applications, it makes more sense to do everything in one go using iMobie PhoneRescue.

Free version: The purpose of the free version of iMobie PhoneRescue is to preview what the paid version can do. More specifically, the free version can scan an iOS device, but it can’t save recoverable files. For that, you need to get the full version.

9. Fonedog Toolkit for iOS

Fonedog Toolkit for iOS is a little unique. Instead of being an all-in-one app, it serves as a portal where you can download and install specific tools individually. These tools are: Data Recovery, System Repair, Backup and Restore, and WhatsApp Transfer. For someone who only needs one of these tools, Fonedog is a cost-effective choice as you can just purchase what you need. For example, Fonedog’s data recovery tool is $39.95 on its own – it’s cheaper than many options on this list, but it only has that one feature. Unfortunately, it only supports later versions of iOS devices ( >= iPhone 5 and >= iPod Touch 4).

Free version: You will be able to scan your iPhone and get a rough idea of what files Fonedog found, but you can’t do things like preview photos and videos. You can’t use its repair tools either, so the free download simply serves as a portal to buy a license. For these reasons, we bumped Fonedog down to #9.

10. FoneLab iPhone Data Recovery

Besides native iOS data, such as contacts, messages, and call history, FoneLab iPhone Data Recovery can also recover data from several third-party apps, including Line, WhatsApp, Kik, Viber, QQ, WeChat, and others. To install it on your Mac or Windows computer, you need to have at least 200 MB of storage space.

Free version: We love free iOS recovery software as much as everyone else, but the free version of FoneLab iPhone Data Recovery, unfortunately, can’t do all that much. Well, it can preview recoverable files, but that’s about it.

11. Leawo iOS Data Recovery for Mac

Many reviewers wouldn’t include Leawo iOS Data Recovery for Mac on a list of the best iPhone recovery software solutions, but we believe that its place here is well-deserved. Why? Because the company behind it has been around for a long time, and its portfolio includes everything from DVD rippers to file converters to data transfer utilities, so you know that you can trust it.

Unfortunately, Leawo iOS Data Recovery for Mac officially supports only iOS 10, which is guaranteed to put many potential users off. In reality, this iPhone recovery software works even with newer versions of iOS, but we don’t know how well.

Free version: You can try Leawo iOS Data Recovery for Mac for free, but you won’t be able to recover any data. Still, the ability to preview recoverable files is better than nothing.

12. Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery

Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery may be the best free iPhone recovery software because it can get back quite a lot of data free of charge. But even if you don’t see free iPhone recovery as a huge selling-point, then there’s still a lot that Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery can interest you with. For example, this easy-to-use application can recover your iPhone in just three steps, and it supports the latest version of iOS and iPadOS.

Its developers don’t specify which versions of macOS Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery is compatible with, but we haven’t run into any issues with running the software on a relatively old and relatively new version of Mac OS X and macOS.

Free version: When most users ask, “What is the best free iPhone recovery software?” they expect to discover an application that can do more than preview recoverable data. Well, Gihosoft iPhone Data Recovery can’t recover everything for free, but it can restore your app photos and videos, message attachments, notes, calendars, reminders, voicemail, voice memos, and Safari bookmarks, which is more than what we can say about most other iPhone recovery software.

13. FonePaw iPhone Data Recovery

FonePaw is a software company that develops tools for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac devices. Like most tools on this list, Fonepaw’s iPhone Data Recovery utility offers 3 types of recovery: Recover from iOS, Recover from iTunes Backup, and Recover from iCloud. FonePaw also offers iOS System Recovery and iOS Data Backup & Restore, but you either have to purchase them separately or buy the bundle ($101.98).

Its Quick scan and Deep scan features were good enough for us, but we can get the same results for a similar price (or choose a more expensive software with better features).

Free version: Unfortunately, FonePaw’s free version is quite limited. You can’t preview pictures at their full size and you can only preview the first 3 items of your contacts, call history, and notes. You will be able to scan your device, iTunes backup, and iCloud backup, and get a general idea of the data FonePaw was able to find.

14. MobiKin Doctor for iOS

Despite having an outdated user interface, MobiKin Doctor for iOS (Mac Version) is a powerful all-in-one solution for recovering iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch data from iTunes backups. You can use it to recover both text-based data, such as your call history and messages, as well as media content, such as your photos and videos. The recovery process has been simplified into three easy steps, and the software allows users to preview different types of files in the main interface with a simple click.

A lifetime license for MobiKin Doctor for iOS (Mac Version) costs $59.95, which includes free technical support, free lifetime updates, and a 90-day money-back guarantee. Keep in mind that a license for the Mac version does not unlock the Windows version, and vice versa.

Free version: MobiKin Doctor for iOS offers a free version that allows users to preview recoverable data. We definitely recommend you download the free version before buying a license because the latest version of MobiKin Doctor for iOS doesn’t run on Apple Silicon Macs.

15. Ontrack EasyRecovery

Ontrack EasyRecovery by Kroll is pretty well-known in the data recovery market. Its iPhone data recovery tool can restore files directly from your device, from an iTunes backup, and an iCloud backup. We’re not too happy with its performance (especially compared to Ontrack’s polished Windows and Mac recovery tools), and we feel like it hasn’t been optimized recently. It’s decent and you will get your data back, but there are better options for its price ($59).

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