iCare Data Recovery vs PhotoRec
iCare Data Recovery
icare-recovery.com
PhotoRec
cgsecurity.orgSide by side
| Figure | iCare Data Recovery | PhotoRec |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 1 |
| Spec score · SD card recovery software | 8.5 (#11) | 8.6 (#8) |
| Spec score · Photo recovery software | 8.5 (#10) | 8.6 (#8) |
| Spec score · Photo Recovery Software | 8.3 (#11) | 8.3 (#12) |
| Spec score · SD Card Recovery Software | 8.2 (#14) | 8.2 (#16) |
| Spec score · Data recovery software | 8.1 (#35) | 8.7 (#11) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Memory card recovery | Yes | Yes |
| Operating systems | Windows 11,10,8.1,8,7,Vista,XP; Pro also lists Windows Server | Windows; Linux; macOS; DOS; FreeBSD; NetBSD; OpenBSD; Solaris; other Unix systems |
| Privacy | The privacy policy says scanned and recovered files are not passed on or kept by iCare Recovery. | CGSecurity says TestDisk and PhotoRec do not connect to the Internet or send information about the user, computer, or data. |
| Recovery sources | Hard drives,external hard drives,USB flash drives,SD/microSD/SDHC/SDXC,XD-picture,CompactFlash,Memory Stick,Android phones,digital cameras,laptops and desktops | hard disks; CD-ROMs; memory cards; USB memory drives; DD raw images; EnCase E01 images |
| Support | The company provides product support by email at [email protected] and advertises 7×24 hours support. | Users can seek help on the PhotoRec forum, send suggestions to the developer, or submit a bug report. |
Plans
iCare Data Recovery
- Home LicensePriced on request
- Home LicensePrice not published
- Premium LicensePrice not published
- Premium LicensePriced on request
- iCare Recovery FreeFree
- Home License - 1PC/Year$69.99 a year
- Premium License - 2PCs/1 Year$99.99 a year
- Unlimited License$399.99, paid once
In their own words
iCare Data Recovery
iCare Data Recovery is Windows software for recovering data from deleted, formatted, damaged, corrupted, RAW, or inaccessible drives and partitions. Listed sources include hard drives, external disks, USB flash drives, SD and other memory cards, Android phones, digital cameras, laptops, and desktops. The product comparison lists more than 800 file types, including office files, images, video, audio, and email, and support for FAT, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, and NTFS5. It includes file preview, memory card recovery, and RAID recovery. Deep Scan searches each drive block for possible files. BitLocker recovery requires an unlock key or license. The free edition allows unlimited deleted-file recovery, with a limit of 500 files per 24 hours for Deep Scan and RAW Drive Recovery. Listed Windows versions range from XP through Windows 11; Pro also lists Windows Server. Home License is listed at $69.99 a year for one PC, and Premium License at $99.99 a year for two PCs. Both subscriptions auto-renew and can be canceled anytime; prices exclude VAT.
PhotoRec
PhotoRec is a free file recovery program for retrieving lost videos, documents, archives, and pictures from storage media and disk images. It searches the underlying data instead of relying on the file system, which can help after file-system damage or reformatting. It recognizes more than 480 file extensions across about 300 file families, and listed file systems include FAT, NTFS, exFAT, ext2/ext3/ext4, and HFS+.
Supported sources include hard disks, CD-ROMs, memory cards, USB drives, raw disk images, and EnCase E01 images. PhotoRec runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, DOS, several BSD systems, Solaris, and other Unix systems. It accesses the recovery drive or card in read-only mode; recovered files should go to a different partition. The portable download runs after extracting its archive, without an installer. QPhotoRec provides a graphical interface, while PhotoRec can also run from scripts or batch files with command-line options. The maker says it usually cannot recover original filenames and does not work well with ReiserFS.