The best hard drive data recovery service

We all use them and we all get in trouble with them.  We are of course talking about hard drives, which play as important a role in our personal and professional lives as computers.

The biggest problem with hard drives (both HDD and SSD) is their limited reliability.  According to cloud storage and data backup company Backblaze, the annual failure rate (AFR) for 2021 is about 1%, which means that 1 in 100 hard drives are likely to fail during full year use.

While some hard drive failures can be recovered quite easily at home, not everyone has the time to learn how DIY hard drive data recovery works, where professional data recovery services come from.

What is a professional data recovery service?

Professional data recovery services are companies that specialize in recovering lost data from hard drives, optical media, memory cards, USB flash drives and other storage devices.

These companies employ data recovery experts to have in-depth knowledge of how data is stored and how to recover it in case of accidental deletion, logical corruption or mechanical damage.  The specialists they hire are equipped with advanced equipment that allows them to perform very complex repairs that are impossible to do at home.

How do I select a data recovery service?

There are many data recovery companies that offer their services to both individuals and organizations, so choosing the best one can be difficult.  Here are some things you must consider before packing your hard drive safely for transportation:

Capabilities: Almost any data recovery company can easily recover recently deleted files from a working hard drive, but to successfully recover from mechanical damage requires sophisticated equipment that not all companies have.  At a minimum, there must be at least a clean indoor environment to safely open spinning hard drives without canceling the company’s warranty.

Range of services: Some data recovery companies work only on HDDs and SSDs, while other companies accept memory cards, USB flash drives, backup tapes, CDs and DVDs, or even full desktop and laptop computers.

Guarantee: The best data recovery companies do not take money from their customers unless they can recover their data.  Some even offer free shipping and free evaluation.  Warranties and benefits like these are important because you want to avoid paying hundreds of dollars just to find your files recoverable.

Response time - It can almost seem like hard drives want to fail at the worst time, such as a few days before an important deadline.  Most data recovery companies take one to two weeks to complete the recovery process and you can usually pay more for a faster recovery.

Pricing - Although data recovery companies don't usually post their prices online because they don't want to accidentally confuse their customers, you'll be able to set a free consultation to get a ballpark estimate.

Under what circumstances should I contact a data recovery service?

Data recovery services are not the only option on how to recover lost data.  You can download a data recovery software application and use it to recover your files at home.

Data recovery software applications are great for recovering accidentally deleted files, damaged files and formatted hard drives.  In these situations, they can yield the same results as professional data recovery services, despite being significantly less expensive.

However, data recovery software cannot help you with data loss due to physical damage, firmware failure and other forms of extensive logical damage.  In such situations, you should always contact a professional data recovery service as any DIY recovery attempt is very likely to fail.

Of course, with the help of data recovery software a specific data loss situation can be solved at home does not mean that you have to go that route.  If you can afford to pay for professional data recovery, there is nothing to prevent you from hiring an experienced specialist to recover your data.

If you are wondering, even the best data recovery service will not be able to recover any data from the hard drive shown above.

Top 5 Data Recovery Services

Listed below are the top five data recovery services that have gained the trust of countless individuals and business customers, helping them recover critical data that many less data recovery services will likely find unrecoverable.

1. CleverFiles

ACE Data Recovery is another top hard drive recovery company that many of our readers have lived longer than surviving, which says a lot about their ability to deliver satisfactory data recovery results.

Main Services:

Data Recovery (Hard Drive, SSD, RAID, Apple, Mobile, Network, Tape, Flash Media and more), Remote Recovery, Emergency Recovery, Tape Mirroring, Computer Forensics.

Location: 

Full service laboratories in Dallas, Chicago and Houston + service centers in major cities in the United States and Canada.

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ACE Data Recovery is known for its "no data, no charge" policy, which has persuaded countless desperate customers to send their hard drives to one of its many service centers.  Given that the company has a recovery rate of 98%, it is safe to say that their previous clients made a good choice.

Over the years, ACE Data Recovery has equipped its laboratories and service centers with professional equipment and trained specialists to meet the strict requirements of hard drive manufacturers.  This is great news for your customers because it means your hard drive recovery process doesn't void the original warranty.

ACE data recovery usually takes 3-5 business days to complete a hard drive recovery task, but you can pay more for an emergency recovery or take advantage of remote recovery services, which are effective in case of data loss.  Data is still working without hardware.  Running, such as a logically damaged server or NAS.

Pricing:

The total shipment amount is based on the complexity of the recovery and the capacity of the media.

Advantages:

• Free evaluation
• No data, no charges
• Priority service available

2. Untrack

Only a handful of other data recovery services have similar experience with Ontrack, but this is one of the many reasons why we consider them the best data recovery company.

Main Services:

Data Recovery (SSD, Hard Drive, RAID, NAS, Laptop, Cloud, Desktop, Mobile, Apple and more), Tape Services (Migration, Audit, Cataloging, Recovery), Data Destruction, Mobile Device Disable,  Mobile device repair, email extraction, eDiscovery.

Location: 22 Global Labs

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Ontrack has been in business for over 35 years and provides a wide range of data recovery services to help its customers solve complex data challenges related to data loss, data transfer, data recovery, data deletion and more.

All of their 22 global labs are equipped with state-of-the-art data recovery equipment that allows them to serve all types of storage devices, including HDDs, CDs, DVDs, tapes, USB drives, memory cards and more.

The standard response time is 7 working days, but customers can pay extra for an emergency recovery to get their data back in less than 24 hours.  Displays the current status of each online job throughout the Untrack Recovery process, so your customers can always see how close they are to recovering their files.

Pricing:  

Usually starts at around €300, but the total cost depends on many factors including complexity and time of change.

Advantages:

• Free evaluation
• Emergency recovery in less than 24 hours
• Shows online job status updates

3. Secure data recovery

Secure Data Recovery is one of the best hard drive recovery companies for businesses that must always go to protect the sensitive information of their customers and business partners.

Main Services:

Hard Drive Recovery, Tape Data Recovery, SSD Recovery, Apple Recovery, Laptop Recovery, Enterprise Recovery (RAID, Database, Server, Remote, Encrypted), Digital Forensics, Ediscovery and Mobile Card Recovery, USB.

Location: 

Secure Data Recovery Service operates offices in more than 40 cities.

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As the name implies, Secure Data Recovery is a data recovery company that focuses on keeping their clients' data safe during the recovery process.  Since its opening in 2007, it has achieved a number of certifications that demonstrate its ability to protect sensitive information, including SSAE 18 Type II SOC 1, 2 and 3.

Secure Data Recovery is the only data recovery company in the United States to have a Class 10 ISO 4 clean room.  Such clean rooms contain less than 2.9 particles per cubic meter of space, making them suitable for even the most demanding work.  Technically more difficult data retrieval.

Since Secure Data Recovery has offices in more than 40 cities, it can provide true 24/7/365 emergency services with an average response time of less than 48 hours.  If you decide not to pay extra for a quick recovery, you can expect to get your data back in 2-4 days.

Pricing: 

Recovery for a crashed hard drive usually starts at around $ 1,000, but the final price depends on the complexity, timing of the change and other factors.

Advantages:

• Certified as HIPAA, FERPA and PCI-DSS loyal
• 96% success rate
• Emergency Services 24/7/365

4. Gilware

Providing individual customers as well as large business services, Gilware ranks among the best data recovery companies with 200,000 combined hours of professional data recovery experience.

Main Services: 

Hard Drive Data Recovery, Emergency Data Recovery, Flash Drive Data Recovery Service, RAID Data Recovery, Server Data Recovery, NAS Data Recovery, Phone Data Recovery, Virtual Machine Data Recovery.

Location: 

Wright Street Madison, WI

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Gilware was founded in 2004 by two brothers who wanted to offer a more affordable alternative to hard drive data recovery services that were available at a time when it still provided great data recovery results.

Today, Gilware performs more than 15,000 recovery per year in its Wisconsin-based recovery lab, equipped with ISO-5 Class 100 clean room facilities and SOC 2 Type II safety monitored.  The company has even worked with major hard drive manufacturers to create their own recovery tools to deal with various hard drive failures.

Gilware is trusted not only by its customers, but also by its network of more than 5,000 computer repair companies and managed IT service providers, who do not hesitate to recommend it to their customers whenever they need to recover data from failure, broken, formatted or otherwise damaged.  . Hard drives and other storage devices.

Pricing: 

Customers can get an accurate price quote by scheduling a free online consultation with one of Gilware's customer advisors.

Advantages:

• Free online consultation
• ISO 5 Class-100 certified modular cleanroom bench
• No hidden fees

5. Drive saver

As one of the pioneers of data recovery, DriveSavers has been helping individuals and businesses avoid data loss disasters since 1985, and its clients include celebrities such as Will Ferrell, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford and The Rolling Stones.

Main Services: 

Data Recovery (Hard Drive, Solid State Drive, RAID, NAS, SAN, Laptop, Desktop, Smartphone, Tablet, Memory Card, Removable Media), Computer Forensics, Ediscovery

Location: DriveSaver has an office in the United States, a delivery location in Japan, and a contact number for international customers.

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Drivesavers can find its history on the personal computer until dawn.  At the time, hard drives could only store a few megabytes of data, and data loss problems affected only a few people who could afford to buy a computer.  Times have changed and DriveSaver is now hiring more than 90 professionals who can recover data of all kinds and storage capacity from damaged or corrupted drives.

All data recovery is performed in an ISO Class 5 certified clean room, so you can be sure that a small speck of dust will not damage your hard drive during recovery.  For these and other reasons, drivesavers are approved by major manufacturers, including Samsung, Kingston, Hitachi, Sandisk and Western Digital, to open the sealed drive mechanism without voiding the original warranty.

Knowing that people are often intimidated by professional data recovery services, DriveSaver offers free evaluation and shipping.  Just download a free overnight shipping label, send your hard drive, and let the professionals take care of the rest.

Pricing: 

DriveSavers charges its customers only when it successfully recovers lost data.

Advantages:

• 24/7 customer service
• No data, no charges
• Free evaluation and shipping

How much does a data recovery service cost?

Even for the best data recovery companies, it is notoriously difficult to estimate how much a given task would cost without a personal test of the storage device in question.

In general, you can expect to spend $300 to $1,000 to recover data from a logically damaged hard drive, as if accidentally formatted, while any mechanical damage can cost twice or even three times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best hard drive recovery companies?

The best hard drive recovery companies share some common features, including deep recovery skills, sophisticated equipment, and quick response times.

How much do data recovery services charge on average?

If you don't use a professional data recovery service to recover data from mechanically damaged hard drives, you can expect to pay less than $1,000.

How long does it take to recover data from a hard drive?

The best hard drive recovery services can recover data from a hard drive in less than 24 hours, but you should expect to pay extra for such a quick response time.

What kind of files can data recovery services recover?

Data recovery services can recover all types of files including audio (MP3, OGG, WAV), video (AVI, MP4, WMV), image (JPG, PNG, GIF), document (DOC, PDF, TXT), archive (RAR), ZIP, 7Z) and others.

From which storage device can data recovery services recover data?

The best data recovery companies can recover data from all storage devices.  These include hard drives (HDD), solid-state drives (SSDs), memory cards, flash-based storage devices, CDs and DVDs, laptops, desktops, backup tapes and more.

Which data loss situation cannot be resolved by professionals?

Even professionals cannot recover data that has already been completely overwritten.  They cannot recover data from irreparably damaged storage devices.

Conclusion

When DIY data recovery tools can't get the job done, it's time to choose one of the best data recovery companies and have real professionals with expensive tools to recover your data for you.  In our overview, we have seen Ontrack Data Recovery, ACE Data Recovery, Secure Data Recovery, Gillware, and DriveSavers Data Recovery as standouts of the pack and we have no hesitation in recommending them to those currently working with lost data.