Free data recovery software for Mac with no limit
Free Mac recovery tools without a size cap are PhotoRec, TestDisk and Retrova. Most commercial Mac apps let you scan for free but charge to save; when we checked in October 2026, Disk Drill’s Mac edition did not recover anything without a licence.
For external drives, SD cards and USB sticks, free uncapped options exist. For files deleted from a modern Mac’s internal drive, no software can generally help, so check Time Machine first. Retrova, PhotoRec and TestDisk run on macOS 11 and later.
First, what kind of Mac problem do you have?
| Situation | Realistic outlook | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| External drive or SSD will not mount or says it is unreadable | Often good; the files are usually still there | External drive not mounting |
| APFS volume fails First Aid | Often good with a tolerant reader | APFS that will not mount |
| Formatted SD card or USB stick | Fair to good if you stopped using it | Recover deleted photos from an SD card |
| Windows (NTFS) or Linux drive on a Mac | Good; reading, not recovery | NTFS on a Mac |
| Emptied the Trash on the Mac’s own drive | Poor on modern Macs (SSD TRIM, hardware encryption) | Time Machine, iCloud Drive, other backups |
| Drive clicks, grinds or disconnects | Needs imaging, possibly a lab | Failing hard drive |
Free Mac tools and their limits
| Tool | Cost and cap | Interface | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retrova 1.1.1 | Free, open source, no cap, no account. macOS 11+ (Apple silicon and Intel). | Graphical | Reads APFS, Mac OS Extended (HFS+), NTFS, FAT, exFAT, ext2/3/4, XFS, Btrfs read-only; encrypted drives with your key; undelete with names on NTFS, FAT, exFAT; Deep scan; verify |
| PhotoRec | Free, open source, no cap | Terminal | Carves hundreds of file types; numbered output names |
| TestDisk | Free, open source | Terminal | Repairs partitions; can write to the disk |
| Disk Drill | Scan free; Mac free recovery none (Oct 2026) | Graphical | Paid to save; undelete with names |
| EaseUS Mac | Free allowance about 500 MB to 2 GB (Oct 2026) | Graphical | Paid plans for more |
| Time Machine | Included with macOS | Graphical | Not recovery software, but the best answer for deleted files |
Compare more vendors’ limits on the free-tier limits page, or read the general explanation in free data recovery software with no recovery limit.
Using Retrova on a Mac
- Download the right build from the download section: Apple silicon (M1 and later) or Intel, macOS 11 Big Sur or later.
- Open it for the first time using the steps below, since it is not signed yet.
- Plug in the drive and choose A drive won’t open. Retrova lists every drive and partition with the file system it detected. It asks for your Mac password to read the disk directly.
- Pick files and a destination on a different drive. Retrova will not save onto the drive it is reading.
- Run Verify when copying finishes to compare every file with the original.
The first-launch warning
Retrova’s builds are not signed or notarised with a paid Apple or Microsoft certificate yet, so the first time you open it you will see a warning. On a Mac, open System Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll down, click Open Anyway and confirm (on macOS 14 or earlier, right-click the app and choose Open). On Windows, when SmartScreen says “Windows protected your PC”, click More info, then Run anyway. You only do this once. The source code is public if you would rather build it yourself or read what it does.
Two Mac-specific cautions. Do not click Initialize or Erase when macOS offers it; that writes to the drive. If the drive uses FileVault or an APFS password, Retrova marks it Locked and opens it when you enter the password. The startup disk of a T2 or Apple silicon Mac can’t be opened away from that Mac. Older HFS+ (Mac OS Extended) disks open too, though Retrova doesn’t replay their journal.
What Retrova cannot do
So you can decide before you download:
- Undelete with names outside NTFS, FAT and exFAT. Retrova lists deleted files with their names and folders on NTFS, FAT12/16/32 and exFAT only. On APFS, ext and other file systems it falls back to deep scan, so names and folders are lost and fragmented files may come back damaged. On NTFS, compressed or encrypted deleted files, and ones whose details span several records, are not listed.
- Encrypted drives without the key. Retrova opens BitLocker (password or 48-digit recovery key), LUKS 1/2 (passphrase) and FileVault or encrypted APFS volumes (password) only when you have the key. It cannot open BitLocker startup-key (.bek) or TPM-only drives, or the startup disk of a T2 or Apple silicon Mac away from that Mac. Decryption runs at about 100 MB/s.
- RAID and NAS volumes, APFS snapshots, bootable media and phones. Not supported.
- Code signing. Builds are not signed or notarised yet, hence the first-launch warning.
- Fragmented file carving. Deep scan finds contiguous files of 72 types, which is fewer than the 400 to 1,000 types some paid tools claim. Names are lost, and files stored in pieces may come back damaged or not at all.
How we checked
We compared the vendors’ published Mac free-tier information in October 2026 with the open-source tools’ documentation and Retrova 1.1.1. Statements about internal Mac storage reflect how SSD TRIM and Apple’s hardware encryption generally work; we did not test deletion recovery on internal drives. Competitor details were checked in October 2026 and are dated in the text. Vendor prices and free limits change often and many run permanent sales, so treat every figure here as approximate and confirm on the vendor’s own page before you buy.
Get Retrova
Free and open source for macOS 11+ and Windows 10/11. No account, no recovery limit, and it never writes to the drive you’re rescuing.
Download RetrovaFree for Mac and WindowsQuestions
What is the best free data recovery software for Mac?
For no cap, PhotoRec, TestDisk and Retrova. Retrova has a graphical interface and reads drives that will not mount; PhotoRec supports more file types.
Can I recover deleted files from my Mac’s internal drive?
Usually not on modern Macs because of SSD TRIM and hardware encryption. Check Time Machine, iCloud Drive or another backup.
Does Retrova work on macOS Tahoe and Apple silicon?
Retrova supports macOS 11 and later with separate Apple silicon and Intel builds. Its builds are not signed or notarised yet, so you must approve it once in Privacy and Security.
Is it safe to enter my password?
Reading a drive directly needs administrator rights. Retrova asks for your password to do that and only reads. Its source code is public on GitHub.