There is no difference between how much does data recovery cost and how much does hard drive data recovery cost. You may experience data loss due to many reasons, including software/system malfunctions, hardware failures, human errors, virus attacks, and more. Due to this, the cost of hard drive data recovery varies from case to case.
In this article, we’d like to share some important information about the different levels of data loss. Before you search for how much does it cost for data recovery, you need to get to know what level your data loss situation is. We divide the hard drive data loss into 3 levels.
Level 1 (Easy): Human or Software Error
At this level, the hard drive is entirely functional. You may delete the file or format the drive by accident. Or you may face a system crash or virus attack. All in all, nothing is hardware-related.
Level 2 (Easy): Hard Drive Internal Issues
Some parts of your hard drive may be damaged or broken, which causes the hard drive fail to use. For instance, typically PCB failure is caused by a power surge or Firewall damage.
Level 3 (Hard): Hard Drive Physical Damages
In this level, a “clean room” is needed for data recovery(which is expensive). Typically with R/W heads Failure, Frozen Spindle/Motors and mechanical damages.
At this level, a “clean room” is needed for data recovery. Typically with R/W heads Failure, Frozen Spindle/Motors, and mechanical damages.
Apart from the hard drive, We also like to use Flash drives and SSD drives to store and carry our data. Unlike the traditional HDDs, there is NO mechanical part in flash and SSD drives, So the cost is mostly in Level 1 and 2 zones, more or less.
There are also some hard drives used in devices like RAID or Storage Networking, and basically, the recovery cost fee is added up by the number of hard drives.
Well, we know the levels of data loss now, what’s next? Here comes a comparison table between 2 common data recovery methods including expensive data recovery services and inexpensive data recovery software or free tools.
Full Test Review: Data Recovery Service vs Data Recovery Software?
Option 1: Data Recovery Service
As a technical company, a data recovery service (should) have the most high-tech and professional equipment and experts, like the “clean room” we talk about above, they handle all the diagnosis and recovery jobs for you. All you need to do is pay the bill, and definitely, it’s not a few dozen dollars. And indifferent countries and districts, the cost of hard drive data recovery varies. For instance, data recovery costs in the States and Australia are totally at different prices.
Option 2: Data Recovery Software
Using data recovery software is like a DIY data recovery process. You get the free/paid software, download and install it, and follow the software guide to search for and finally recover your lost data. It may take you less time and money than a data recovery service.
| Data Recovery Service | Data Recovery Software | |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Usually, data recovery services can recover all levels of hard drive data loss from level 1 to level 3, as well as for flash drive, SSD, and Raid recovery. | Usually, data recovery software can recover level 1 data loss with any human or software errors, and even level 2 data recovery which requires you to have some easy technical skills. But for level 3, just look for professional data recovery services. |
| Cost | As a professional service, the cost is more expensive. For the data recovery service in the USA, level 1 recovery starts at $300, level 2 starts at $500, and level 3 for $800, But the cost may change a lot depending on different situations. According to a recent survey: recovering a NAS or RAID array ranges from $1,000 to $10,000. | There are both free and paid software in the market. For free data recovery tools, there are usually some limits to function and capability. For paid ones, you can get decent data recovery software for about $59-150. If the cost of a paid data recovery is too low, you’d better not try for it, cause it possibly can’t recover your wanted data and may cause data overwritten and loss. |
| Usability and Support | The company takes care of everything. All you have to do is send the hard drive by mail or drop it off at their office. | You may spend some time learning how to use it to diagnose, search, and recover your files. Also, there’s email/online/phone assistance from customer support. |
| Time Cost | In general, most data recovery projects can be completed between two and five days. You may need to wait longer (perhaps 6-10 days) if the hard drive fails for a specific or serious reason. | To recover a 500GB hard drive, it can take up to three hours. 1TB hard drives are usually recovered within 5 hours. It depends on the situation, however, how long it takes. |
| Results | There are lots of data recovery services that offer “No data No Charge” today. You only pay for the recovered data, sounds good right? However, there are also some companies do charge for diagnosis and other stuff. | Even the best data recovery software can’t promise you can get the data back every time. Fortunately, there are lots of recovery software with a free or trial version that can let you test if your data can be found and recovered. |
| Summary | All Level 1-3 issues. The budget is enough. Have no time/willingness to research. | Level 1-2 issue only. Lack of budget. Know computer and software stuff. |
Our Suggestions
When there is a data loss, we usually recommend using software to recover the data, and there are many great programs available. iFinD Data Recovery is the one good but cheap data recovery to let you see if your wanted data can be recovered before purchasing. It also lets us recover up to 1GB of data or files from hard drives, USB flash drives, or other devices for free. Documents, videos, images, and music are all included in the supported recovered types of files. Fortunately, it’s easy to use. We just need several clicks after downloading and opening it.
This free app will recover files in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and older versions. It also supports the Mac system.
How to Recover Data from a Hard Drive?
The most important thing is NOT to overwrite your hard drive, meaning don’t paste, delete, or create anything new.
Step 1: Free download iFinD Data Recovery software and install it. Launch the software and press the button ” File Recovery”.
- When a hard drive is accidentally formatted or deleted, but the partition is good to use, the ‘File Recovery’ mode can be used to restore data and files.
- It is recommended to use the ‘Partition Recovery’ mode if your partition is damaged. Hard drives are not suitable for this option since they are single-partition devices.
- The ‘Resume’ feature enables you to save the scan and recovered results every time you operate the recovery process of this low-cost data recovery software iFinD Data Recovery.
Step 2: After selecting ‘File Recovery’. Then you will see a partition list of your device, select the one that represents your hard drive.
Step 3: Smart AI Scanning
Now you can start to scan your hard drive.
- Cancel: Choosing this option ends the scanning process and returns you to the device selection page of the second step. Please make sure you select this option carefully.
- Pause: When you click this button, the scanning process will be paused and the found files displayed. If the file you need is found, you can click the “Resume” button to continue scanning.
- A real-time display will show the number of files found. There will be pictures, media, compression, and documents displayed from top to bottom.
Step 4: Recover deleted files from your hard drive
- If you do not find the file you need, click the “Resume” button to continue scanning until you find the file you need.
- On the other hand, if you find a file that needs to be restored, you can click the “Recover” button to save it to the local disk.
More Tips about Hard Drive Data Recovery Cost
1, If you plan to buy data recovery software, pick the ones with free or trial versions, so you can test the software to find and recover the target files and make sure to Not waste your money.
2, Be ready for an enormous budget increase if you are facing an encrypted, Physical damage, or RAID issue.
3, You need an extra storage device to receive the recovered data, or by online transfer if the data is small.
4, Get your package solid and crashworthy if you are going to mail the hard drive to a recovery company for Prevention of secondary damage during transportation.
5, Do your research for local data recovery services, check the reviews, and call or visit them for a diagnosis and cost estimation.
How to Permanent Avoid Data Recovery Costs?
It is not guaranteed that your data will be recovered 100% successfully and even the data recovery service is not able to guarantee it.
Always Backup Your Data
Backups are copies of your data, which can be stored on a USB pen drive, an external hard drive, or a cloud service. And you are recommended to use 2-3 backup methods if your data is very important.
Install Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware Software
You need to always keep an eye on the security condition of your computer and devices. Use the Google search tool to get the best anti-virus advice.
Regularly Check and Keep Your Hard Drive to Keep Your Data Safe
Keeping your hard drive healthy is an important part of getting the most out of it and preventing data loss. Not letting your drive fail is the best way to keep it running for a long time.
Q & A
Q1. Can I recover data for free?
Yes, there are some free software in the data recovery software market. You can use ‘the best free data recovery tool’ in Google. But if you don’t want to spend time, you can try iFinD Data Recovery, which offers a 1GB free data recovery service.
Q2. Do data recovery look at your files?
You should choose a reputable and trustworthy data recovery service to ensure your privacy and security. Data recovery services usually take a look at your files to determine the extent of the loss.
Q3. Can I recover the data myself?
As mentioned above, there are two main ways to recover data from a failed hard drive: data recovery software or a data recovery service. If you’re not comfortable using data recovery software yourself, or if you have a physically damaged hard drive, you should use a data recovery service.
Andy is an editor of the iFinD Team. She worked in this big family since her graduation. Her articles mainly focus on data backup and recovery, disk cloning, and file syncing, committed to resolving the data loss issues users may encounter on their PCs. Besides, more related computer articles are shared here.