5 Best Photo Recovery Software for Windows in 2026

Ever wondered what would happen if your important photos got deleted from your Windows PC? Losing photos from your device can be distressing, especially if it holds valuable memories. If you have created backups of your lost photos, then recovery can be simple and quick.

However, without backup, you need to use professional third-party photo recovery software tools to regain access to those photos. With numerous recovery tools available online, selecting the right one can be even more confusing.

Don’t worry – we’re here to help you. In this guide, we’ll explore the 5 best photo recovery software for Windows, along with their pros and cons, so you can carefully compare them and select the one that best fits your requirements. By understanding the strengths and limitations of each recovery solution, you’ll be better prepared to safeguard your digital photos and prevent future data loss. 

Features to Check in Your Photo Recovery Software

Before jumping directly to the 5 best photo recovery software for Windows, it’s essential to review the key features that your recovery tool must have. You can check the following features on your photo recovery software:

• Wide Format Support: Your photo recovery software must support the recovery of deleted photos in various file formats, including JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and especially RAW formats such as CR2, NEF, ORF, and ARW.
• Deep Scan Functionality: In addition to a quick scan, ensure your photo recovery tool offers a deep scanning feature to locate files that are severely damaged, overwritten, or long deleted.
• Preview Feature: The Preview feature helps you verify quality and avoid recovering unwanted files, resulting in saved time and device storage.
• User-Friendly Interface: There are several photo recovery software tools which offer a simple and intuitive interface, which makes it best even for beginners.
• Recovery Speed and Performance: Fast scan and recovery times can save you hours of waiting—though deep scans may naturally take longer. 

Top Photo Recovery Software You Can Try [Best 5 Tools]

In this section, we’ve outlined the best 5 photo recovery software that you can try to restore your lost photos on Windows. Check the features of these tools and opt for the one that best fits your photo recovery needs:

1. Stellar Photo Recovery

Stellar Photo Recovery is a versatile photo recovery software which allows you to recover photos deleted due to accidental deletion, formatting, system errors, or any other reason. 

You can use this tool to recover deleted photos of various types, including JPEG, PNG, and RAW camera formats (such as NEF, CR2, and ORF), among others. Along with photos, you can use the Stellar Photo Recovery software to restore deleted audio and video files of various file formats.

Pros:

• The Stellar Photo Recovery software can help you restore deleted multimedia files from memory cards, cameras, HDDs, SSDs, and other storage devices.
• It also supports recovery of deleted photos, videos, and audio files from BitLocker-encrypted drives, volumes, and partitions.
• The software is renowned for its intuitive and user-friendly interface, enabling the recovery of lost files in three straightforward steps: Select, Scan, and Recover.
• The software's preview functionality enables you to view recoverable files before saving them to your device.

Cons:

• Deep scanning, which is performed during a comprehensive scan of your storage device, takes longer.
• Scanning large volumes or deeply can be resource-intensive.
• The free/trial version is heavily restricted. To access additional features, you must use the premium version.
• Recovered photos often lose their original names, making it harder to organise and identify your files later.

 2. Disk Drill

Another popular photo recovery software that you can try for restoring deleted photos is Disk Drill. This versatile recovery software is known for its flexibility and powerful recovery engine. 

The software offers both Quick Scan and Deep Scan modes, making it dependable for recovering photos or other files lost due to simple mistakes or more complex issues.

Pros:

• The software is renowned for its intuitive interface and well-designed workflows, making it particularly well-suited for beginners.
• Disk Drill offers file recovery deleted due to multiple reasons, including accidental deletion, formatting, and system failures.
• There is a free tier (with limited features) that allows you to test scanning before purchasing.

Cons:

• The free version is limited in features, allowing recovery of only a small amount of data.
• Deep scans on large storage devices can take a considerable amount of time and may cause your computer to slow down while running.
• This software consumes a significant amount of system resources during deep scans, which can impact overall computer performance.

3. Remo Recover

It is a dedicated data recovery software that offers easy recovery of your deleted photos and other media files. The software can recover deleted photos of various formats, including JPG, RAW, PNG, GIF, and many more. Remo Recover software works with multiple storage devices such as hard drives, SSDs, SD cards, USB drives, and even RAID arrays.

Pros:

• Remo Recover offers a pause feature that allows you to pause scanning in between and continue later, which is useful when scanning large or slow drives.
• The software runs in read-only mode, meaning it doesn’t write to the source drive, thereby reducing the risk of further data loss.
• You can use this data recovery software to recover data from formatted partitions, deleted partitions, or drives whose file system is missing.

Cons:

• Deep or thorough scans are time-consuming, especially on large or damaged drives.
• While scanning, it can utilize a significant amount of CPU and memory, which may cause your computer to slow down.
• The preview feature for recoverable files is restricted, as sometimes it won’t let you check the file before recovery.

4. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard 

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is a highly popular, all-purpose data recovery tool that can recover photos from internal drives, external drives, SD cards, NAS devices, and other storage devices. 

The preview feature allows you to preview files (including photos) before actually recovering them, helping to avoid wasting recovery space. The tool operates in read-only mode, ensuring that it does not overwrite or damage the original data during the scanning process.

Pros:

• The software works with multiple storage devices (hard drives, SSDs, USBs) and supports a wide range of file formats.
• The free version offers limited recovery up to ~2 GB.
• This data recovery software is renowned for its clean and intuitive interface, making it easy for even non-technical users to navigate.

Cons:

• Though paid versions of this software offer comprehensive features, they are relatively expensive and may not be justified for one-time or casual use.
• Some users report frequent ads and upsell messages within the software.
• This software may not work well when the disk itself is physically damaged or failing.

5. Recuva

Last on our list of the top 5 photo recovery tools for Windows is the reliable Recuva. It is a classic, lightweight, and well-known tool for quick and hassle-free data recovery. The software supports recovery of deleted files (such as photos, videos, documents, etc.) of various file formats. For image files, it allows you to view thumbnails before recovery.

Pros:

• The freemium model makes Recuva the best for your data recovery. The free version offers limited features, while the premium versions offer several outstanding features.
• This tool is quick and efficient for simple recoveries.
• It offers a straightforward UI ideal for non-technical users.

Cons:

• Compared to other premium data recovery tools, Recuva may fail while recovering deeply buried or corrupted files.
• It’s not as feature-rich for advanced users or critical data recovery operations.
• It lacks features like disk imaging, RAID recovery, and bootable media. 

Quick Comparison Table: 5 Best Photo Recovery Software for Windows

To help you quickly evaluate the top 5 photo recovery tools for Windows, here’s a comparison table highlighting their key strengths and user ratings.

Sr. No.	Recovery Tool	Key Strengths	Rating (out of 5)
1	Stellar Photo Recovery	Extremely broad file-type support (including RAW), disk imaging, repair of corrupted photos/videos/audio files	4.8
2	EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard	Intuitive interface, AI-based repair, supports many devices and file types	4.6
3	Disk Drill	Flexible scan modes (quick & deep), recovery vault, disk imaging	4.5
4	Remo Recover	Wide device compatibility, read-only scans, ability to pause/resume	4.3
5	Recuva	Free version, lightweight, secure file deletion, portable mode	4.0

Wrapping Up

Confused among several photo recovery software tools available online? Don’t worry, the aforementioned 5 best photo recovery software for Windows can help you to recover lost photos easily.  Remember: the sooner you act after deletion, the higher your chances of getting your photos back intact.

Simply review the pros and cons of the above tools and select the one that best suits your requirements. Moreover, you can consider preventive measures, such as creating regular backups, to minimize permanent photo loss and keep your digital memories safe.