[2024 Updated] 6 Free SD Card Recovery Software for PC

Are you looking for free SD card recovery software in 2024 but can’t decide which one to get for your needs? Wondering which is the best free SD card recovery software in 2024? Look no further—this review covers the top 6 free contenders.

In this list, we’ll discuss what we like and dislike about them, as well as the common reasons behind SD card data loss. Now, let’s choose the best free tool for your SD card recovery needs!

Part 1: Our 2024 SD Card Recovery Software Selection Criteria

As we crafted our review on best free SD data recovery software in 2024, we thoroughly evaluated each tool based on specific criteria. Here’s what we considered while sorting through them:

1. User-Friendly UI – Even the best recovery app is useless if it’s too complex. We focused on software with straightforward interfaces, eliminating unnecessary elements for easy user operation.
2. Performance & Versatility – Many data recovery tools come with limited file type support, hindering their effectiveness. Therefore, we favored a high-performance and versatile app that supports diverse file types, operating systems, and external devices with a high recovery rate.
3. Scanning Speed – Time is precious, and waiting for lengthy scans is impractical. We preferred software with rapid scanning options and filters for targeted scans for specific files. 
4. File Preview & Recovery Chances – Previewing identified files and ensuring recovered files maintain their original quality are vital. We prioritized software with file previews and quality preservation.
5. Price – Price doesn’t always reflect quality, and we considered this alongside effectiveness. Our highlighted software offers an excellent price-to-quality ratio. We gave bonus points to free file recovery software for SD card, generous demo plans, or trial periods.

Part 2: Top 6 Best Free SD Card Recovery Software in 2024

Here’s our review of six best SD card recovery software including what we like and dislike about them: 

1. 4DDiG Data Recovery

Our top recommendation for best SD card recovery software in 2024  is 4DDiG Data Recovery, a tool that not only recovers but also repairs data on SD cards. It can recover 2000+ file formats from a wide range of internal and external drives like SD cards, USBs, drones, digital cameras, etc. Moreover, this SD card recovery software is free to download. Here are the steps to recover data from your SD card with this tool:

Step 1: Download and install this free SD card recovery software on your PC. Open the tool, plug in your SD card, and select it for scanning. 

Step 2: The tool swiftly checks for missing data on SD card. Meanwhile, you can pause or stop search anytime. Choose specific file categories like Deleted Files, Existing Files, Lost Location, RAW Files, and Tag Files.

You can also check specific file types like audio, video, etc in “Tree View” which has categories Use File View to check specific file types such as Photo, Video, Document, Audio, Email, etc. 

Step 3: On right side, search for files or use Filter to refine your search. Once found, preview and recover files to a secure location. Avoid saving recovered data to same partition where data was lost to prevent disk overwriting and permanent data loss.

What We Like	What We Don’t Like
User-friendly interface, fast scanning, and high recovery rate.24/7 technical support and regular updates.Support for Mac and Windows.Recovers data from various data loss scenarios.Offers quick and deep scanning modes based on the severity of data loss.Allows users to preview recovered files.	Data recovery in paid version might have restrictions.Doesn’t support linux.

2. Recuva

Recuva by Piriform is an award-winning SD card recovery software in 2024, offering data retrieval from SD cards, USBs, internal disks, and newly formatted drives. While its free version offers free SD card recovery, the paid Pro version can retrieve data from virtual drives. Moreover, free SD card recovery software can take a snapshot of recovered files, and create a virtual disk image for data restoration. It also provides military standard deletion features to erase files permanently. 

What We Like	What We Don’t Like
SD card recovery is free.Offers a free preview that displays file headers and thumbnail images.Affordable cost for Pro version.Create and restore virtual hard disk to prevent data loss.Can recover various file types like images, text files, and cached web data.Shows the number of recovered files and the time it took to scan.	The user interface isn’t interactive.Only recovers fewer files than its competitors.Not best to recover severely damaged data.Offers no support for Mac.It might struggle to locate deleted files on an SSD.

3. Stellar Data Recovery Free

Stellar is a free SD card recovery software for PC that not only retrieves data from memory cards but also from CDs, DVDs, RAID, encrypted, and virtual drives. Also, it can recover custom and uncommon file types and create bootable media for crashed systems. This free SD card recovery software is available for both Windows and Mac and its free version can retrieve data for up to 1GB. 

What We Like	What We Don’t Like
Recovers unicode and RAW files.Can pick file types (photo, video, etc.) to recover.Can specify the exact file extensions you’re after. Supports a wide range of file formats. Can add custom file types with advanced options. Support is available via phone, live chat, or online tickets.	The deep scan is slow and glitched. Quick scan is faster but still heavy on RAM and CPU. Paid plans are pricey.Only paid version can repair corrupt files.Preview of recovered data is not free.

4. DiskDigger

DiskDigger is another best free SD card recovery software that can recover data by scanning entire card for specific file types. It offers two scanning modes: “dig deep” and “dig deeper.” In “dig deeper mode,” this free file recovery software for SD card can start scanning from a specific disk location. Moreover, it can sort recoverable files by name, size, date, and directory.

What We Like

What We Don’t Like

Preview files with an optional hex dump of the first 4K bytes.Scan virtual disk image files.View recoverable files as a list or thumbnail previews.Recovers all types of file formats.Retrieves compressed archives, video, audio, etc.Full preview when selecting a recoverable file.Compatible with older Windows and macOS versions (Windows 7, Vista, XP, HFS+, and HFS).Supports data recovery from 2 TB+ storage devices.Supports Android and Linux platforms.

Quick scan results may not be as thorough as expected.No ability to create disk copies.Free DiskDigger version has limitations on file size and type recovery.Confusing interface for selecting recovered files.Offers fewer additional features compared to competitors.

5. iBoysoft Data Recovery Free

iBoysoft free file recovery software for SD card is a simple and effective tool to retrieve data from external and internal disks. It can also recover data from BitLocker encrypted drives and RAW partitions and targets people of different expertise. Moreover, this free SD card recovery software for PC can retrieve data from formatted drives, recycle bin, and disks infected with viruses or malware. 

What We Like	What We Don’t Like
Supports 1000+ file formats.Recover data from 100+ data loss scenarios.Scan and preview for free.Comprehensive pre-recovery filters are available.Thorough scanning with Deep and Quick scan options.Save scanning session for future reference.Support for Windows and Mac.	Support is accessible solely through email.Limited preview options, supporting only up to 5 formats.Quite expensive.Users may face data recovery limits in free version.Unable to create disk copies.Lacks support for high DPI monitors.Cannot monitor SMART attributes of devices.Unable to work with drive images.

6. Disk Drill Data Recovery

Disk Drill is a free SD card recovery software for PC that offers a Recovery Vault module to store metadata for easier file recovery. It features automatic calculation of recovery chances for clear understanding and recovery during scan, allowing file restoration even while scanning is ongoing. 

An Auto-resume feature resumes scanning or backup if interrupted. While the tool provides VHD and VHDX support for scanning virtual hard drive images as regular storage devices. The free version allows recovery of up to 500 MB of data only.

What We Like

What We Don’t Like

Scan results are categorized into Deleted, Existing, and Reconstructed, with advanced filters.S.M.A.R.T. support for reading data from compatible devices.Ability to create byte-by-byte disk copies (full or partial).Cross-platform scanning, allowing sharing of scan sessions between Mac and Windows versions.Display disk temperatures in system tray with status icons.Auto-resume feature resumes scanning or backup if interrupted.Rich support content on YouTube channel and blogs for various data loss scenarios.

Cannot create custom boot disks with software.Remote recovery over a network is not supported.Disk Drill can’t repair corrupted videos and photos.The free version has limited data recovery.

Part 3: When Do You Need SD Data Recovery Software?

Typically, you’ll need SD data recovery software when regular ways of getting back lost data just won’t cut it. Here are some scenarios that may require you to get SD card recovery software for free download  to retrieve valuable data effectively:

1. Accidental Deletion – When you mistakenly delete files from your SD card.
2. Formatted SD Card – If you accidentally format your SD card, you’ll need recovery software to retrieve files from formatted storage.
3. Corrupted File System – The file system on your SD card is corrupt.
4. Virus or Malware Attacks – A virus or malware attack causing data corruption or deletion.

Part 4: How to Prevent SD Card Data Loss?

Even the best free SD card recovery software can do very little, if your SD card is physically damaged, unreadable, or data is overwritten, In such cases, your best bet is to seek help from professional data recovery services. However, that can be expensive depending on severity of issue. But you can avoid risk of data loss in future if you take some preventative measures which we’ve mentioned down below:

1. Regular Backups – Backup your SD card data to an external device or cloud storage to safeguard against accidental deletion or card failure.
2. Safe Ejection – Always use “eject” or “safely remove hardware” option before pulling out SD card to prevent data corruption during use.
3. Avoid Full Capacity – Keep some free space on SD card to reduce risk of file fragmentation and enhance overall performance.
4. Keep Devices Updated – Ensure the firmware and software of devices using SD card are up-to-date for improved compatibility and stability.
5. Antivirus Scans – Run regular antivirus scans on devices interacting with the SD card to prevent potential data corruption from malware or viruses.

Final Verdict

If you’re looking for particularly free SD card recovery software in 2024, many options are either pricey or have limited free versions. Some offer value for money, while others fall short. However, 4DDiG Data Recovery emerges as best SD card recovery software in 2024 with its advanced repair and recovery features. It supports 2000+ file types, works with both internal and external drives, and provides flexibility to choose which files to restore post-recovery.

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