20 rules in 5 groups, worth 100 points in all. They were set before any product was scored and apply the same way to all 11.
Version 1, published 8 Oct 2026
In short
Each rule is a yes-or-no fact, a list (such as the systems with an app) or a number with published thresholds, read from the vendor's own pages.
A fact the vendor does not publish earns nothing. A feature in beta or preview does not count.
The list follows the points. A tie goes to the lower price on "cheapest paid licence", then to the name.
Recovery programs for individuals that run on Windows and recover from NTFS and FAT32. Business-only tools, RAID-only tools, disk partition managers and cloud or backup services are left out. Edition lines count the editions sold to individuals on the vendor's own website; command-line tools are listed and score low on convenience lines.
Price 26 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Free recovery limit
How much data the free edition lets you save, in GB, as stated on the vendor's page (100 MB = 0.1). A free edition with no limit on what you can save counts as 100. A limit stated only as a number of files or a maximum file size is recorded null. A free edition that only scans and previews, or no free edition, earns 0. 100 or more earns 9 points, 2 or more 6, 1 or more 4, 0.5 or more 2.
9
Cheapest paid licence
Lowest annual or one-time (lifetime) price of the cheapest paid edition for one Windows PC with no cap on recovered data, in US dollars, on the vendor's buy page before any coupon code. Monthly plans are not counted. Lifetime counts at full price. An entirely free product is $0. $0 earns 11 points, $50 or less 9, $70 or less 7, $90 or less 5, $120 or less 3.
11
One-time licence
The vendor sells a licence you pay for once, with no yearly renewal, for individuals. A product that is entirely free also counts.
3
Money-back period
The days stated in the vendor's published refund policy for a change-of-mind refund on the licence in the price line. A policy that refunds only for defects, only when recovery fails, or not at all records 0. A product that is entirely free records 30. 30 or more earns 3 points, 14 or more 2, 7 or more 1.
3
What it finds 20 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Signature (raw) scan
The vendor's page says it finds files by their type signature when the file system is damaged or formatted.
6
Lost partition recovery
The vendor's page says it finds and restores deleted or lost partitions.
6
File types listed
The lowest number of file types or extensions the vendor states on its own page ('480+' counts as 480, 'over 400' as 400). No stated number records null. 1,000 or more earns 4 points, 400 or more 3, 200 or more 2.
4
Repairs damaged photos or videos
On at least one edition for individuals, the recovery program itself repairs corrupted photo or video files after recovery. A separate repair product sold alongside does not count.
4
Drives and systems 19 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Drives and media
Each kind of media the vendor's product page, feature table or help article names as supported on Windows. Each one earns 1 point.
6
File systems beyond NTFS and FAT32
Each of these file systems that the vendor's product page, feature table or help article names as supported for recovery. NTFS and FAT32 are expected of every listed program and earn nothing. Each one earns 1 point.
4
BitLocker drives
The vendor's page says it recovers files from a BitLocker-encrypted drive when you give the recovery key or password.
4
RAID recovery
The vendor's page says an edition sold on its website recovers data from RAID arrays.
5
Tools 26 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Disk image before recovery
The program can make a full or byte-level image of a drive and recover from that image instead of the failing drive. Only reading an image made by another tool does not count.
6
Bootable recovery media
The vendor offers a way to start recovery from a bootable USB drive or disc when Windows will not start.
5
Preview before you pay
The free edition or trial lists the found files and previews them before any purchase.
7
Pause and resume a scan
The vendor's page or help article says a scan can be paused and continued, or its result saved and reopened later.
3
Drive health check
The program shows S.M.A.R.T. disk health data or a drive health warning.
3
Runs without installing
The vendor offers a portable build that runs without installation, so nothing is written to the drive you are scanning.
2
Trust and support 9 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Open source
The source code of the apps is public under an open-source licence.
6
Support with a paid licence
The vendor's page says technical support by email, chat or phone is included with a paid licence. A free product with a public support forum or issue tracker also counts.