As the digital and business landscape evolves across many fronts, becoming more reliant on data, equal are the efforts threatening it.
Computer viruses, ransomware, and malware, the leading threats resulting in data loss, could run your organization into downtimes or significantly impact your productivity. And the solution to this problem is data recovery.
What is Data Recovery?
Data recovery, a software-based process, involves recovering and restoring lost, deleted, corrupted, inaccessible, or damaged files.
While many available data recovery tools are online, choosing the best fit is exhausting. You may have encountered some of these tools. But, they may not be powerful enough to achieve good results, rendering them inefficient.
At times, you’ll engage free tools in the marketplace. The downside is that they may be slow, have high latency, or even not work on all devices.
This post compares two heavyweights, Stellar and EaseUs. As the two giants dominate the space, picking the best one will require some tactics. But before diving into the how, let’s understand the need for data recovery software.
Why Data Recovery Software?
You can lose data based on a couple of reasons. Whether it’s a malware attack or a mistake, the consequences can cripple your business if there’s no remedy plan.
In most cases, the common causes for data losses include human error, software incompatibility (third parties or plugins), outdated software, unpatched software vulnerabilities, malicious attacks (phishing and computer malware), inadequate access control, power surges, hardware malfunctions, and disasters like fire or flooding.
If you consider the implications of data loss, having a software tool that helps with data recovery is essential for risk mitigation and keeps your business running. With the current increase in remote working, data risks compound as many online workers use personal or shared computers. A data recovery software proves to be the best solution if, in any case, you’re stuck with the highlighted instances.
Data recovery software leverages your data to reinstate your files and systems to the original uncompromised version. Whether you’re looking for free, paid, beginner, or professional software, there are tools based on your needs.
Free tools are good to use but may limit the type of files you can recover or fail to store backups. Paid software is good but tied to how fast and much data you want to recover.
Beginner versions are easy to use but may not offer customizable control on data types to recover. And lastly, there are professional tools with vibrant features that suit complex business requirements. With that in mind, let’s look at the best data recovery software.
Stellar Data Recovery: An Overview
Stellar Data Recovery is an Indian-based company spanning its presence across the United States and Europe. The organization is certified and specializes in data recovery, data erasure, file repair, and mailbox conversions, among other services.
By providing reliable software, the organization commands the industry with easy-to-use, great innovation, and rich, valuable features that meet a broad spectrum of user needs.
With over 30 years of experience, the company leverages reliable resources and efforts to develop ever-ready solutions to support comprehensive data care for personal and enterprise-based consumers. Having over 3 million global users, Stellar Solutions is consistently growing as one of the most trusted data recovery solution brands.
The Stellar software is a complete data recovery solution addressing all data loss issues. Whether you’re solving deleted data lost in hard drives or resolving optical media loss and deleted partitions, the software is a good fit.
Using a scanning algorithm, the software provides a preview of files to be recovered (where you can choose the files you’d want to restore), and you can specify a desired location for the restored files.
EaseUs: An Overview
Established in 2004, EaseUs is a software company dominating the data industry with technical expertise in data recovery, backup, and comprehensive disk management.
Empowered with the vision to provide convenient and secure digital experiences to everyone, the company flags many products like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, EaseUS Todo Backup, and EaseUs Partition Master,
The company leverages 19 years of technical background and holds a significant influence in the global data security space. At the time of writing, the organization has over 530 million users and 20k partners.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard helps users recover lost files on Mac, Windows, or Windows-compatible devices. The files can be graphics, video, audio, emails, and documents, among other formats. Additionally, the software covers data loss in hard drives, disks, and partitions in a longer list of storage models.
Stellar Data Recovery Vs. EaseUs
There are many factors to evaluate when picking a data recovery tool. Here are some of the most crucial.
- User Interface and Experience (UI/UX)
- Performance and Reliability
- Features and Capabilities
- Customer Support
- Pricing
- Limitations
Let’s break down each of them in detail.
User Interface and Experience (UI/UX)
The user interface and experience are the driving parameters towards adopting any software or digital product. The two solutions have different approaches; let’s break it down.
Stellar
Stellar focuses on a simple, user-friendly solution. In this case, their UI/UX has several key features; a clean and intuitive phase with neat straightforward features which are easy to understand and navigate through the data recovery process.
Next, a step-by-step wizard feature guides you through the data restoration process, backed by explicit instructions for every step. This is especially useful if you’re new to data recovery operations.
Additionally, a preview and selective recovery section allow you to review the files under recovery before initiating the restoration process. This feature helps you identify and specify the files you want to recover, streamlining the user experience.
EaseUs
EaseUS strives for comprehensive features while striking a balance with a friendly interface. The software has a modern and visually appealing design that’s easy on the eyes and engaging to enhance your experience.
The software is intuitive regarding navigation, ensuring you can easily find all options and features. Its menu is well organized, making locating specific functions easy. If you want to recover recently deleted files, you can use the quick scan option. You can opt for the advanced scan if you’re seeking complex scenarios.
In this case, both tools are great. Stellar emphasis is on a simple, guided approach. On the other hand, EaseUS focuses on a visually appealing design with comprehensive features. While UI/UX can be standardized, it varies from one user to another. Therefore, walking through the trial or demo for both software would help you evaluate which one suits you best.
Performance and Reliability
There’s only one way to ensure an accurate comparison between Stellar and EaseUs, a practical sample test case. On purpose, we deleted selected files from our Windows test PC. The test computer is of 1TB hard drive and 8GB RAM. We then run a deep scan with the two software to evaluate how each responds. Both software retrieved the lost data alongside other past files.
EaseUs
EaseUS proved the fastest solution, with a complete standard scan in under one minute. On switching to the deep scan, the software took two and a half hours, using 30% of the CPU and 250 MBs of the RAM.
Stellar
With Stellar, the process to a bit longer, utilizing a relatively higher percentage of computer resources. For the quick scan, the process took four minutes. The deep scan, on the other hand, took twelve hours, drawing 75% of CPU power and 200 MBs from the RAM. If you have a less powerful PC, you’d have trouble running Stellar alongside other PC programs.
EaseUS offers the best performance experience in this case based on its fast response and low CPU usage. However, its worth noting that both tools proved helpful; the difference is in time and computer resources used.
Features and Capabilities
Both tools have rich features that allow for quick and deep scan capabilities. And if you’re looking for free versions, both will serve your needs at both personal and business levels. Both tools are available for the Mac and Windows operating systems. If you’re on the free plan, Stellar allows for up to 1GB data restoration, and EaseUs provides you with 2GB max data.
Stellar
Stellar supports retrieving all known data formats, allowing you to customize configurations if need be. You can recover optical media and files from non-bootable Windows systems, repair corrupt videos and photos, and extract data from encrypted drives. The software is also flexible to scan and work with a redundant array of independent disks (RAIDs) and virtual storage types.
EaseUs
EaseUs is equally powerful with impressive features. It allows you to restore data from formatted drives and damaged disks. The software is capable of retrieving corrupted files and inaccessible data.
Additionally, the software supports a broad spectrum of external storage devices. You’re also provided with flexible options like restoring data while the scan is in progress and previewing recovery files before saving them.
On this occasion, Stellar is the leading option with its availability of many services and the ability to work with all file formats, whether local or cloud storage. That being the case, EaseUs is still good as it supports many external storage models.
Customer Support
The two options have support services. However, you should note that paid subscribers will always be prioritized. Both platforms have great user documentation, which you can always refer to when stuck, and detailed videos to walk you through the data recovery steps (most of these are available on their YouTube channels).
EaseUs
For EaseUs, you can contact customer support through email, live chat, and phone calls. The live chat is accessible over weekdays with a timeline of 9:00 am to 5:30 pm UTC+8. If you’re stuck over the weekend, the closest companion for you can seek solutions is their documentation (it’s an informative base).
Stellar
With Stellar, you’re up for an impressive user support experience. Stellar’s live support agents are knowledgeable and friendly. Their phone support is available using the English language. You can use their online ticket system to request help if you have a complex issue. While the self-help mechanism is excellent, they supplement their efforts with many tutorial videos, how-to guides, and other resources, including a blog and articles.
In this case, we prefer Stellar’s approach to support through many available options based on the complexity of encountered issues. However, EaseUs still has a good support system.
Pricing
Pricing model preferences will vary from one user to another based on the nature of needs, whether individual or enterprise-based. Both solutions have a free trial where you can interact with the software. But let’s evaluate the paid options (prices are as at the time of writing and may be subject to change).
Stellar
Stellar’s paid version follows a license-based approach. The paid plans include standard, professional, premium, technician, and toolkit options. The price ranges will range from $49.99 – $599.00. A lifetime access plan costs $99.
EaseUs
EaseUS allows you to access three paid plans: pro, pro plus bootable media, and technician options. The price ranges from $69.95 – $499.00. Here, you’re charged $149.95 for a lifetime plan.
As you can see, both tools offer you a subscription or a lifetime offer approach. And the good thing is that you’re guaranteed money back. From our experience, price is not a deal breaker. Instead, evaluate other intensity-carrying parameters like those addressed above.
Limitations
The shortcomings of any tool should be evaluated before choosing your solution.
Stellar
With Stellar, the free version does not check for updates. If you’re on the paid version, you’ll have to key in license details on every update, which could be daunting. Additionally, Stellar is slow when generating previews in the recovery process.
EaseUs
EaseUS has pop-up ads that you can’t turn off, making it annoying. Also, the tool tends to be inaccurate about its displayed time for the recovery process on ratifying it with the actual time taken. Moreover, the software supports a few preview formats. Some photo formats may not be supported.
Final Thoughts
Each data recovery tool has its pros and cons. Stellar has a guided approach to data recovery, while EaseUS has an appealing interface. Stellar supports many file formats but is relatively slow compared to EaseUS. EaseUS has a good support approach, but Stellar has a greater one with many options. Both tools, though, will often meet your data recovery needs.
How you choose the right tool will be based on the tradeoffs you’re willing to make. If you keep the right priorities in mind, you can pick the right option.
Next, you can check the best software for Mac data recovery.