Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Clonezilla VS Recuva

Compare Clonezilla VS Recuva and see what are their differences

Clonezilla logo Clonezilla

Clonezilla is a suite of software that's designed to allow you to back-up and image new hard drives with your data.

Recuva logo Recuva

Accidentally deleted an important file? Lost files after a computer crash?
  • Clonezilla Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-16
  • Recuva Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-25

Clonezilla features and specs

  • Free and Open Source
    Clonezilla is available for free and the source code can be reviewed, modified, and distributed by users.
  • Wide Compatibility
    Works with a variety of file systems including ext2, ext3, ext4, reiserfs, xfs, jfs for Linux, and NTFS for Windows.
  • High Performance
    Utilizes programs like Partclone, Partimage, and ntfsclone, which offer efficient cloning and imaging capabilities.
  • Flexible and Powerful
    Provides numerous advanced options and features for power users, including unattended modes and network cloning.
  • Broad Hardware Support
    Compatible with various types of hardware, and can clone a single machine as well as multiple machines simultaneously.

Possible disadvantages of Clonezilla

  • User Interface
    The interface is not very user-friendly and can be challenging for beginners to navigate.
  • Complexity
    Offers a steep learning curve with numerous advanced features and command-line options that may overwhelm novice users.
  • Limited Incremental/Differential Backup
    Does not support incremental or differential backups natively, requiring full backups each time.
  • Limited Support
    Support mainly comes from community forums and documentation, which may not be as reliable or fast as paid technical support.
  • Boot Media Requirement
    Requires creating and booting from live media (CD/USB) for operation, which might be inconvenient for some users.

Recuva features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Recuva features an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface that simplifies the data recovery process, making it accessible for users of all technical levels.
  • Effective File Recovery
    Recuva is capable of recovering a variety of file types from different storage media, including hard drives, USB drives, and memory cards, ensuring comprehensive data recovery solutions.
  • Free Version Available
    Recuva offers a free version with robust data recovery capabilities, making it an attractive option for individuals who need to recover lost files without financial investment.
  • Deep Scan Option
    The software includes a deep scan function that thoroughly searches for lost files, increasing the chances of successful recovery for more severely corrupted or hard-to-find data.
  • Secure Overwrite Feature
    Recuva provides a secure overwrite feature, allowing users to safely delete sensitive files, ensuring that they cannot be recovered in the future.

Possible disadvantages of Recuva

  • Limited Advanced Features
    The free version of Recuva lacks some advanced features available in other professional data recovery tools, potentially limiting its usefulness for more complex recovery tasks.
  • Variable Recovery Success
    The effectiveness of file recovery can be inconsistent, with some reports of incomplete or unsuccessful recoveries, especially for severely damaged or overwritten files.
  • Windows Only
    Recuva is only available for Windows operating systems, meaning it cannot be used on macOS or Linux, limiting its accessibility for users with non-Windows systems.
  • Long Scan Times
    The deep scan feature, while thorough, can be time-consuming, potentially requiring significant waiting periods for the recovery process to complete, especially on large drives.
  • Less Reliable for SSDs
    Recuva may be less effective at recovering data from solid-state drives (SSDs) due to the way these drives handle data deletion, making it less reliable for users with SSDs.

Analysis of Clonezilla

Overall verdict

  • Clonezilla is considered a good tool for those who need a powerful, flexible, and cost-effective solution for disk imaging and cloning tasks. It is particularly well-suited for IT professionals and system administrators who need to manage multiple systems. However, it requires some technical know-how, so it may not be the best fit for users who prefer a more graphical, user-friendly interface.

Why this product is good

  • Clonezilla is highly regarded for its efficiency and reliability in cloning and imaging computer systems. It supports a wide range of file systems and is capable of handling both Linux and Windows partitions. The tool is open-source, which means it is free to use and continuously improved by a community of developers. It offers advanced features like multicasting, unattended mode, and the ability to encrypt images for added security. Users appreciate its robustness and the fact that it can perform full and incremental backups efficiently.

Recommended for

    Clonezilla is recommended for IT professionals, system administrators, and tech-savvy users who need a reliable and cost-effective solution for cloning and imaging tasks. It is ideal for those who are comfortable working with command-line interfaces and require support for a wide range of file systems and disk formats.

Analysis of Recuva

Overall verdict

  • Recuva is considered a reliable and efficient file recovery tool by many users and tech reviewers. While it may not have as many advanced features as some paid recovery tools, its effectiveness, ease of use, and cost-free availability make it a good choice for those who need basic file recovery functionality. However, it is important to note that successful recovery is not always guaranteed, as it largely depends on how much data has been overwritten since deletion.

Why this product is good

  • Recuva is a data recovery software developed by Piriform, the creators of CCleaner. It is well-regarded for its ability to recover accidentally deleted files from various storage devices, including hard drives, USB drives, and memory cards. Its user-friendly interface and deep scan feature make it accessible to a wide range of users, including those with minimal technical expertise. Additionally, it supports a variety of file formats and provides a secure overwrite feature that can securely delete files.

Recommended for

    Recuva is recommended for individuals and businesses who need a simple, no-cost solution for recovering lost or deleted files. It is particularly useful for those who do not require the advanced features of premium data recovery software. It is ideal for users who need to recover photos, documents, emails, and other basic file types from non-damaged drives.

Clonezilla videos

Clonezilla vs Acronis

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Clonezilla Tutorial: How to back up or clone your PC's HDD or SSD
  • Review - Cloning hard drives with Clonezilla!

Recuva videos

Recuva Free Data Recovery - Review and Tutorial

More videos:

  • Review - File Recovery - Stellar Data Recovery VS. Recuva
  • Review - Recuva - Recover Deleted Files

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Clonezilla and Recuva)
Cyber Security
100 100%
0% 0
Backup & Restore
44 44%
56% 56
Data Recovery Software
0 0%
100% 100
Antivirus
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Clonezilla and Recuva

Clonezilla Reviews

Linux File Backup - 5 Best Softeware for Linux Desktop and Server
As the name implies, Clonezilla(secured URL: https://clonezilla.org/) is all about cloning, disk imaging, and more. It is a free backup tool with features like UDPcast, partial cloning, and image partitioning. You can avail yourself of two different editions: Clonezilla Live (general users) and Clonezilla SE (server usage).
Source: www.easeus.com
The Best Free Backup Software and Why it is Difficult to Find One
Clonezilla claims to be a similar software solution to what Acronis True Image and other programs offered – a disk imaging/cloning program with unimpressive capabilities but with an amazing operation speed. Clonezilla has different versions of itself for regular users and servers with large numbers of machines – Clonezilla live and Clonezilla SE, respectively. It can perform...
Source: www.bacula.org
Top 7 Best Hard Disk Repair Software for Windows in 2022 (That Actually Can Rescue Your HDD!)
The best way to guard against data loss is to create backups. Cloning entire drives – or at least the important partitions – can save you much headache in the event of a drive failure. CloneZilla is the perfect freeware tool for this task, with some basic MBR repair capabilities, tacked on.
The Top 17 Free and Open Source Backup Solutions
Clonezilla is open source backup software from Symantec Ghost Corporate Edition, based DRBL. The primary mechanism of the solution includes image partition, partial clone, and udpcast, as well as bare metal backup and recovery udpcast. There are two versions of Clonezilla are available: Clonezilla live for single machine backup and restore, and Clonezilla SE for a server. In...
15 Best Acronis Alternatives 2022
Clonezilla is unaffected by the OS of the computer being cloned, backed up, or restored. For Clonezilla Live, it is installed on a CD/DVD or USB first, or it can be used as a server application in the case of Clonezilla Server instead.

Recuva Reviews

The 8 Proven Mobile Phone Data Recovery Softwares [Updated in 2023]
Recuva Android data recovery is also a good mobile data recovery software. If you want to restore deleted photos, videos, documents, and other data files from your phone, Recuva is a good choice for restoring phone data.
Top 6 Effective SD Card Recovery Softwares ( Updated in 2023 )
Among many data recovery softwares, Recuva is also a good free SD card recovery option. We used Recuva to test the four data recovery scenarios mentioned above on the SD card, Recuva 100% restored JPG images. Recuva also performs well in other types of data recovery of SD cards. Although the free version of Recuva data recovery is more stable, there are certain limitations....
The 6 Most Effective WhatsApp Recovery Apps for Android Device
Recuva is also a great Android WhatsApp Recovery software, and its biggest feature is that it is free. Users can use the software to find deleted Android data without any pressure. This includes missing WhatsApp data such as chats, contacts, audio, photos, videos, other files, music, etc.
8 Reliable Hard Drive Recovery Softwares for Windows and Mac
Piriform Recuva is one of the well-known hard disk recovery software tools. Its main feature is the design of interaction with users. By asking the user a few questions, Recuva guides the user through data recovery in a very friendly way.
Top 10 Free Paid Photo Recovery Softwares in 2022
Another tool not to be missed on our list is Recuva, a desktop application that has become one of the most popular tools in the field. It is free to download and use with limitations. To remove these restrictions, you need to purchase a license and activate the software. On the other hand, Recuva is useful and free photo recovery software.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Clonezilla seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 2 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Clonezilla mentions (2)

  • Upgrading mass storage on laptop and keeping windows license
    Cloning drive using https://sourceforge.net/projects/clonezilla/ should work. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Best OS for Java dev
    It wakes your machine up (if properly setup) and performs a incremental backup during the night. There are other ways using free software but they are advanced and mostly only worth if you want to learn how to get those things work. Source: over 3 years ago

Recuva mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Recuva yet. Tracking of Recuva recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Clonezilla and Recuva, you can also consider the following products

Acronis True Image - (Formerly Acronis True Image) Complete protection for your digital life

Disk Drill by Cleverfiles - Recover any type of deleted files in Windows & Mac including Office documents, messages, and media files quickly and easily.

Macrium Reflect - Macrium Software - the creators of Macrium Reflect backup, imaging and cloning software.

TestDisk - TestDisk is a free and open source data recovery software tool designed to recover lost partition and unerase deleted files. DownloadDownload TestDisk & PhotoRec. TestDisk is a free and open .

HDclone - HDClone by Miray Software is the universal tool for cloning disks and other mass storage media fast and easily. To be used for backups, data recovery, system migration and professional duplication of several disks at a time.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard - Advanced data recovery software to do format recovery, unformat and recover deleted files emptied...