How much does data recovery cost?
Short answer
Most US labs do not publish a fixed price. Secure Data Recovery's pricing page gives a typical range of $100 to $300 per hour, and SALVAGEDATA quotes $300 to $1000 for minor fixes and $1100 to $1900 for major incidents such as disk crashes or water damage. Each lab checked offers a free evaluation, and two back it with a no data, no fee promise. The dependable number is the quote after diagnosis, which costs nothing.
There is no standard US price for data recovery, and most professional labs do not publish a fixed one. Secure Data Recovery is the one lab checked that puts a number on professional work: it says services typically range from $100 to $300 per hour, and argues against flat or per-gigabyte rates because every case differs. SALVAGEDATA is more direct, quoting $300 to $1000 for minor fixes and $1100 to $1900 for major incidents such as disk crashes or water damage. Ontrack's US site publishes no prices at all. The dependable figure is the quote a lab gives you for your own drive after a free evaluation, before you owe anything.[1][2][3]
Treat every published figure as a vendor describing its own work, not a market rate. The labs checked here publish numbers in different shapes: an hourly range from one, device bands from another, and nothing at all from a third. The one reliable number for your drive is the fixed quote that follows a free assessment.[1][2][3]
What moves the price
Labs quote per job instead of listing prices because the work varies enormously. Getting back files deleted from a healthy drive is mostly software work. A drive with failed internal parts may need to be opened in a clean environment and have parts transplanted before anything can be read, which means specialist equipment and hours of skilled time. A multi-drive RAID or NAS array adds a further layer: the layout has to be worked out and rebuilt before your files are even visible. SALVAGEDATA's published bands follow that shape, with minor fixes at the low end and major incidents such as disk crashes or water damage at the high end.[2]
What three US labs publish
| Lab | Prices published | Assessment | Service levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secure Data Recovery | An hourly range for professional services ($100 to $300 per hour); no fixed per-job prices | Free diagnostic and quote | Standard: diagnostics within 72 hours, turnaround 5 to 9 business days. Expedited: diagnostics within 24 hours, turnaround 2 to 4 days |
| SALVAGEDATA | $300 to $1000 for minor fixes; $1100 to $1900 for major incidents such as disk crashes or water damage | Free in-lab evaluation of unopened drives, free shipping | ECO, Standard and Emergency, with data download limits of 50 GB, 100 GB and 500 GB |
| Ontrack | None on the US site | Free evaluation and consultation | Emergency (24/7 until completion), Priority (average 2 to 5 business days), Standard (average 7 to 14 business days) |
Free evaluations, and the no data no fee pattern
Each lab checked offers a free start, and two promise you pay nothing if the data does not come back. Secure Data Recovery says every case starts with a free diagnostic and quote, backed by a No Data, No Recovery Fee guarantee: if the target data cannot be recovered, it states it does not charge for the work. SALVAGEDATA advertises a free in-lab evaluation of unopened drives and free shipping, with a No Data, No Charge policy and an invoice sent only after you confirm everything you needed was restored. Ontrack offers a free evaluation and consultation.[1][2][4]
Service levels are about speed, not price
Where labs list service tiers, the tiers describe speed, not price. Secure Data Recovery's Standard service promises diagnostics within 72 hours and turnaround of 5 to 9 business days, while Expedited promises diagnostics within 24 hours and turnaround of 2 to 4 days. Ontrack names Emergency, Priority and Standard, averaging 2 to 5 and 7 to 14 business days, and attaches no prices to any tier. None of the checked pages prices its faster tiers, so expect that premium to arrive in your quote.[1][4]
Getting a price for your own drive
From inquiry to fixed quote
- Ask before sending anything whether the evaluation is free and carries no obligation to proceed; each lab checked offers a free start.
- Send the device in, or take it to a lab, and let them diagnose it.
- Expect a quote for the work, and ask for the list of files the lab expects to recover.
- Compare quotes from more than one lab, including what each says happens if you decline.
- Agree only once the price is fixed, and check that nothing is charged if the data cannot be recovered.
Related reading
How to choose a data recovery service
How much does data recovery cost in the UK?
How long does data recovery take?
Work out what is wrong with your device
Sources
Facts on this page are cited to the publishers’ own documentation.
- [1] Ontrack (KLDiscovery) — Ontrack Data Recovery Services | US. captured 2026-09-13.
- [2] SALVAGEDATA Recovery Services — SALVAGEDATA Recovery Services. captured 2026-09-13.
- [3] Secure Data Recovery — How Much Does Professional Data Recovery Cost? | Secure Data Recovery. captured 2026-09-13.
- [4] Secure Data Recovery — Secure Data Recovery. captured 2026-09-13.
- [5] SALVAGEDATA Recovery Services — SALVAGEDATA Service Options. captured 2026-09-13.