What data recovery costs
Between 150 and 2,000 euros – that range is not arbitrary. It reflects four factors that can be named precisely.
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Why no serious provider quotes a price on the phone
The effort only becomes apparent once the medium has been examined. A drive with a damaged head and an intact surface is a job of a few hours. The same model with a scratched platter can take days and still deliver only part of the data. Anyone naming a binding figure before the analysis is either guessing or planning to adjust it later.
That is exactly why the analysis is free here: it is the only honest basis for a price.
The four factors
Type of damage
Logical damage – deleted, formatted, damaged file system – is evaluation work at the workstation. Mechanical damage means opening the drive in a clean environment, finding a matching donor, replacing the head assembly and reading out with an adapted strategy. That is a different order of magnitude in time and equipment.
Number of media
With RAID and NAS every drive is repaired and imaged individually before the array can be reassembled. Four drives are roughly four times the work of one, plus the reconstruction of the array parameters on top.
Condition of the surface
A few unreadable sectors are routine. Hundreds of thousands of them mean days of reading with repeated passes at different intensities, because each pass takes only what the drive will give up at that moment.
Urgency
Normal processing runs in the usual queue. Prioritised handling means someone else's case waits, and work outside business hours is paid overtime. Both are legitimate surcharges – they should just be stated openly.
What to watch out for in offers
Flat rates that sound too good. A fixed “99 € for every case” cannot cover clean-room work. Either the price rises later, or the case is declined once it turns out to be mechanical.
Analysis fees that are not credited. Common and legitimate, but they should be visible before you send anything.
Missing file lists. Without a list of what was found you are paying for a promise. A serious quote says which folders and files exist before you decide.
“No data, no cost” without a definition. The phrase only means something if it is clear what counts as success. Agree that beforehand.
What you can do to keep the price down
Switch the device off early, do not run recovery software over a noisy drive, and say what has already been tried. A case that arrives untouched is cheaper than the same case after three days of self-help – not because of a surcharge, but because there is less to repair.
Frequently asked questions
Why is there no fixed price list?
There are guide values per medium, and there is a binding fixed price after the analysis. What does not exist is a serious price before anyone has looked at the drive.
Does the analysis cost anything?
Not with us. Only an express analysis outside the normal queue is charged, and it is credited against the order.
Is a cheaper provider automatically worse?
No, but ask what is included: is the analysis free, is there a file list, and does the price hold if the case turns out to be mechanical?
Lost data? Every further start-up attempt can do harm.
Call us or describe the case briefly in the form. The initial assessment is free of charge.