Ontrack Data Recovery Alternative
Published prices. Direct technician access. All work in-house in Austin.
Ontrack serves everyone from individuals to Fortune 500 accounts, and their data recovery service terms set the price the same way for every recovery: the fee is the one stated in the quotation. For standard data recovery those terms have you ship the equipment in first, then they report a free evaluation, then the quotation arrives. Rossmann Group publishes every tier on our website. You know the price before you ship.
Sealed helium drives are on their own price list, $200–$5,000+. When a head swap or platter repair opens one, we refill it with helium. That adds $400–$800, and the donor has to be an exact match. Helium drive prices
What Is Ontrack Data Recovery?
Ontrack is a data recovery and ediscovery company. Its own history page says Ontrack began in 1985 and formed Ontrack Data Recovery in 1987; Kroll acquired it in 2002, KLDiscovery acquired Kroll Ontrack in 2016, and the business trades today as KLDiscovery Ontrack, LLC. Its service terms set the price in a quotation issued after a free evaluation.
Ontrack's history page dates the company to 1985 and the formation of Ontrack Data Recovery to 1987. Kroll acquired it in 2002, KLDiscovery acquired Kroll Ontrack in 2016, and the footer today reads KLDiscovery Ontrack, LLC. Their site says they run cleanroom facilities worldwide, and their catalog covers desktop, laptop, external drive, NAS, server, RAID, tape, and mobile recovery, plus tape audit, restore and migration work and Ontrack PowerControls for Exchange, SharePoint and SQL environments.
Ontrack also sells Ontrack EasyRecovery software and serves individual consumers. Their service terms describe one path for standard data recovery: a telephone consultation, web form or email, then you send the equipment in, then a free evaluation, then a quotation that sets the fee.
Side-by-Side: Ontrack vs. Rossmann Group
| Factor | Ontrack | Rossmann Group |
|---|---|---|
| Published Pricing | No. Fee set in a quotation after evaluation. | Yes. 5 HDD tiers ($100–$2,000). 5 SSD tiers ($200–$1,500). |
| Typical Cost (HDD) | Quoted after a free evaluation | $100–$2,000 |
| Evaluation Fee | Free consultation and free evaluation; return delivery cost is yours if you decline the quotation | Free. No diagnostic fees, ever. |
| Who You Talk To | Consultation with specialists; business cases get a dedicated Data Services Representative | The technician who opens your drive answers your questions. |
| Software Upsells | Yes (Ontrack EasyRecovery, Ontrack PowerControls) | None. We do not sell software. |
Who Handles Your Case at Ontrack?
Ontrack publishes a four-step process: a free consultation with, in their words, "quick and direct access to specialists" and a no-obligation quote; an evaluation once the device arrives, which returns a file list of recoverable data; the recovery itself, tracked through a secure portal; and return of the data on an encrypted external device.
For business cases their data recovery page adds "a dedicated Data Services Representative to guide you through the data recovery process from start to finish." What the published process does not give you is a number: their service terms put the fee in a quotation that arrives after the equipment is already in their lab.
At Rossmann Group, the person who evaluates your drive is the person who picks up the phone. You can ask about head condition, platter scoring, firmware state, or NAND chip readability, and get a direct answer from the technician looking at your hardware. Read about our full intake-to-delivery process.
When Ontrack Makes Sense
Ontrack has been recovering data since 1987 and says it runs cleanroom facilities worldwide. They are a reasonable choice when:
- You need tape work. Their tape recovery page lists LTO, DLT, SuperDLT (sDLT) and DLT s4 among the media they recover from
- You want ediscovery, email extraction, data destruction or erasure verification from the same vendor that does the recovery
- You need Exchange, SharePoint or SQL items pulled out of a backup, which is what Ontrack PowerControls is built for
What Ontrack Does Well
Ontrack handles work most independent labs never touch. Their tape recovery page lists LTO, DLT, SuperDLT (sDLT) and DLT s4 among the media they recover from. Ediscovery, email extraction, data destruction and erasure verification sit in the same service catalog, so a corporate IT team can pull recovery and evidence handling from one vendor.
Tape is the clearest example. Their tape recovery page gives formatted LTO, quick-erased or partially overwritten LTO (Ultrium), and overwritten tapes including DLT as examples of successful recoveries, lists LTO, DLT, SuperDLT (sDLT) and DLT s4 among the media they read, and sells tape audit, cataloging, restoration and migration services alongside the recovery work. Server and RAID recovery sit in the same catalog, and their data recovery page says over 50,000 clients a year, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, use the service.
The adjacent services matter too. Ediscovery, email extraction, data destruction and erasure verification are part of the same operation, so a corporate IT team can pull recovery and evidence handling from one vendor, and Ontrack PowerControls covers Exchange, SharePoint and SQL extraction from backups. If your case is a degraded enterprise array rather than one disk, our own RAID and array recovery service solves the array problem at a published tier.
Where Rossmann Is Appropriate
A single failed HDD or SSD, a dead external drive, or a laptop that stopped booting: for these, what decides the outcome is the bench work and what you were told it would cost. Equipment is not the dividing line, and a published tier you can read today is the thing you cannot get from a quotation process.
A single failed HDD or SSD, a dead external drive, a laptop that stopped booting: for these the whole job is one drive on one bench, and the only thing you can compare between labs beforehand is the number. A simple copy from a functional drive is $100, and you can read every tier on our published pricing page before you ship.
Equipment is not the dividing line. We run PC-3000 Express, PC-3000 Portable III, PC-3000 SSD, and DeepSpar Disk Imager, and we list them on our PC-3000 tooling page. If we don't get your data back, you don't pay a recovery fee. That's our no-data-no-fee guarantee.
What Can You Compare Before You Ship?
Rossmann Group publishes five HDD tiers and five SSD tiers. Ontrack's service terms set the fee in a quotation issued after a free evaluation, so the comparison is a published number against a number that arrives once the drive is already gone.
- Published HDD and SSD tiers
Rossmann Group publishes five HDD tiers and five SSD tiers on our pricing page. A simple copy from a functional drive costs $100. Head swap cases cost $1,200–$1,500. You can compare those numbers to any competitor in five seconds.
- The software upsell
- Ontrack sells Ontrack EasyRecovery as a consumer product. Their data recovery page sets the scope: recovery software "can be a good first step" for devices that are "still working correctly but have lost data due to logical issues such as corruption or accidental deletion." Their EasyRecovery product page states no such limit. Outside that scope the software is a hazard. Running a scanner against a head failure, firmware corruption or a seized motor keeps the drive working while it degrades, and it does not make the lab recovery that follows any cheaper.
The walkthrough below is a recovery filmed in the Austin lab: clean bench disassembly, head inspection, donor matching, and PC-3000 imaging on a single drive.
HDD Recovery: Published Tiers, Not Custom Quotes
Five tiers based on the fault type. Every tier is published on our website. No consultation call required to see the price.
- Low complexity
Simple Copy
Your drive works, you just need the data moved off it
Functional drive; data transfer to new media
Rush available: +$100
$100
3-5 business days
- Low complexity
File System Recovery
Your drive isn't recognized by your computer, but it's not making unusual sounds
File system corruption. Accessible with professional recovery software but not by the OS
Starting price; final depends on complexity
From $250
2-4 weeks
- Medium complexity
Firmware Repair
Your drive is completely inaccessible. It may be detected but shows the wrong size or won't respond
Firmware corruption: ROM, modules, or translator tables corrupted; requires PC-3000 terminal access
CMR drive: $600. SMR drive: $900.
$600–$900
3-6 weeks
- High complexity
Head Swap
Bench diagnosis found the read/write heads have to be replaced. Clicking can also come from firmware, the preamp, or the spindle
Head stack assembly failure. Transplanting heads from a matching donor drive on a clean bench
50% deposit required. CMR: $1,200-$1,500 + donor. SMR: $1,500 + donor.
50% deposit required
$1,200–$1,500
4-8 weeks
- High complexity
Surface / Platter Damage
Your drive was dropped, has visible damage, or a head crash scraped the platters
Platter scoring or contamination. Requires platter cleaning and head swap
50% deposit required. Donor parts are consumed in the repair. Most difficult recovery type.
50% deposit required
$2,000
4-8 weeks
Hardware Repair vs. Software Locks
Our "no data, no fee" policy applies to hardware recovery. We do not bill for unsuccessful physical repairs. If we replace a hard drive read/write head assembly or repair a liquid-damaged logic board to a bootable state, the hardware repair is complete and standard rates apply. If data remains inaccessible due to user-configured software locks, a forgotten passcode, or a remote wipe command, the physical repair is still billable. We cannot bypass user encryption or activation locks.
No data, no fee. Free evaluation and firm quote before any paid work. Full guarantee details. Head swap and surface damage require a 50% deposit because donor parts are consumed in the attempt.
- Rush fee
- +$100 rush fee to move to the front of the queue
- Donor drives
- Donor drives are matching drives used for parts. Typical donor cost: $50–$150 for common drives, $200–$400 for rare or high-capacity models. We source the cheapest compatible donor available.
- Target drive
- The destination drive we copy recovered data onto. You can supply your own, or we'll provide one. For larger capacities (8TB, 10TB, 16TB and above), target drives cost $400+ extra. All prices are plus applicable tax.
Sealed helium drives are on their own price list, $200–$5,000+. When a head swap or platter repair opens one, we refill it with helium. That adds $400–$800, and the donor has to be an exact match. Helium drive prices
Published SSD Recovery Tiers
SSD recovery involves firmware repair with PC-3000 SSD, controller-level work, or chip-off reading. None of these procedures require a cleanroom. Every tier below is published, so you can price the work before you ship the drive.
Low complexity
Simple Copy
Your drive works, you just need the data moved off it
Functional drive; data transfer to new media
Rush available: +$100
$200
3-5 business days
Low complexity
File System Recovery
Your drive isn't showing up, but it's not physically damaged
File system corruption. Visible to recovery software but not to OS
Starting price; final depends on complexity
From $250
2-4 weeks
Medium complexity
Circuit Board Repair
Your drive won't power on or has shorted components
PCB issues: failed voltage regulators, dead PMICs, shorted capacitors
May require a donor drive (additional cost)
$450–$600
3-6 weeks
Medium complexity
Most Common
Firmware Recovery
Your drive is detected but shows the wrong name, wrong size, or no data
Firmware corruption: ROM, modules, or system files corrupted
Price depends on extent of bad areas in NAND
$600–$1,200
3-6 weeks
High complexity
PCB / NAND Swap
Your drive's circuit board is severely damaged and requires NAND chip transplant to a donor PCB
NAND swap onto donor PCB. Precision microsoldering and BGA rework required
50% deposit required; donor drive cost additional
50% deposit required
$1,200–$1,500
4-8 weeks
Hardware Repair vs. Software Locks
Our "no data, no fee" policy applies to hardware recovery. We do not bill for unsuccessful physical repairs. If we replace a hard drive read/write head assembly or repair a liquid-damaged logic board to a bootable state, the hardware repair is complete and standard rates apply. If data remains inaccessible due to user-configured software locks, a forgotten passcode, or a remote wipe command, the physical repair is still billable. We cannot bypass user encryption or activation locks.
No data, no fee. Free evaluation and firm quote before any paid work. Full guarantee details. NAND swap requires a 50% deposit because donor parts are consumed in the attempt.
- Rush fee
- +$100 rush fee to move to the front of the queue
- Donor drives
- A donor drive is a matching SSD used for its circuit board. Typical donor cost: $40–$100 for common models, $150–$300 for discontinued or rare controllers.
- Target drive
- The destination drive we copy recovered data onto. You can supply your own or we provide one at cost plus a small markup. All prices are plus applicable tax.
When Does Ontrack EasyRecovery Software Make Recovery Harder?
Ontrack sells data recovery software (Ontrack EasyRecovery) as a consumer product. Software recovery has a narrow use case: it works on drives that are physically healthy but have logical damage (accidental deletion, partition corruption, format errors).
If your drive clicks, grinds, or is not recognized by the BIOS, running recovery software will not help. These symptoms point to physical failures (head crash, motor seizure, firmware corruption) that require hardware-level intervention with PC-3000 or a clean bench.
Running software on a drive with a physical fault forces the heads to keep sweeping degraded platters. Each pass deepens existing scratches and scatters debris. The drive you send to a lab after running software is harder to recover than the drive you would have sent before. If you hear unusual sounds from your drive, power it off and contact a lab directly.
Why Software Cannot Fix a Dead SSD Controller
When a Phison PS5012-E12 controller loses power without a clean shutdown, its flash translation layer corrupts. The drive either reports 0 bytes capacity or drops from the BIOS entirely. No file-level recovery software can address a corrupted FTL; the failure is below the file system layer.
Recovery requires connecting the SSD to the PC-3000 SSD with the PC-3000 SSD Extended add-on, and manually rebuilding the translator module. This is firmware-level SSD recovery, not a software scan. Ontrack EasyRecovery is a file recovery scanner, and Ontrack's data recovery page limits recovery software to devices that are "still working correctly." A drive whose controller never presents is not one of them, and no scanner reads it. NVMe firmware repair at Rossmann Group costs $900–$1,200.
What Recovery Tools Do Data Recovery Labs Use?
Tools for this work include PC-3000 from ACE Lab, DeepSpar Disk Imager, and Atola Insight Forensic. Ontrack's site describes cleanroom facilities worldwide and a global R&D team.
Rossmann Group uses PC-3000 Express, PC-3000 Portable III, PC-3000 SSD, and DeepSpar Disk Imager. Head swaps and platter work happen inside a 0.02 µm ULPA-filtered laminar flow clean bench. We name them publicly and show them on camera.
Who Actually Recovers Your Data?
Ontrack's published process puts a free consultation with specialists at the front, a dedicated Data Services Representative on business cases, and status updates in a secure customer portal.
At Rossmann Group, the recovery engineer is the point of contact. When you call with a question about your Seagate Barracuda's head stack or your Samsung 870 EVO's firmware table, the person answering has the drive on the bench. No translation layer. No game of telephone between you and the person doing the work.
SSD Recovery Does Not Require a Cleanroom
Ontrack's enterprise page says its advanced cleanroom facilities increase how much data they can recover from damaged media. Strict particulate control matters for mechanical hard drive head swaps, where exposed platters can be damaged by airborne particles. It is irrelevant for SSD firmware recovery. An SSD has no moving parts, no exposed magnetic surfaces, and no platters to contaminate.
If an SSD's controller encrypts the NAND with AES-256, the key is tied to that controller's silicon. If the power management IC fails, the NAND chips cannot be desoldered and read independently; the encryption keys live on the original controller. Recovery requires component-level microsoldering to repair the power delivery circuit so the original controller can decrypt the data. This work happens under a microscope with a Hakko FM-2032 soldering iron, not inside a cleanroom.
What You Pay: Tier by Tier
A simple data copy from a working drive costs $100 at Rossmann Group. File system corruption recovery starts at $250.
Firmware repair using PC-3000 runs $600–$900. Head swap cases, where a failed read/write head assembly is physically replaced inside a clean bench, cost $1,200–$1,500. The most complex cases involving platter surface damage top out at $2,000.
Every tier above was published before you read it. For a full breakdown of what each tier covers, read our cost guide.
Ontrack Data Recovery: Common Questions
How much does Ontrack data recovery cost?
Is Ontrack data recovery worth it?
What is the cheapest data recovery service?
How long does Ontrack data recovery take?
Does Ontrack charge for evaluation?
Can Ontrack EasyRecovery fix a drive showing "SATAFIRM S11"?
Why do enterprise labs quote custom pricing for SSD firmware reconstruction?
Where These Ontrack Statements Come From
Every statement about Ontrack on this page comes from a page Ontrack publishes. Each one is listed below with the wording it carries and the date we read it. The addresses are printed as text, not linked. An attempt to save all seven addresses to the Internet Archive was refused, so no Wayback capture of these retrievals exists yet.
Ontrack data recovery service terms and conditions
ontrack.com/en-us/legal/data-recovery-terms · document dated April 29, 2024 · read September 19, 2026. Definition (k) sets the Fee as "the fee payable by you for the Services, as set out in the relevant Quotation." Clause 4.1 sets the standard path: telephone consultation, online form or email, then you send the equipment, then Ontrack reports the results of a "Free Evaluation" and provides a quotation. Clause 4.3 puts the delivery cost of returning equipment on the customer. Clause 5.5 says the estimated completion date is given during the order process. Clause 12.1 sets the price as the Fee in the relevant quotation.
Ontrack data recovery service page
ontrack.com/en-us/data-recovery · read September 19, 2026. Carries the four-step process: "quick and direct access to specialists" and a no obligation quote; "The entire evaluation process is transparent, with no hidden costs" and a "file list of recoverable data"; recovery tracked "through our secure portal"; return "on an encrypted external device." Adds "a dedicated Data Services Representative to guide you through the data recovery process from start to finish" for business cases, and "Over 50,000 clients from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies rely on our best-in-class data recovery services each year." Lists three service levels: Emergency, "24/7 Until Completion"; Priority, "Average of 2-5 business days"; Standard, "Average of 7-14 business days." Carries the sentence about software: "For devices that are still working correctly but have lost data due to logical issues such as corruption or accidental deletion, Data recovery software can be a good first step." Its catalog covers desktop, laptop, external hard drive, NAS, server, RAID, tape and mobile or tablet recovery, data destruction, erasure verification, ediscovery, email extraction, and Ontrack PowerControls for Exchange, SharePoint and SQL.
Ontrack company history page
ontrack.com/en-us/about/history · read September 19, 2026. "Ontrack began its journey in 1985" and the software's success led to "the formation of Ontrack Data Recovery in 1987." The 1987 entry reads "Ontrack perform the world's first data recovery." The 2002 entry reads "Kroll Inc. acquires Ontrack and forms a new wholly owned subsidiary of Kroll named Kroll Ontrack Inc." The 2016 entry reads "KLDiscovery acquires Kroll Ontrack." The footer reads "KLDiscovery Ontrack, LLC, 9023 Columbine Road Eden Prairie, MN 55347."
Ontrack home page
ontrack.com/en-us/ · read September 19, 2026. "With cleanroom facilities worldwide and engineering expertise in every major global region, you can count on Ontrack for all your data recovery, restoration, and destruction needs." Also "We provide a simple, 4-step data recovery process, including a free evaluation and the ability to track your recovery through our secure portal." Lists Ontrack EasyRecovery and Ontrack PowerControls as products.
Ontrack tape recovery page
ontrack.com/en-us/data-recovery/tape · read September 19, 2026. Examples of successful recoveries include "Formatted LTO", "Quick-erased or partially overwritten data from LTO (Ultrium) tape media" and "Overwritten tapes (including DLT)." The media list reads "LTO" and "DLT, SuperDLT (sDLT), DLT s4", among others. Tape services listed are migration, cataloging and restoration, alongside tape audit, index and catalog work.
Ontrack EasyRecovery product page
ontrack.com/en-us/software/easyrecovery · read September 19, 2026. Sells six versions: Free, Home, Professional, Premium, Technician and Toolkit. The product "recovers from SSD and conventional hard drives, memory cards, USB hard drives, flash drives as well as optical media" and offers a quick scan and a deep scan.
Ontrack enterprise data recovery page
ontrack.com/en-us/data-recovery/enterprise · read September 19, 2026. "Our advanced cleanroom facilities increase the amount of data which can be recovered from damaged media." Describes "the world's largest R&D team in data recovery" and Ontrack PowerControls for Exchange, SharePoint and SQL.
Data Recovery Standards & Verification
Our Austin lab operates on a transparency-first model. We use industry-standard recovery tools, including PC-3000 and DeepSpar, combined with strict environmental controls to maintain drive integrity. This approach allows us to serve clients nationwide with consistent technical standards.
Localized Clean Zone
Open-drive work is performed in a 0.02 micron ULPA-filtered laminar clean bench.
Transparent History
Serving clients nationwide via mail-in service since 2008. Our lead engineer holds PC-3000 and HEX Akademia certifications for hard drive firmware repair and mechanical recovery.
Media Coverage
Our repair work has been covered by The Wall Street Journal and Business Insider, with CBC News reporting on our pricing transparency. Louis Rossmann has testified in Right to Repair hearings in multiple states and founded the Repair Preservation Group.
Aligned Incentives
Our "No Data, No Charge" policy means we assume the risk of the recovery attempt, not the client.
Technical Oversight
Louis Rossmann
Our engineers review all lab protocols to maintain technical accuracy and honest service. Since 2008, his focus has been on clear technical communication and accurate diagnostics rather than sales-driven explanations.
We believe in showing the bench rather than just describing it. Open-drive work runs on a 0.02 micron ULPA-filtered laminar clean bench, and we filmed it.
See the particle counter test at the benchSince 2008
Established
As Featured In
Related services
Related Pages
Side-by-side pricing comparison
Published pricing vs call-for-quote
How to evaluate recovery labs
Comparison across top labs
Full tier-by-tier pricing breakdown
Step-by-step from intake to delivery
Read the Price Before You Ship
Published pricing. Free evaluation. Direct access to the engineer recovering your data.