Data recovery from a drive: 2026 prices, HDD, SSD, phone, card

indekscen.pl editorial team · published 30 September 2026 · prices according to the 5 October 2026 index

Data recovery from a drive with logical damage, for example after files have been deleted or the system has failed, most often costs PLN 650 in Poland, with a typical range of PLN 625 ‑ 750. Mechanical damage, when a drive has been dropped or is clicking, costs around PLN 1,450, as it requires work in a cleanroom. Diagnosis may be free if you commission the recovery.

Losing years’ worth of photos or company documents is a situation in which it is easy to agree to pay any amount. However, it is worth knowing that the recovery price mainly depends on one question: is the drive damaged logically or physically? We collected prices from public laboratory and repair shop price lists to show how much recovery costs in each case and what not to do before handing the storage device over to specialists.

How much does data recovery from a drive cost?

Data recovery from a drive with logical damage most often costs PLN 650, based on 3 laboratory price lists collected by indekscen.pl. Half of the prices fall within PLN 625 ‑ 750, while the full range is from PLN 200 to PLN 1,500. The price usually includes diagnosing the storage device and the recovery procedure itself.

You also need to pay for a new storage device onto which the laboratory copies the recovered files, as well as courier charges if you send the drive by post. Laboratories usually provide a final price only after diagnosis, because the extent of the damage is not known beforehand. Details and sources for each price are available at data recovery.

Logical or mechanical damage: why is there a price difference?

Data recovery from a mechanically damaged drive costs around PLN 1,450, which is clearly more than logical recovery, with a median of PLN 650. With logical damage, the drive works and the problem lies with the files: deleted data, a formatted partition or a corrupted file system. The specialist then uses analysis software to work on a copy of the drive.

Mechanical damage includes a dropped drive, burnt-out electronics or damaged heads. The drive must be opened in a cleanroom, its heads replaced with parts from a donor drive, and only then can the data be read. This requires equipment, parts and time, which is why it increases the price so much.

Type of recovery	Typical cost	Example situation
Logical recovery (drive, USB flash drive)	PLN 625 ‑ 750	deleted files, formatting, system failure
Mechanical recovery, cleanroom	around PLN 1,450	dropped drive, clicking, burnt-out electronics
Recovery from a damaged drive at a computer repair shop	around PLN 2,100	the drive is not detected by the computer
Data recovery from a SIM card	around PLN 300	contacts and text messages stored on the card
Phone diagnosis before recovery	around PLN 160	the phone will not switch on

Median and typical range from public price lists, as at 5 October 2026. Each price includes a source and quotation on the service page.

How much does data recovery from an SSD cost?

Data recovery from an SSD usually costs at least as much as from an HDD, and in the event of controller failure, the price approaches that of mechanical recovery, around PLN 1,450. We do not yet have a separate median for SSDs. SSDs have no moving parts, but their data is distributed and often encrypted by the controller, so specialist tools are required to read it when the electronics fail.

Time is also important with an SSD. After files are deleted, the system may clear the free blocks using the TRIM command, making logical recovery impossible. If you have deleted something important from an SSD, switch off the computer as quickly as possible.

How much does data recovery at a data recovery laboratory cost?

Data recovery at a laboratory usually costs PLN 625 ‑ 750 for logical damage and around PLN 1,450 for mechanical damage, according to the laboratory price lists used to calculate the median. Laboratories differ from ordinary computer repair shops because they have a cleanroom and a stock of drive parts, allowing them to handle cases that repair shops cannot.

Most laboratories follow a similar process: free or inexpensive diagnosis, quotation, customer approval, recovery and payment only upon success. It is worth making sure that the company does not charge if the data cannot be recovered and that it will provide a list of recovered files before payment.

How much does data recovery from a phone or SD card cost?

Data recovery from a phone usually begins with a diagnosis, which costs around PLN 160 in one of the price lists, while the recovery itself most often falls within PLN 625 ‑ 750. A phone with a damaged motherboard is a more difficult case because the memory is soldered in place and encrypted, so the data can only be read after the phone has been repaired.

SD cards and USB flash drives are recovered in the same way as drives: logical damage is usually priced at the lower end of the price list, while physical damage to the memory costs more. Data recovery from a SIM card, meaning contacts and messages stored on the card, costs around PLN 300.

If your phone will not charge, read the article on replacing a phone charging port before commissioning data recovery. Sometimes the data becomes immediately accessible after a less expensive repair.

Can data be recovered after resetting a phone?

After a modern phone has been restored to factory settings, data recovery is usually impossible because the memory is encrypted and the reset deletes the encryption key. The only realistic options are backups stored in the manufacturer’s cloud service or on a computer. A laboratory cannot do much in this situation, even for PLN 1,500, so an honest company will tell you this during diagnosis.

How can you recover data for free?

Data can only be recovered for free in simple cases of logical damage on a working drive, for example after files have accidentally been deleted from a USB flash drive. Free file recovery software can be used for this. Before you try, remember a few rules:

1. Stop writing data to the storage device. Each new file may overwrite the files you want to recover.
2. Do not install the software on the same drive. Run it from another computer or drive.
3. Save recovered files to a different storage device.
4. Do not use a drive that clicks, beeps or is not detected. Each time a mechanically damaged drive is switched on, the condition of the platters deteriorates and the price of subsequent recovery increases.
5. Do not open the drive yourself. Dust on the platter can eliminate any chance of recovery in a laboratory.

If the free software cannot see the files, do not keep trying one program after another. A drive in poor condition is best sent for diagnosis immediately.

How much does data recovery cost in Kraków and Warsaw?

We do not yet have local median data recovery prices for individual cities, so we provide national prices: typically PLN 625 ‑ 750 for logical recovery. The city matters less for this service than for home repairs because laboratories accept storage devices by courier from across Poland. Compare offers by price for the type of damage, the terms of the ‘no data, no fee’ policy and turnaround time, rather than by distance.

How can you avoid overpaying for data recovery?

• Ask for a written diagnosis describing the damage and stating the price before work begins.
• Ask about the ‘no data, no fee’ policy. This usually applies to the recovery itself, but not always to diagnosis and courier charges.
• Check the list of recovered files before paying. A reputable laboratory will provide it.
• Do not pay for express service unless you need it. The standard turnaround time is cheaper.
• Make backups. An external drive or cloud storage costs less than a single recovery at PLN 650.

Unlike individual laboratory price lists, we show a median based on several sources and separate prices for logical, mechanical and phone data recovery. More hardware repair prices can be found in the hardware repair category, while other computer-related expenses are covered in the article how much does it cost to build a gaming PC.

The prices in this article come from public price lists published by data recovery laboratories and computer repair shops. Each entry on data recovery includes a source, date and verbatim quotation.

Frequently asked questions

How long does data recovery from a drive take?

Odzysk logiczny trwa zwykle od jednego do kilku dni roboczych, a mechaniczny, z pracą w komorze czystej, często tydzień lub dłużej. Tryb ekspresowy laboratoria liczą drożej niż standardowe PLN 625 ‑ 750.

Is there a fee for diagnosing a drive?

W wielu laboratoriach diagnoza jest bezpłatna, jeśli zlecisz odzysk. Część serwisów pobiera jednak opłatę, na przykład diagnoza telefonu przed odzyskiem to około PLN 160, a diagnoza laptopa w serwisie około PLN 80.

How much does it cost to transfer data from one phone to another?

Zgranie danych ze sprawnego telefonu na nowy zrobisz zwykle sam, narzędziem producenta albo przez kopię w chmurze, bez kosztów. Płatny odzysk, typowo PLN 625 ‑ 750, jest potrzebny dopiero wtedy, gdy telefon nie działa albo dane zostały skasowane.

How can I retrieve all the data from a phone?

Ze sprawnego telefonu najprościej zrobić pełną kopię zapasową w chmurze producenta albo na komputerze przez kabel. Jeśli telefon się nie włącza, potrzebny jest serwis: diagnoza kosztuje około PLN 160, a sam odzysk zwykle PLN 625 ‑ 750.

Is data recovery from a damaged computer more expensive?

Tak, gdy dysk w komputerze jest fizycznie uszkodzony. W cennikach serwisów komputerowych odzysk z uszkodzonego dysku kosztuje około PLN 2,100, a w laboratoriach odzysk mechaniczny około PLN 1,450.

Translation of the original Polish article dated 30 September 2026. Quotations from price lists are in Polish, as published by the companies. Read the original in Polish.

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