SCANPST alternatives, compared

SCANPST.EXE, Outlook’s Inbox Repair Tool, fixes light damage for free. When it stops with an error, loops, or leaves a file Outlook still will not open, you have other options. They differ in four ways that matter: whether they change your file, whether your mail leaves your computer, whether they tell you what was lost, and what they cost.

Before any of them: make a copy of the PST and work on the copy. Every option below is safer that way.

The options at a glance

1. SCANPST, run properly

If you have not tried it yet, start here: it is already on any computer with classic Outlook. Our SCANPST guide shows where it is for each Outlook version and how to run it on a copy. Run it more than once: several passes are sometimes needed.

It is the wrong tool when it keeps failing, when the file is near its size limit, or when large parts of the file are overwritten. It also does not tell you which messages it dropped, so you only find out later.

2. Re-sync instead of repairing (OST files)

If the damaged file is an OST from Exchange or Microsoft 365, your mail is still on the server. Closing Outlook, renaming the OST and starting Outlook again downloads a fresh copy: no repair needed, nothing lost. This works only while the mailbox still exists. For an OST from a mailbox that was deleted or an account you no longer have, see OST to PST and our guide to opening an OST file.

3. Desktop repair programs

Many Windows programs repair PST files. They run on your own computer, usually work on a copy, and often recover more than SCANPST from heavily damaged files. Things to check before you pay:

• What the free version saves. Many demos show everything but save only a few items per folder.
• The licence. Repair, conversion and splitting are often separate products, and yearly licences are common.
• The report. Ask whether it lists messages it could not recover, or only those it did.

4. Online repair websites

Some websites repair a PST you upload. That is convenient on a computer where you cannot install anything, but your whole mailbox goes to someone else’s server: years of private, business and legal mail. Use one only if the mail is not sensitive and you trust the operator.

5. Repair in your browser, without uploading

Mailtria’s Repair PST runs in Chrome or Edge on your own computer: the file is read from your disk and nothing is uploaded. You can check that yourself: once the page has loaded, it keeps working with Wi-Fi switched off (how it works).

• A free health check reads every block of the file and shows how many messages can be saved, before you decide anything.
• Repair never edits your file. It copies everything readable into a new PST and rebuilds the folder tree.
• Every message is checked. Each one in the new file is compared with the damaged one, and any message that could not be saved is listed by name.
• It works on any computer with Chrome or Edge, including a Mac or a Chromebook that never had Outlook.

It cannot bring back messages whose data is overwritten or missing (no tool can), and it does not support password-protected or old ANSI PST files yet.

Which one should you use?

1. Light damage, classic Outlook installed: SCANPST, on a copy.
2. A damaged OST and the mailbox still exists: re-sync from the server.
3. SCANPST failed, or you want to know what was lost: the free health check, then repair into a new file.
4. You cannot install anything and the mail is not sensitive: an online repair site is an option.

Sources: Microsoft Support, Repair Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost).

Frequently asked

Is SCANPST better than a third-party tool? For light damage it is enough and it is free. For heavy damage, tools that copy readable data into a new file usually save more, and they leave the original as it was.

Can a repair tool recover everything? No tool can bring back data that is overwritten or missing. A good tool tells you exactly which messages it could not save.

Do I need Outlook to repair a PST? SCANPST needs classic Outlook. Browser-based repair does not: you can repair the file on any computer and open the result in Outlook later.