Find European Alternatives to Big Tech

We define European alternatives as digital services that are headquartered in Europe, store user data primarily in European data centers, and comply with GDPR and European privacy standards. This includes companies from EU member states, as well as countries like Switzerland and Norway that have equivalent data protection standards.

In many cases, European alternatives offer comparable or even superior features, especially when it comes to privacy and security. Services like Proton Mail, Nextcloud, and Hetzner are world-class solutions that compete effectively with their US counterparts. The main trade-off is sometimes a smaller ecosystem or fewer integrations with other services.

The location of your data determines which laws apply to it. Data stored in the US can be accessed by US authorities under laws like FISA and the CLOUD Act, often without your knowledge. European data protection laws like GDPR provide stronger safeguards, including the right to access, correct, and delete your data.

Most European services offer easy migration tools and import features. For example, Proton Mail can import your emails from Gmail, and Nextcloud can sync with existing cloud storage providers. We include migration guides and tips in our detailed tool reviews to help make the switch as smooth as possible.

Not necessarily. Many European services offer competitive pricing, and some are even cheaper than US alternatives. The difference is that European services often charge directly for their service rather than monetizing your data through advertising. Many also offer generous free tiers or open-source self-hosted options.

We evaluate services based on several criteria: privacy practices, security features, GDPR compliance, data center locations, pricing, ease of use, and feature set. We also consider whether the service is open source, has been independently audited, and has a track record of transparency with its users.

Absolutely! European services are available worldwide and often have global server networks for optimal performance. In fact, using European services can be a smart choice for privacy-conscious users anywhere in the world, as you benefit from strong European data protection laws regardless of where you live.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a comprehensive data protection law that applies to all organizations processing personal data of EU residents. It gives individuals rights over their data, including the right to access, correct, delete, and port their data. Companies must obtain explicit consent for data processing and face significant fines for violations.

Yes, in one way only: vendors can pay for placement on our category pages. We earn nothing when you click through to a vendor, because there are no affiliate links on this site. Paid placement can affect the order in which tools appear; it never affects whether a tool is listed or what our review says. A tool that fails our checks is not here at any price, and a vendor can ask us to correct a factual error — not to remove a criticism. Our editorial process sets out the full policy.

We welcome suggestions! Please use our contact form to submit a service for consideration. Include the service name, website, headquarters location, and a brief description of why you think it should be included. We review all submissions and add services that meet our criteria for European alternatives.