The European software directory in numbers

Based on 1460 tools reviewed by European Purpose · last compiled October 2026 · how we classify tools

1279 tools run by a company established in the EU/EEA or Switzerland
4% of the directory is open source (63 of 1460 tools)
30 EU/EEA countries with at least one tool in the directory
2012 median founding year of the companies we list

Where European software companies are established

Counting the 1444 tools in our directory whose vendor is established in Europe. Germany and France dominate, which tracks with where public procurement money and sovereign-cloud policy have been concentrated.

European tools by country of establishment
CountryShareTools
Germany 371
France 214
United Kingdom 159
Netherlands 129
Switzerland 77
Sweden 53
Spain 44
Belgium 39
Denmark 35
Poland 35
Austria 32
Norway 31
Italy 31
Finland 27
Czech Republic 24
Estonia 23
Romania 15
Ireland 13
Cyprus 12
Luxembourg 9
Latvia 9
Bulgaria 9
Lithuania 9
Slovakia 8
Portugal 8
Slovenia 7
Hungary 5
Croatia 4
Greece 3
Ukraine 3
Malta 1
Gibraltar 1
Serbia 1
Iceland 1
Albania 1

Which categories have the most European options

Categories with the deepest European coverage are the ones where the underlying technology is commoditised or open source. The thinnest are the ones that depend on scale: search, large-model AI and consumer social.

Tools per category
CategoryShareTools
Project Management 21
Video Platforms 18
digital asset management 18
Email Providers 17
Pricing Software 16
Fleet Management Software 16
Healthcare & EHR Software 16
Ecommerce Platforms 16
Content Management 16
Translation Services 15
Construction Management Software 15
Expense Management 15
HR Software 15
Developer Tools 15
Virtualization 14
Remote Desktop Software 14
Time Tracking Software 14
Messaging Apps 14
Appointment Scheduling Software 14
POS Software 14
IT Service Management 14
PC Optimization Software Alternatives 13
AI Voice & Speech 13
Email Marketing 13
Affiliate & Partner Marketing 13
Social Media Management 13
Data Privacy Management 13
Automation & Integration 13
endpoint protection 13
E-Signature Software 13
AI Writing & Copywriting 13
Business Intelligence 13
AI Companions 13
Digital Signage 13
Sales Engagement Software 13
ERP 13
Employee Scheduling 13
Customer Support 13
Reputation Management 13
E-Learning Platforms 12
SEO Tools 12
Document Management 12
Product Information Management Software 12
Video Conferencing 12
Email Security & Anti-Phishing Software 12
Real Estate CRM 12
CPQ 12
Low-Code/No-Code Application Platforms 12
AI Video Tools 12
Video Streaming 12
consent management 12
Language Learning 12
Accounting Software 12
AI Image Tools 12
CDN Providers 12
Office Suites 12
CMMS 12
Maps & Navigation 12
Cloud Computing 12
Web Analytics 12
Music Streaming 12
Password Managers 12
Influencer Marketing 12
Field Service Management 12
Cloud Storage 12
Call Center Software 11
Communication APIs 11
AI News Briefing 11
Payment Processing 11
VPN Services 11
Web Hosting 11
Security Awareness Training 11
Video Editing 11
Identity Management 11
Contract Management 11
PDF Tools 11
DevOps & Infrastructure as Code 11
Design & Photo Editing 11
applicant tracking 11
Monitoring & Observability 11
ESG & Sustainability Reporting 11
Vendor & Third-Party Risk Management 11
payroll 11
Whistleblowing Software 11
Proxy & Networking 11
Website Builders 10
Databases & Backends 10
Sales Intelligence 10
LLMs & AI 10
Employee Onboarding 10
Social Media 10
Proposal & Quote Management 10
Invoicing Software 10
Chatbot & Conversational Marketing 10
File Transfer 10
Survey Tools 10
SIEM & Security Monitoring 10
Visitor Management 10
Digital Adoption Platform Software 10
Inventory Management 9
Customer Data Platform Software 9
Web Browsers 9
CRM Software 9
Knowledge Base & Intranet 9
Domain Registrars 9
AI Coding Assistants 9
Web Security 9
AI Chat & Assistants 9
Search Engines 9
Data Catalog & Data Governance Software 8
Intranet & Employee Communication 8
Online Whiteboards 8
Newsletter Platforms 8
Community Platform Software 8
Marketing Automation Software 7
MAP Pricing Software Alternatives 7
Travel Management 7
Observability & Log Management 7
AI Website Builders 7
LLM API Providers Alternatives 6
A/B Testing Alternatives 6
API Management 6
AI Image & Video APIs 6
Adult AI APIs 5
No-Code Database Tools 5
Landing Page Builder 5
Push Notifications Alternatives 4
Note Taking Alternatives 3
AI Search Engines 3
ETL Tools Alternatives 2
Email Deliverability Alternatives 2
Absence Management Software Alternatives 1
Form Builders Alternatives 1
Photo Gallery Software Alternatives 1
Nutrition Tracking Apps Alternatives 1
Error Tracking Alternatives 1
Password Sharing Alternatives 1

Open source share by category

Categories where open source is the norm rather than the exception. Only categories with at least four tools are shown, since a percentage over two tools says very little.

Open source share per category
CategoryOpen source shareOpen source / total
Messaging Apps 7/14 (50%)
Identity Management 5/11 (45%)
Social Media 4/10 (40%)
VPN Services 4/11 (36%)
Developer Tools 5/15 (33%)
AI Chat & Assistants 3/9 (33%)
LLMs & AI 3/10 (30%)
Monitoring & Observability 3/11 (27%)
Office Suites 3/12 (25%)
Maps & Navigation 3/12 (25%)
Web Analytics 3/12 (25%)
Cloud Storage 3/12 (25%)
Email Providers 3/17 (18%)
Video Conferencing 2/12 (17%)
Password Managers 2/12 (17%)
AI Writing & Copywriting 2/13 (15%)
Project Management 3/21 (14%)
Web Security 1/9 (11%)
Search Engines 1/9 (11%)
Customer Support 1/13 (8%)
Translation Services 1/15 (7%)
Video Platforms 1/18 (6%)
digital asset management 0/18 (0%)
Pricing Software 0/16 (0%)
Fleet Management Software 0/16 (0%)
Healthcare & EHR Software 0/16 (0%)
Ecommerce Platforms 0/16 (0%)
Content Management 0/16 (0%)
Construction Management Software 0/15 (0%)
Expense Management 0/15 (0%)
HR Software 0/15 (0%)
Virtualization 0/14 (0%)
Remote Desktop Software 0/14 (0%)
Time Tracking Software 0/14 (0%)
Appointment Scheduling Software 0/14 (0%)
POS Software 0/14 (0%)
IT Service Management 0/14 (0%)
PC Optimization Software Alternatives 0/13 (0%)
AI Voice & Speech 0/13 (0%)
Email Marketing 0/13 (0%)
Affiliate & Partner Marketing 0/13 (0%)
Social Media Management 0/13 (0%)
Data Privacy Management 0/13 (0%)
Automation & Integration 0/13 (0%)
endpoint protection 0/13 (0%)
E-Signature Software 0/13 (0%)
Business Intelligence 0/13 (0%)
AI Companions 0/13 (0%)
Digital Signage 0/13 (0%)
Sales Engagement Software 0/13 (0%)
ERP 0/13 (0%)
Employee Scheduling 0/13 (0%)
Reputation Management 0/13 (0%)
E-Learning Platforms 0/12 (0%)
SEO Tools 0/12 (0%)
Document Management 0/12 (0%)
Product Information Management Software 0/12 (0%)
Email Security & Anti-Phishing Software 0/12 (0%)
Real Estate CRM 0/12 (0%)
CPQ 0/12 (0%)
Low-Code/No-Code Application Platforms 0/12 (0%)
AI Video Tools 0/12 (0%)
Video Streaming 0/12 (0%)
consent management 0/12 (0%)
Language Learning 0/12 (0%)
Accounting Software 0/12 (0%)
AI Image Tools 0/12 (0%)
CDN Providers 0/12 (0%)
CMMS 0/12 (0%)
Cloud Computing 0/12 (0%)
Music Streaming 0/12 (0%)
Influencer Marketing 0/12 (0%)
Field Service Management 0/12 (0%)
Call Center Software 0/11 (0%)
Communication APIs 0/11 (0%)
AI News Briefing 0/11 (0%)
Payment Processing 0/11 (0%)
Web Hosting 0/11 (0%)
Security Awareness Training 0/11 (0%)
Video Editing 0/11 (0%)
Contract Management 0/11 (0%)
PDF Tools 0/11 (0%)
DevOps & Infrastructure as Code 0/11 (0%)
Design & Photo Editing 0/11 (0%)
applicant tracking 0/11 (0%)
ESG & Sustainability Reporting 0/11 (0%)
Vendor & Third-Party Risk Management 0/11 (0%)
payroll 0/11 (0%)
Whistleblowing Software 0/11 (0%)
Proxy & Networking 0/11 (0%)
Website Builders 0/10 (0%)
Databases & Backends 0/10 (0%)
Sales Intelligence 0/10 (0%)
Employee Onboarding 0/10 (0%)
Proposal & Quote Management 0/10 (0%)
Invoicing Software 0/10 (0%)
Chatbot & Conversational Marketing 0/10 (0%)
File Transfer 0/10 (0%)
Survey Tools 0/10 (0%)
SIEM & Security Monitoring 0/10 (0%)
Visitor Management 0/10 (0%)
Digital Adoption Platform Software 0/10 (0%)
Inventory Management 0/9 (0%)
Customer Data Platform Software 0/9 (0%)
Web Browsers 0/9 (0%)
CRM Software 0/9 (0%)
Knowledge Base & Intranet 0/9 (0%)
Domain Registrars 0/9 (0%)
AI Coding Assistants 0/9 (0%)
Data Catalog & Data Governance Software 0/8 (0%)
Intranet & Employee Communication 0/8 (0%)
Online Whiteboards 0/8 (0%)
Newsletter Platforms 0/8 (0%)
Community Platform Software 0/8 (0%)
Marketing Automation Software 0/7 (0%)
MAP Pricing Software Alternatives 0/7 (0%)
Travel Management 0/7 (0%)
Observability & Log Management 0/7 (0%)
AI Website Builders 0/7 (0%)
LLM API Providers Alternatives 0/6 (0%)
A/B Testing Alternatives 0/6 (0%)
API Management 0/6 (0%)
AI Image & Video APIs 0/6 (0%)
Adult AI APIs 0/5 (0%)
No-Code Database Tools 0/5 (0%)
Landing Page Builder 0/5 (0%)
Push Notifications Alternatives 0/4 (0%)

How these numbers are produced

Every tool in our directory has a reviewed page, and each page records where the vendor is legally established separately from where it stores data. The two are frequently different, and conflating them is the most common error we see in "European alternatives" lists: a US company with a Frankfurt data centre is still subject to US law. Vendors established outside Europe are not listed at all: when we find one in the directory we remove it and redirect the page to the relevant category. Federated and self-hosted projects with no company behind them (10 tools) are counted separately and left out of the country breakdown above, since there is no jurisdiction to attribute them to.

Statistics by category

Per-category statistics pages, each one a numbered set of figures you can cite individually. Directory-derived counts and vendor-reported claims are labelled separately on every line.

Regulation and market analysis

Our reporting on the rules and policy decisions that shape which software European organisations are allowed to buy.