15 Best EU Alternatives to Google Workspace in 2026
Why Replace Google Workspace at All?
Google Workspace is convenient. It’s also a US-based ecosystem subject to the CLOUD Act, which means American authorities can compel access to your data regardless of where you are or what GDPR says. For European businesses, this is no longer a hypothetical risk — Schrems II made it a regulatory one, and the Digital Markets Act has made it competitively avoidable.
The good news: every Google Workspace component has a credible European replacement in 2026. The better news: most of them are cheaper than Google.
This guide pairs each Google Workspace component with the strongest EU alternative, plus a runner-up for different needs. All recommendations are evaluated on the same five lenses we apply across BetterInEurope: privacy, compliance, sustainability, supporting EU economies, and geopolitical resilience.
The Quick Map: Google Workspace → EU Stack
| Google Tool | EU Alternative | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail | Proton Mail | Switzerland |
| Drive | kDrive (Infomaniak) | Switzerland |
| Docs / Sheets / Slides | OnlyOffice / CryptPad | Latvia / France |
| Calendar | Proton Calendar | Switzerland |
| Meet | Jitsi Meet (self-hosted) | Open source, self-host in the EU |
| Forms | Tally / Framaforms | Belgium / France |
| Sites | Pages CMS / Plausible-friendly hosts | Various EU |
| Photos | Ente Photos / Stingle | USA (Ente stores data in the EU) / USA |
| Keep | Standard Notes | Switzerland (Proton) |
| Voice / Phone | Threema Work + Zoiper | Switzerland |
| Maps | HERE WeGo / Mapy.cz | Netherlands / Czech Rep. |
| Translate | DeepL | Germany |
| Analytics | Plausible / Matomo | Estonia / France |
| Search | Qwant / Ecosia / Mojeek | France / Germany / UK |
| Workspace Admin | Nextcloud Hub | Germany |
1. Email — Proton Mail (replaces Gmail)
Country: Switzerland · GDPR: Native · Open source: Yes
Proton Mail is the gold standard for European email. End-to-end encryption is default, not an add-on. The servers live in Swiss bunkers under Swiss data protection law (which is stricter than GDPR in several respects). Their Easy Switch tool imports Gmail, contacts, and calendars in one click — no separate IMAP fiddling.
For businesses: Proton Mail Business gives you custom domains, multi-user admin, and SSO. Pricing starts under €7 per user per month — competitive with Google Workspace Business Standard at €11.50, and you’re not training Google’s ad models on your team’s email.
Migration time: 30 minutes. We have a step-by-step guide.
Runner-up: Tuta (formerly Tutanota, Germany) — also fully encrypted, German jurisdiction, slightly cheaper for small teams.
2. Cloud Storage — kDrive (replaces Google Drive)
Country: Switzerland · GDPR: Yes · Sustainable: Hydroelectric-powered data centres
Infomaniak’s kDrive is the European cloud storage that doesn’t compromise on usability. Desktop and mobile apps sync as smoothly as Dropbox. The free tier gives 15 GB; paid plans start at €4.95/month for 1 TB. Integrated OnlyOffice means you can edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly in the browser without round-tripping through Google.
Why kDrive: Infomaniak is a Geneva-based Swiss company — listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since October 2026, with the Infomaniak Foundation holding the majority of voting rights through unlisted shares — with serious environmental commitments — their Geneva data centre runs entirely on renewable energy and recycles its heat into the local district heating system. That’s not greenwashing; it’s measurable.
Migration time: 1-2 hours. Drag-and-drop migration guide.
Runner-up: Tresorit (Hungary/Switzerland) — for highly regulated industries needing zero-knowledge encryption with EU+Swiss residency.
3. Documents & Spreadsheets — OnlyOffice (replaces Google Docs/Sheets/Slides)
Country: Latvia · GDPR: Yes · Open source: Yes
OnlyOffice is the closest thing Europe has to “Google Docs but yours.” Real-time collaborative editing, full Microsoft Office format compatibility, and you can self-host it inside Nextcloud or use OnlyOffice DocSpace as a managed service. Pages, sheets, presentations, and PDF forms all in one suite.
For privacy-first teams: pair OnlyOffice with CryptPad (France) for end-to-end encrypted documents where even the server can’t read your content.
Runner-up: Collabora Online (UK/Germany) — based on LibreOffice, also self-hostable.
4. Calendar — Proton Calendar (replaces Google Calendar)
Country: Switzerland · GDPR: Native · Open source: Yes
Comes free with any Proton account. End-to-end encrypted (yes, even your meeting titles). Syncs across devices via CalDAV. Includes invitations and external calendar sharing. The ergonomics are quietly excellent — booking flows, recurring events, and timezone handling all work the way you’d expect.
Runner-up: Mailfence Calendar (Belgium) — strong choice if you’re already using Mailfence for email.
5. Video Conferencing — Jitsi Meet (replaces Google Meet)
Country: Open source (self-host in the EU); the public meet.jit.si instance is run by 8x8 (USA) · GDPR: Yes · Open source: Yes
Jitsi Meet is the open-source video conferencing standard. No accounts required for participants, end-to-end encryption available, and you can self-host on your own EU infrastructure. Note that the free public instance (meet.jit.si) is operated by 8x8, a US company — for real data sovereignty, self-host Jitsi or use an EU-based Jitsi provider.
For businesses: Run Jitsi inside Nextcloud Hub for fully integrated team comms with calendar, files, and chat in one place.
Runner-up: Whereby (Norway) — slick UX, generous free tier, EU-hosted.
6. Forms — Tally (replaces Google Forms)
Country: Belgium · GDPR: Yes · Free tier: Generous
Tally is what Google Forms wishes it could be: beautiful by default, unlimited forms even on the free tier, conditional logic, payment integration via Stripe, and built by a small Belgian team that responds to feature requests within days.
Runner-up: Framaforms (France) — pure non-profit, hosted by the digital sovereignty NGO Framasoft.
7. Photos — Ente Photos (replaces Google Photos)
Company: Ente Technologies, Inc. (USA) · Data: EU data centres · Open source: Yes
Ente is end-to-end encrypted photo storage with face recognition that runs on your device — meaning Ente itself never sees your photos. AI features stay AI features without becoming a privacy nightmare. The free tier gives 10 GB; paid plans (for example 200 GB for $4.99/month) can be shared with up to five family members. Ente is a US-registered company, but your encrypted photos are stored in EU data centres (Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris).
Runner-up: Stingle (US-based but zero-knowledge) — only if you need a more polished iOS experience.
8. Notes — Standard Notes (replaces Google Keep)
Country: Switzerland (part of Proton since 2024) · GDPR: Yes · Open source: Yes
Standard Notes is end-to-end encrypted plain-text and rich-text notes. Premium adds spreadsheets, code editors, and 2FA token storage. The minimalism is the point: it’s a notes app, not a productivity suite trying to be everything.
Runner-up: Joplin (open source) — self-host with WebDAV for total control.
9. Translation — DeepL (replaces Google Translate)
Country: Germany · GDPR: Yes · Best-in-class quality
DeepL is genuinely better than Google Translate for European languages — by a measurable margin. It’s also a German company processing data under GDPR. The Pro version has terminology management for businesses. The free version handles 5,000 characters per request.
This isn’t a “good enough” alternative. For European languages, DeepL is the better tool, full stop.
10. Analytics — Plausible (replaces Google Analytics)
Country: Estonia · GDPR: Yes (no cookies, no consent banner needed) · Open source: Yes
Plausible is GDPR-compliant by architecture: it collects no personal data, sets no cookies, and doesn’t need consent banners. Its tracking script weighs under 1 KB versus Google Analytics’ 45 KB+ — your site loads measurably faster the moment you switch.
The dashboard is intentionally simple. The data you actually use is on one screen. Goal tracking handles conversions. You can self-host if you want full control.
Migration time: 15 minutes. Step-by-step guide.
Runner-up: Matomo (France) — more powerful for marketing teams, also self-hostable.
11. Search — Mojeek / Qwant / Ecosia
Countries: UK / France / Germany · GDPR: Yes · No tracking
For private search:
- Mojeek (UK) — one of the very few search engines with its own crawler and index rather than reselling Google or Bing results (US-based Brave Search is the other well-known one). Genuinely independent — and European, though outside the EU.
- Qwant (France) — French, indexed via Bing partnership but with strict privacy.
- Ecosia (Germany) — uses search revenue to plant trees. Over 250 million planted as of 2026.
For paid premium search: Kagi is technically US-based but offers something none of the EU options match: zero ads, smart filters, and outstanding result quality. Worth the $10/month (Professional plan, unlimited searches) if search is critical to your work.
12. Maps — HERE WeGo / Mapy.cz (replaces Google Maps)
Countries: Netherlands / Czech Republic · GDPR: Yes
- HERE WeGo (Netherlands) — best for driving navigation, majority-owned by German carmakers Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz together with Bosch and Continental; Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and NTT jointly hold 30%, with Intel Capital and Pioneer as smaller shareholders
- Mapy.cz (Czech Republic) — best for hiking, cycling, and offline maps; the iOS and Android apps are excellent
Runner-up: Komoot (Germany) — purpose-built for outdoor activities.
13. Productivity Suite — Nextcloud Hub (the all-in-one)
Country: Germany · GDPR: Yes · Open source: Yes
If you want to replace Google Workspace as a single integrated suite, Nextcloud Hub is your answer. File storage, calendar, contacts, video calls, chat, kanban boards, online office (via Collabora or OnlyOffice), email — all in one self-hostable or managed platform.
European businesses with on-premise or sovereign cloud requirements end up here. The German government uses Nextcloud. Many EU public administrations use Nextcloud. It’s the European Workspace.
For managed hosting: Hetzner (Germany) or Infomaniak (Switzerland) both offer one-click Nextcloud setups.
14. Domain & Hosting — Hetzner (replaces Google Cloud)
Country: Germany · GDPR: Yes · Usually far cheaper than AWS
Google Domains itself no longer exists: Google sold its domain-registration business to Squarespace in 2023, so this section is about replacing Google Cloud hosting.
If you’re moving away from Google for productivity, you should also consider where your business websites and apps run. Hetzner is the German alternative that punches several weight classes above its price. Cloud servers comparable to AWS EC2 cost a fraction of the price, with EU data residency guaranteed and renewable-energy data centres.
Migration time: 1-2 weeks for serious infrastructure. AWS to Hetzner guide.
15. The Business Voice — Threema Work + Zoiper (replaces Google Voice)
Countries: Switzerland / Bulgaria · GDPR: Yes
Google Voice has limited European availability anyway. For business voice and messaging:
- Threema Work (Switzerland) for team messaging — zero metadata, no phone number required
- Zoiper (Bulgaria) as a SIP softphone for VoIP calling with any EU SIP provider
For full PBX, Wildix (Italy) is a strong all-European unified communications platform.
How to Actually Switch: A Realistic Plan
Don’t try to switch everything in one week. Here’s the order that’s worked for us and the businesses we’ve talked to:
Month 1: Email (Proton) and analytics (Plausible). These are the highest-impact privacy wins and the lowest disruption. Keep Gmail forwarded for 3-6 months.
Month 2: Cloud storage (kDrive) and documents (OnlyOffice). Most of your team’s daily friction lives here. Migrate one team at a time.
Month 3: Calendar, video calls, forms. These tend to be lighter-touch.
Month 4: Photos, notes, and the “long tail” of small services.
Month 6: Re-evaluate. By now you’ll have data on what actually broke vs what was easy. Decide whether to fully sunset Google or keep specific tools (e.g., Google Maps for places where its data is genuinely better).
The Real Cost Calculation
People assume European alternatives are more expensive. They’re usually not. A Google Workspace Business Standard seat costs €11.50/month. The equivalent EU stack — Proton Mail Business + kDrive Pro + OnlyOffice Workspace — runs roughly €8-9 per user per month, with better encryption, no advertising profile, and EU data residency.
Where you’ll actually pay more is in the migration effort. Budget 20-40 hours of admin time for a team of 10-50 people. That’s a one-time cost. The recurring savings and regulatory peace of mind compound.
What’s Missing?
This list isn’t exhaustive. Tools we deliberately skipped because the EU options aren’t yet competitive: YouTube alternatives (PeerTube exists but the network effect is brutal), Workspace-grade enterprise admin (Google’s admin console is genuinely class-leading), and AI assistants (Mistral and Aleph Alpha are credible but not yet drop-in Gemini replacements).
We’ll cover each of those in dedicated guides. If you have a Google service we missed, tell us — we’ll add it.
Start with One Switch
Pick the easiest tool from this list and switch it this week. Email is usually the right first move — high impact, low disruption, and 30 minutes of setup. If you’d rather start somewhere else, our decision wizard will give you a personalized starting point in under two minutes.
Digital sovereignty isn’t a one-day project. It’s a series of small switches that add up to a fundamentally different — and meaningfully better — relationship with the tools you use every day.
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