European Alternatives to Gmail
Google’s email service for personal and business mailboxes. Below are 9 alternatives from companies headquartered in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Norway and France. 9 of them keep data in the EU only, and 5 have a free plan.
Headquartered in Europe
Every company listed here has its headquarters in the EU, EEA, UK or Switzerland, not just a data centre there.
Data location you can check
The pricing table shows whether each one keeps data in the EU only, offers an EU region, or does not say.
Outside the US CLOUD Act
US providers can be ordered to hand over data held in their European data centres. A European company with no US parent or US operations is outside that reach.
Compare Gmail Alternatives
| Company | Headquarters | Data Residency | Founded | Pricing | Open Source | Employees | Funding | Replaces | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groningen, Netherlands | 🇪🇺 EU Only | 2026 | Paid business workspace plans with the full suite included | ❌ No | N/A | Independent, no outside VCs | Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Gmail | Visit | |
| Brussels, Belgium | 🇪🇺 EU Only | 1999 | Free tier, paid plans for custom-domain and team use | ❌ No | ~50 | Private company | Gmail, Google Workspace, Outlook | Visit | |
| Berlin, Germany | 🇪🇺 EU Only | 2009 | Low-cost monthly mailbox pricing | ❌ No | ~10 | Bootstrapped | Gmail, Outlook | Visit | |
Proton Open Source | Geneva, Switzerland | 🇪🇺 EU Only | 2014 | Free tier, from €3.99/mo | ✅ Yes | ~500 | Community-funded, no VC investment | Gmail, Google Drive, iCloud | Visit |
ProtonMail Open Source | Geneva, Switzerland | 🇪🇺 EU Only | 2014 | Free tier, from €3.99/mo | ✅ Yes | N/A | N/A | Gmail, Outlook | Visit |
Gmail Alternatives: Pricing and Hosting Compared
Starting prices are the lowest paid plan each vendor publishes. Check the vendor's pricing page before you buy, as plans change.
| Alternative | Country | Free plan | Paid plans | Open source | Data residency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Email.eu | Netherlands | No | Not published | No | EU only |
| Mailfence | Belgium | Yes | Not published | No | EU only |
| Posteo | Germany | No | Not published | No | EU only |
| Proton | Switzerland | Yes | From €3.99/mo | Yes | EU only |
| ProtonMail | Switzerland | Yes | Not published | Yes | EU only |
| Runbox | Norway | No | Not published | No | EU only |
| StartMail | Netherlands | No | Not published | No | EU only |
| Tutanota | Germany | Yes | Not published | Yes | EU only |
| Orneos | France | Yes | From €3/month | No | EU only |
9 European Alternatives
Email.eu
Dutch sovereign business workspace with EU-hosted mail, calendar, docs, drive, meetings, and chat for compliance-sensitive teams.
Belgian secure email and lightweight collaboration suite with OpenPGP, custom domains, and shared workspace features.
German privacy-first mailbox service with green hosting, custom domains, and simple business-email fundamentals.
Swiss privacy suite. Encrypted email, VPN, calendar, drive. Used by millions.
Swiss encrypted email. The gold standard for private email.
Norwegian business email service with custom domains, standard client support, and a long-running privacy-first mailbox offering.
Dutch privacy-focused business email with custom domains, aliases, and encrypted mailbox hosting for teams leaving Gmail.
German encrypted email and calendar service for teams that want low-cost sovereign mailbox hosting.
French workspace for freelancers and small businesses with email, files, calendar and video calls in one account, hosted in the EU with no ads or trackers.
What to Check Before Switching from Gmail
Where your data will be stored
All 9 alternatives here say they keep data in the EU only.
How you can try it
Mailfence, Proton, ProtonMail, Tutanota and Orneos have a free plan, so you can run a real test before cancelling Gmail.
Open source
Proton, ProtonMail and Tutanota release their software or models under an open licence, which makes it easier to self-host, inspect what runs, and move again later.
Security certifications
Certifications we have confirmed on the vendor’s own site: Proton (ISO 27001, SOC 2); ProtonMail (ISO 27001, SOC 2). If your procurement requires one, check the others directly.
What you need to bring from Gmail
List the data, templates and integrations you rely on in Gmail, then confirm each one can be exported and that the alternative can import it or offers an API to rebuild it.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the European alternatives to Gmail?
- We list 9 companies headquartered in Europe that replace Gmail: Email.eu (Netherlands), Mailfence (Belgium), Posteo (Germany), Proton (Switzerland), ProtonMail (Switzerland), Runbox (Norway), StartMail (Netherlands), Tutanota (Germany) and Orneos (France).
- Is there a free European alternative to Gmail?
- Mailfence, Proton, ProtonMail, Tutanota and Orneos have a free plan. Free plans usually come with limits on usage or features, so check them against how you use Gmail today.
- Which Gmail alternatives keep data in the EU?
- Email.eu, Mailfence, Posteo, Proton, ProtonMail, Runbox, StartMail, Tutanota and Orneos keep data in the EU only.
- Is there an open-source European alternative to Gmail?
- Yes: Proton, ProtonMail and Tutanota.