10 European Alternatives to Popular US SaaS Tools
10 European Alternatives to Popular US SaaS Tools
Building your tech stack with European tools isn't just about GDPR compliance — it's about supporting the European tech ecosystem and keeping your data sovereign. Here are 10 US tools and their best European alternatives.
1. Stripe → Mollie 🇳🇱
The US Giant: Stripe dominates online payments globally, but routes all data through US infrastructure.
The European Alternative: Mollie is a Dutch payment processor that's become the go-to choice for European businesses.
Why switch:
- Full GDPR compliance with EU data residency
- No monthly fees — pay only per transaction
- Native support for European payment methods (iDEAL, Bancontact, SOFORT)
- Competitive rates starting at 1.8% + €0.25
Also consider: Adyen (Netherlands) for enterprise-scale operations.
2. Google Analytics → Plausible 🇪🇺
The US Giant: Google Analytics is under legal fire across the EU, with multiple data protection authorities ruling it illegal.
The European Alternative: Plausible is a privacy-first analytics platform with EU-only servers.
Why switch:
- No cookies = no consent banners needed
- Lightweight script (under 1KB)
- Simple dashboard that shows what matters
- Starting at €9/month
Also consider: Simple Analytics (Netherlands), Matomo (New Zealand/EU).
3. Salesforce → Pipedrive 🇪🇪
The US Giant: Salesforce is powerful but bloated, expensive, and US-hosted.
The European Alternative: Pipedrive was built in Estonia and focuses on sales pipeline simplicity.
Why switch:
- Visual pipeline management that sales teams actually enjoy
- Fraction of Salesforce's complexity and cost
- Strong European presence and support
- Starting at €14/user/month
Also consider: Teamleader (Belgium) for combined CRM + invoicing.
4. Zoom → Whereby 🇳🇴
The US Giant: Zoom became synonymous with video calls but comes with privacy concerns and data routing questions.
The European Alternative: Whereby is Norwegian, browser-based, and beautifully simple.
Why switch:
- No downloads required — works in browser
- GDPR compliant with EU servers
- Clean, modern interface
- Free tier available for small meetings
Also consider: Wire (Switzerland) for security-focused teams.
5. Twilio → MessageBird 🇳🇱
The US Giant: Twilio powers SMS and communication APIs for countless apps, all routed through the US.
The European Alternative: MessageBird offers the same capabilities with European infrastructure.
Why switch:
- Omnichannel: SMS, WhatsApp, voice, chat in one platform
- European company with EU data processing
- Often more competitive pricing for European routes
- Strong carrier relationships in Europe
6. BambooHR → Personio 🇩🇪
The US Giant: BambooHR is popular for SMB HR management but doesn't cater to European employment law complexities.
The European Alternative: Personio is a Munich-based HR platform built for European businesses.
Why switch:
- Built for European labor laws and payroll requirements
- Integrated with European payroll providers
- German engineering and data protection standards
- Scales from startups to enterprises
Also consider: Factorial (Spain) for Southern European teams.
7. Contentful → Storyblok 🇦🇹
The US Giant: Contentful pioneered headless CMS but is US-headquartered with US-first pricing.
The European Alternative: Storyblok is an Austrian headless CMS with a visual editor.
Why switch:
- Visual editing that non-developers can actually use
- More generous free tier
- EU company with EU data centers
- Excellent component-based content modeling
Also consider: Strapi (France, open-source), Hygraph (Germany).
8. Mailchimp → Brevo 🇫🇷
The US Giant: Mailchimp (now owned by Intuit) has become expensive and feature-bloated.
The European Alternative: Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is a French marketing platform offering email, SMS, and more.
Why switch:
- Transparent pricing without US-style "contact sales" gatekeeping
- Full marketing suite: email, SMS, chat, CRM
- GDPR compliance built-in
- Strong free tier (300 emails/day)
Also consider: Mailjet (France) for transactional email focus.
9. Notion → Slite 🇫🇷
The US Giant: Notion is everywhere, but it's a US company with US data processing.
The European Alternative: Slite is a French knowledge base built for team documentation.
Why switch:
- AI-powered search and writing assistance
- Cleaner, more focused on documentation (not everything-app)
- European company with strong privacy stance
- Great Slack integration
Also consider: Nuclino (Germany) for wiki-style collaboration.
10. Intercom → Crisp 🇫🇷
The US Giant: Intercom is the default for customer messaging but has become prohibitively expensive.
The European Alternative: Crisp is a French customer messaging platform with transparent pricing.
Why switch:
- Flat pricing without per-seat or per-conversation gotchas
- Full feature set: chat, helpdesk, CRM, chatbots
- GDPR compliant with EU hosting
- Generous free tier for startups
The European Advantage
Switching to European SaaS isn't just about checking compliance boxes. You get:
- Simpler data protection — No cross-border transfer assessments
- Better support hours — Teams in your timezone
- Relevant features — Built for European business practices
- Ecosystem support — Strengthening European tech independence
Start Your Migration
Ready to go European? Browse our full directory of European SaaS companies, or explore by category to find exactly what you need.
Know a great European alternative we missed? Submit it to our directory!
