Alternatives to American Services
A comprehensive directory of non-US tech alternatives to promote digital sovereignty.
🔗 Other Resources
- BuyCanadian - Services & Apps(opens in a new tab): A community-curated list of Canadian software and digital services.
- Made in Canada(opens in a new tab): A directory focused on Canadian-made technology and platforms.
- European Alternatives(opens in a new tab): A comprehensive index of European software and services promoting digital sovereignty.
- Getting off US tech: a guide(opens in a new tab) by Paris Marx
- European alternatives to American apps & software(opens in a new tab) by Maciamo
🛡️ Grading System
- 🟢 Green: Non-US Headquarters, non-US hosting, and minimal to no US technical dependencies.
- 🟡 Yellow: Non-US Headquarters, but relies on US-based infrastructure (e.g., AWS, GCP) or has significant US dependencies.
🏗️ Infrastructure & Development
| Service | HQ | Sovereignty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebel(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Codeberg(opens in a new tab) | Germany 🇩🇪 | 🟢 | - |
| Bunny.net(opens in a new tab) | Slovenia 🇸🇮 | 🟢 | - |
| Hetzner(opens in a new tab) | Germany 🇩🇪 | 🟢 | - |
| Mythic Beasts(opens in a new tab) | United Kingdom 🇬🇧 | 🟢 | - |
Avoid (US-Based): GitHub, GitLab (US), Bitbucket, Cloudflare, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, Fastly, GoDaddy, Namecheap, Squarespace / Google Domains.
💬 Communication & Collaboration
| Service | HQ | Sovereignty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocket.Chat(opens in a new tab) | Brazil 🇧🇷 | 🟢 | - |
| Wire(opens in a new tab) | Switzerland 🇨🇭 / Germany 🇩🇪 | 🟢 | - |
| Proton Mail(opens in a new tab) | Switzerland 🇨🇭 | 🟢 | - |
| Tuta(opens in a new tab) | Germany 🇩🇪 | 🟢 | - |
| Threema(opens in a new tab) | Switzerland 🇨🇭 | 🟢 | - |
| Element(opens in a new tab) | United Kingdom 🇬🇧 | 🟢 | - |
| Mailbox.org(opens in a new tab) | Germany 🇩🇪 | 🟢 | - |
| Whereby(opens in a new tab) | Norway 🇳🇴 | 🟢 | - |
Avoid (US-Based): Slack, Microsoft Teams, Mattermost, Zulip, Discord, WhatsApp, Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, Zoom.
📱 Social Media
| Service | HQ | Sovereignty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pixelfed(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Loops(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Mastodon(opens in a new tab) | Germany 🇩🇪 | 🟢 | - |
| Friendica(opens in a new tab) | Federated 🌐 | 🟢 | - |
Avoid (US-Based): Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), Snapchat, Threads.
🌐 Web Browsers
| Service | HQ | Sovereignty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shift(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟡 | Owned by Redbrick |
| Vivaldi(opens in a new tab) | Norway 🇳🇴 | 🟢 | - |
| Opera(opens in a new tab) | Norway 🇳🇴 | 🟢 | Majority owned by Kunlun Tech (China) |
Avoid (US-Based): Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, Brave.
🔐 Productivity & Privacy
| Service | HQ | Sovereignty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Password(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Sync(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Obsidian(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Proton Pass(opens in a new tab) | Switzerland 🇨🇭 | 🟢 | - |
| NordPass(opens in a new tab) | Lithuania 🇱🇹 | 🟢 | - |
| Nextcloud(opens in a new tab) | Germany 🇩🇪 | 🟢 | - |
| Capacities(opens in a new tab) | Germany 🇩🇪 | 🟢 | - |
Avoid (US-Based): Bitwarden, Dashlane, LastPass, iCloud Keychain, Google Password Manager, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud, Box, Notion.
🤖 Artificial Intelligence & Search
| Service | HQ | Sovereignty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mistral AI(opens in a new tab) | France 🇫🇷 | 🟢 | - |
| DeepL(opens in a new tab) | Germany 🇩🇪 | 🟢 | - |
| DeepSeek(opens in a new tab) | China 🇨🇳 | 🟢 | - |
| Kimi(opens in a new tab) | China 🇨🇳 | 🟢 | - |
| Qwant(opens in a new tab) | France 🇫🇷 | 🟡 | Relies on Microsoft Bing search index |
Avoid (US-Based): OpenAI (ChatGPT), Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini/Search), Microsoft (Bing/Translator).
🎵 Entertainment & Media
| Service | HQ | Sovereignty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBC Gem(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | Publicly owned (CBC) |
| Crave(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | Owned by Bell Media |
| Kobo(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | Owned by Rakuten (Japan) |
| GOG(opens in a new tab) | Poland 🇵🇱 | 🟢 | Owned by CD Projekt; DRM-free gaming |
| PeerTube(opens in a new tab) | France 🇫🇷 | 🟢 | - |
| Spotify(opens in a new tab) | Sweden 🇸🇪 | 🟡 | Relies heavily on US Google Cloud (GCP) |
| Deezer(opens in a new tab) | France 🇫🇷 | 🟡 | Partial dependency on US Cloud infra |
Avoid (US-Based): YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Hulu, Max, Vimeo, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Steam, Epic Games Store.
🚗 Automotive
| Brand | HQ | Sovereignty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen(opens in a new tab) | Germany 🇩🇪 | 🟢 | - |
| BMW(opens in a new tab) | Germany 🇩🇪 | 🟢 | - |
| Toyota(opens in a new tab) | Japan 🇯🇵 | 🟢 | - |
| Volvo(opens in a new tab) | Sweden 🇸🇪 | 🟢 | Parent company Geely is based in China |
Avoid (US-Based): Tesla, Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, RAM, Jeep, Lincoln, Cadillac.
🍔 Fast Food & Dining
| Brand | HQ | Sovereignty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A&W Canada(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | Operates independently of US A&W |
| Harvey’s(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Pizza Pizza(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Mary Brown’s(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Swiss Chalet(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| New York Fries(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | Founded in Brantford, ON |
| Osmow’s(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Thai Express(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Booster Juice(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Hero Certified Burgers(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Mr. Sub(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Pizza Nova(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| The Burger’s Priest(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Tim Hortons(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟡 | Owned by RBI (significant US operations) |
| LEON(opens in a new tab) | United Kingdom 🇬🇧 | 🟢 | - |
| Greggs(opens in a new tab) | United Kingdom 🇬🇧 | 🟢 | - |
| Quick(opens in a new tab) | Belgium 🇧🇪 | 🟢 | - |
Avoid (US-Based): McDonald’s, Starbucks, Subway, Burger King, Dunkin’, KFC, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, Chipotle, Five Guys, Shake Shack, Chick-fil-A, Popeyes (RBI/US-founded), Taco Bell.
💻 Hardware & Electronics
| Brand | HQ | Sovereignty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo(opens in a new tab) | China 🇨🇳 | 🟢 | - |
| ASUS(opens in a new tab) | Taiwan 🇹🇼 | 🟢 | - |
| Acer(opens in a new tab) | Taiwan 🇹🇼 | 🟢 | - |
| MSI(opens in a new tab) | Taiwan 🇹🇼 | 🟢 | - |
| BenQ(opens in a new tab) | Taiwan 🇹🇼 | 🟢 | - |
| Samsung(opens in a new tab) | South Korea 🇰🇷 | 🟢 | - |
| LG(opens in a new tab) | South Korea 🇰🇷 | 🟢 | - |
| Logitech(opens in a new tab) | Switzerland 🇨🇭 | 🟢 | - |
| SteelSeries(opens in a new tab) | Denmark 🇩🇰 | 🟢 | - |
Avoid (US-Based): Apple, Dell, HP, Microsoft (Surface), Razer, NVIDIA, Intel, AMD.
👕 Clothing & Apparel
| Brand | HQ | Sovereignty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lululemon(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | - |
| Arc’teryx(opens in a new tab) | Canada 🇨🇦 | 🟢 | Owned by Amer Sports (Finnish/Chinese) |
| H&M(opens in a new tab) | Sweden 🇸🇪 | 🟢 | - |
| Zara(opens in a new tab) | Spain 🇪🇸 | 🟢 | - |
| Adidas(opens in a new tab) | Germany 🇩🇪 | 🟢 | - |
| Uniqlo(opens in a new tab) | Japan 🇯🇵 | 🟢 | - |
Malcolm Bastien
Enterprise Agile Coach
Enterprise Agile Coach helping leaders in Fintech, Banking, and HealthTech build fast flow through systems thinking and aligned autonomy, empowering teams to deliver high-performance results at scale.