European Alternatives to Microsoft

Europe has workable alternatives for most Microsoft products: LibreOffice, SoftMaker Office, Nextcloud Office, Collabora Online and Infomaniak kSuite instead of Microsoft 365, Proton Mail, mailbox.org and Tuta instead of Outlook, Proton Drive and Infomaniak kDrive instead of OneDrive, Element and OpenTalk instead of Teams, Linux Mint and Zorin OS instead of Windows, STACKIT instead of Azure and Codeberg instead of GitHub. No single product replaces the whole Microsoft stack, so most organisations move one product at a time. This page shows a curated selection of 20 European products and explains, for each Microsoft product, which alternatives fit and where the limits are.

European alternatives to Microsoft at a glance

Microsoft product	European alternatives on this page	Detail page
Microsoft 365 / Office	LibreOffice, SoftMaker Office, Nextcloud Office, Collabora Online, Infomaniak kSuite	Alternatives to Microsoft Office
Outlook, Exchange	Proton Mail, mailbox.org, Tuta	Email providers
Teams	Element, OpenTalk, Infomaniak kSuite	Alternatives to Microsoft Teams
OneDrive	Proton Drive, Infomaniak kDrive, Nextcloud Office	Alternatives to Microsoft OneDrive
Windows	Linux Mint, Zorin OS	Alternatives to Microsoft Windows
Azure	STACKIT	Alternatives to Microsoft Azure
Bing	Qwant, Ecosia	Alternatives to Bing
GitHub	Codeberg	Alternatives to GitHub
Visual Studio Code	IntelliJ IDEA	Alternatives to Visual Studio Code
LinkedIn	XING	Business networks

Alternatives to Microsoft 365 and Office

For Word, Excel and PowerPoint there are two kinds of replacement. LibreOffice (Germany, open source) and SoftMaker Office (Germany, commercial) are desktop suites that open and save the Microsoft file formats. Collabora Online (UK) and Nextcloud Office (Germany) run in the browser and let several people edit a document together, which is the closest match to Microsoft 365 in everyday teamwork. Infomaniak kSuite (Switzerland) bundles mail, storage and online documents in one subscription.

The limits are mostly in the details. Complex formatting in Word or PowerPoint can shift slightly, and Excel files that rely on VBA macros or Power Query usually need rework. Test a few real documents before rolling anything out. The page Alternatives to Microsoft Office lists all office suites in the directory.

Alternatives to Outlook and Exchange

For email and calendars, Proton Mail (Switzerland) and Tuta (Germany) focus on encryption and include calendars. mailbox.org (Germany) combines mail, calendar, online office and video conferencing in one account and is the more traditional groupware option. Shared mailboxes, delegation and resource booking, which Exchange handles well, differ from provider to provider, so check them early. More providers are in the category Email providers and Calendar software.

Alternatives to Microsoft Teams

Teams combines chat, meetings and file sharing. Element (UK) is an open-source chat client built on the Matrix protocol and can be self-hosted. OpenTalk (Germany) is open-source video conferencing, also self-hostable. Infomaniak kSuite adds chat and video meetings to its mail and storage, and Nextcloud brings its own chat and call function. Replacing Teams usually means combining two or three tools rather than finding one. See Alternatives to Microsoft Teams for the full list.

Alternatives to OneDrive and SharePoint

Cloud storage is the easiest part to move. Proton Drive and Infomaniak kDrive (both Switzerland) offer file sync with a focus on privacy, and Nextcloud Office adds collaborative editing on top of file sync. SharePoint-style intranets with workflows have no one-to-one replacement. The page Alternatives to Microsoft OneDrive compares the storage options.

Alternatives to Windows

Linux Mint and Zorin OS are desktop Linux distributions that look familiar to Windows users and cover browsing, office work, email and video calls. What often decides the move is the software: some professional programs and games only run on Windows, and company software tied to Active Directory needs a plan. Alternatives to Microsoft Windows lists ten operating systems.

Alternatives to Azure

STACKIT (Germany, part of Schwarz Group) offers cloud infrastructure from a European company. For basic compute, storage, databases and containers, European providers cover most needs. Azure's breadth, for example its AI services and tight Entra ID integration, is not matched one to one. More providers are in the categories VPS hosting, PaaS providers and the new Cloud computing platforms. See also Alternatives to Microsoft Azure.

Alternatives to Bing, GitHub, Visual Studio Code and LinkedIn

• Bing: Qwant (France) and Ecosia (Germany) are European search engines, but both still draw part of their results from Bing today. A fully independent index is only run by Mojeek (UK). The table on Alternatives to Google shows who uses which index, and Alternatives to Bing lists all search engines.
• GitHub: Codeberg (Germany) is a non-profit code hosting platform. GitHub has belonged to Microsoft since 2018. See Alternatives to GitHub.
• Visual Studio Code: IntelliJ IDEA (Czech Republic, JetBrains) is a full development environment rather than a light editor. No European code editor is listed yet. See Alternatives to Visual Studio Code.
• LinkedIn: XING (Germany) is a business network with a strong base in German-speaking countries and a smaller reach elsewhere.
• Edge: European browsers are listed under Browsers.

How to move away from Microsoft step by step

1. List which Microsoft products are actually in use, including hidden ones such as Entra ID sign-in, Power Automate flows or Teams bots.
2. Start with the parts that are easy to separate: file storage, search, code hosting, then email.
3. Run a pilot with one team and real documents, especially Excel files with macros and shared calendars.
4. Export data in open formats before cancelling anything and keep a fallback period.
5. Replace office suites and the desktop last, because this is where habits and compatibility matter most.

FAQ

What is the best European alternative to Microsoft 365?

There is no single drop-in replacement. A common combination is Nextcloud Office or Collabora Online for documents and files, mailbox.org or Proton Mail for email, and Element or OpenTalk for chat and meetings. Infomaniak kSuite is the closest to an all-in-one package.

Can LibreOffice open Microsoft Office files?

Yes, LibreOffice opens and saves DOCX, XLSX and PPTX. Simple documents convert cleanly, while complex layouts and macros can behave differently.

Are these products free?

It varies. LibreOffice is free open-source software. Most hosted services are subscription based, some have a limited free tier. Check the provider's own pricing page before deciding.

Does a European company mean no US law applies?

A European headquarters removes the direct reach of US law over the provider, but it does not cover every dependency, such as a US infrastructure partner. The directory marks products whose European company belongs to a non-European parent.

Is there a European alternative to Google as well?

Yes, see European alternatives to Google for search engines and links to alternatives for Gmail, Maps, Drive and more.