Why I built PickEurope
Europe makes incredible products that could replace Big Tech, and reclaim our digital independence. But who is able to name more than 5?
For centuries, Europe has been one of the driving forces of technological advancement. Companies like Mercedes-Benz, Philips, Siemens and Airbus shaped entire industries. All around the world, kids dream of driving a red Ferrari. Today, ASML makes the machines that print every modern chip on earth. Spotify reinvented how we listen to music. Adyen powers payments for some of the world's biggest brands. There is still a lot to love about Europe.
But something shifted. Gradually, Europe became more reliant on businesses and services from outside. Not only for cheap labour in China and the rest of Asia, but also for everything that we do on the internet. It felt harmless, using Google, buying from Amazon, and posting our photos to Facebook. It was convenient, cheap, and sometimes even fun. But it has come at a cost. Manufacturing moved abroad. Our social media platforms come from Silicon Valley. Online marketplaces consolidated into a handful of global giants, with Google giving us the ads for the stuff we can buy on Amazon. And because most of these companies operate outside Europe, we have very little influence over how they handle data, taxes, labour, or competition. And when they decide that they don't like us anymore, we're left in a weak position.
Maybe it's time to make Europe great again.
How EuroPoints Are Calculated
At PickEurope, we give every service a EuroPoints score – an easy way to compare how European a service really is. The higher a company scores, the more you can trust that it keeps your data better protected, respects your privacy, and operates under European rules rather than foreign jurisdiction.
EuroPoints tiers
Legal home
30 pts| HQ in EU member state | 30 |
| HQ in EFTA (CH, NO, IS) | 25 |
| HQ in United Kingdom | 18 |
| European-founded, HQ moved outside | 10 |
| Non-European HQ | 0 |
Ownership & control
25 pts| Independent / non-profit / cooperative | 25 |
| + bootstrapped bonus | +5 |
| VC-backed, EU parent | 18 |
| VC-backed, no known parent | 15 |
| VC-backed, non-EU parent | 10 |
| Private equity | 8 |
| Acquired by / corporate, non-EU | 0 |
Where your data lives
30 pts| Own servers / own datacentres | 30 |
| EU-based provider (Hetzner, OVH, Scaleway) | 25 |
| Mixed, mostly EU | 18 |
| Mixed | 12 |
| EU servers, US cloud provider (CLOUD Act risk) | 10 |
| Data stored outside Europe | 0 |
| US data jurisdiction penalty | −5 |
Openness & trust
15 pts| Open source + GDPR documented | 12 |
| GDPR documented + audit bonus | up to 15 |
| Open source only | 8 |
| Partial open source + GDPR | 10 |
| GDPR documented only | 8 |
| No transparency | 0 |
The question is not whether a company calls itself European. It is whether European law applies to it, whether Europeans control it, where your data actually lives, and whether the company is transparent about all of the above.
Spot a mistake?
Companies change ownership, move servers and change the way they handle data surprisingly fast. If you spot something outdated or incorrect, please tell me about it.
Who I am
Hi, I'm Daniel Koster.
I built this website to help people find European alternatives, for businesses in Europe to grow.
I think a lot of great European companies go unnoticed, so I wanted to build an easy-to-use directory to give these good businesses a spotlight. Some people really just want to do the right thing and work towards a better world together, which is evident in the many open-source projects that you're also able to find on PickEurope.
Not surprisingly, I'm European myself, and if you would see how tall I am, you'd know I'm Dutch. It's not that I hate America, but there were times that I liked it more. And being European doesn't automatically make something better. Nor am I holier than the Pope myself. I still use and rely on non-European products and services every day. But I would like to see and make a little change with PickEurope. Thank you for visiting, and I'll do my best to make people pick Europe more frequently.
It is important for the position of Europe. For long, we assumed the global system would stay stable and friendly. We had strong allies, busy ports, and trade routes that spanned every continent. Europe picked the fruits of globalisation. We are prosperous, connected, and — we thought — secure. But recent years have shown that depending on others for key parts of our economy, our data, and our global decisions leaves us vulnerable. Some of the fruits are rotting.
The Trump administration has imposed tariffs, used surveillance on European civilians, supported extremist movements and openly questioned alliances we thought were permanent. Since Trump took office again, most of the Big Tech companies have rushed to get on his good side. That shows how quickly corporate values can change when power and profit are involved. As Europeans, I think we should reduce our dependency on companies that do not reliably share our commitment to equality, freedom, privacy, or that supply technology that can be used for surveillance, warfare and military attacks abroad.
Things are not too great on the Eastern front either. Russia invaded Ukraine, started a war on European soil, and continues to threaten neighbouring countries. China floods European markets with subsidised products, sometimes of questionable quality and safety standards, while operating under a regime with no real democratic accountability.
I know this reads more serious than a software directory probably warrants, but these are not abstract concerns. I think they are good reasons to consider European alternatives more seriously.
If you support what I'm building, I'd love to hear from you.
Why European alternatives matter
Your data stays in Europe
Your email, your files, your AI tools, the systems your business runs on... if these run on US data centers, you depend on the US government. They can reach your data today. And if our alliance with the US breaks, that dependence becomes a serious risk. European data centers give you stronger privacy, less exposure to geopolitical tension, and the protection of European law.
Better for the European economy
When we give away our data, use American and Chinese products, and hire companies from outside Europe, we make Europe weaker. We lose local businesses, jobs, and tax money that should support our own governments. If we chose European products first, we would build a strong market for European companies. That means more jobs, lower taxes, and more investments in Europe.
Sometimes European is simply better
European products might be cheaper, offer better privacy, work in our native languages, support local payment systems. They are often better for the environment too. Sometimes an app or services solves a problem that Americans wouldn't even recognize. We are different in Europe, and sometimes we need tools that are built different.
Less dependency
Relying on a handful of foreign platforms is a risk. In 2025, the US placed sanctions on Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Soon after, his Microsoft email stopped working and his bank accounts were closed. A US company shut off a top European official's email because the US government told it to. This can happen to you too. You can be locked out of your Google or Instagram account, with no clear reason and almost no way to appeal.
Start somewhere.
Switching everything overnight is not realistic. Start where it matters most: your email, your cloud storage, your business tools. Replace one thing at a time.
The European Alternative already exists.
Pick Europe.