European alternatives to Google Drive
Google Drive is where a billion people keep their files, and it's genuinely convenient – 15 GB free, Docs and Sheets built right in, and it's already there the moment you sign into Google. But that convenience is the hook: Drive is wired into your whole Google account, it lives on US servers, and Google's business runs on data.
Company information about Google Drive
- Company
- Google LLC
- Parent company
- Alphabet Inc.
- Headquarters
- Mountain View, United States
- Founded
- 2012
- Data jurisdiction
- United States
- Ownership
- Publicly traded
- GDPR
- No
- Open source
- No
- Infrastructure
- Own infrastructure
Why people switch away from Google Drive
It answers to US law
Google is a US company, which puts Drive under the CLOUD Act – American authorities can compel access to your files wherever in the world they're stored.
A growing environmental footprint
Google's 2024 environmental report showed its emissions up nearly 50% over five years, driven largely by the data-centre buildout behind services like Drive, despite a standing net-zero pledge.
Feeds a ruled monopoly
Drive usage feeds the same Google advertising business a US federal court ruled an illegal monopoly in 2024 – the finding now driving proposed antitrust remedies.
Everyday annoyances
- 15 GB, shared and gone. The free storage is split across Drive, Gmail and Photos, so it fills up fast – and then you're paying for Google One.
- Happiest inside Google. Docs and Sheets are great until you need to work with someone who isn't in Google's world, and exporting cleanly is fiddlier than it should be.
- Everything or nothing. Drive is welded to your Google account – one login, one company, one very large single point of failure.
- It inspects what you store. Google's systems scan files for policy and features, and people have been locked out of entire accounts over false flags.
- The permanent upsell. 'Storage almost full' nudges toward Google One are just part of the furniture.
- AI features read your files. Free Google accounts have 'smart features' that let AI access and process your Drive content unless you turn them off in settings.
Looking for a curated recommendation? Read our full guide → Best Google Drive alternatives
European alternatives to Google Drive
Spanish zero-knowledge cloud storage founded in Valencia in 2020. Open-source, end-to-end encrypted, ISO 27001:2022 certified. Audited by Securitum in 2025. 1M+ users, EU data centres via OVHcloud, post-quantum encryption. Also offers VPN and antivirus.
French company offering /e/OS, a de-Googled Android operating system, and Murena Cloud, a privacy-respecting alternative to Google Workspace. Founded by Gaël Duval, creator of Mandrake Linux. Phones shipped with zero Google services. EU-hosted cloud.
End-to-end encrypted cloud storage from a small German team, with all servers in Germany. Zero-knowledge AES-256 encryption, open-source apps, and one of the most generous free tiers in the category at 10GB - a genuinely private alternative to Dropbox and Google Drive.
Swiss cloud storage from an ethical hosting company. 100% renewable energy, full data sovereignty, no investor pressure.
End-to-end encrypted cloud storage from Proton AG in Geneva. Zero-knowledge architecture means even Proton cannot access your files. Own servers in Switzerland and Germany, ISO 27001 certified. Part of the Proton ecosystem alongside Mail, VPN, and Pass.
Swiss cloud storage with an optional client-side encryption layer. Lifetime plans available, EU data region.
Zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storage built by a Welsh team. Client-side Twofish encryption, a slick drive-style interface, and a generous 10GB free tier - a British alternative to Dropbox and Google Drive that can't read your files.
End-to-end encrypted cloud storage. Swiss-based with zero-knowledge architecture.
Want more options? Browse all European Cloud storage alternatives →
People also replace
Box 
Dropbox 
OneDrive 
iCloud 
Google Workspace 
Ditching more than Google Drive?
Our Degoogle guide maps every Google service to a European alternative.
Read the guide → Also consider replacing
Other Alphabet Inc. products with European alternatives
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.
Why avoid United States-owned services?
CLOUD Act
Forces US companies to hand over data stored anywhere in the world upon government request, including data on European servers.
FISA Section 702
Authorises mass surveillance of non-US persons using data held by US tech platforms, without a warrant or notification.
GDPR vs US law conflict
EU courts have repeatedly found that US surveillance law conflicts with European fundamental rights. Schrems I and II both invalidated EU-US data transfer agreements.