European alternatives to Google Maps
The mapping service that mapped the world, and one of Google's richest sources of location data. Indispensable and free, but every trip and search feeds the Google profile on US infrastructure.
Company information about Google Maps
- Company
- Google LLC
- Parent company
- Alphabet Inc.
- Headquarters
- Mountain View, United States
- Founded
- 2005
- Data jurisdiction
- United States
- Ownership
- Publicly traded
- GDPR
- No
- Open source
- No
- Infrastructure
- Own infrastructure
Why people switch away from Google Maps
Location data fed to police
Law enforcement used 'geofence warrants' to pull Google location history on everyone near a crime scene for years; Google changed how it stores that data in 2023 specifically to curb the practice.
Answers to US law
Google is a US company, which puts Maps data under the CLOUD Act – American authorities can compel access wherever it's stored.
Fined for favouring its own results
The EU fined Google €2.42 billion in 2017 for abusing search dominance to favour its own shopping and local-business listings over rivals – the same self-preferencing Maps benefits from.
Everyday annoyances
- Listings full of fake reviews. Google's local business listings are regularly plagued by fake reviews and scam listings that slip past moderation for months.
- Ads blend into results. Sponsored pins and promoted businesses are woven into search and navigation results in ways that are easy to mistake for organic listings.
- Offline maps are limited. Downloaded offline areas expire after a set period and drop features like live traffic, so you still need a connection for the best experience.
- Constant prompts to contribute. The app frequently asks you to leave reviews, upload photos and answer questions about places you've merely driven past.
- Tied to a Google account. Saved places, timeline history and reviews are all wedded to your Google login, complicating account changes or data export.
European alternatives to Google Maps
A powerful offline maps and navigation app built on OpenStreetMap, developed by a company in the Netherlands. Detailed offline maps, hiking and cycling routes, and deep customisation, all without tracking where you go.
A privacy-first navigation app from Amsterdam-based General Magic, built on OpenStreetMap data. Turn-by-turn navigation, live traffic, and offline maps, with no account required and no tracking of where you go.
A Slovak GPS navigation app with detailed offline maps covering more than 200 countries. Turn-by-turn voice guidance, speed-limit warnings, and traffic, all usable without a data connection - one of Europe's most popular navigation apps.
A free, open-source maps and navigation app built on OpenStreetMap, run by a non-profit registered in Estonia. Fully offline, with no ads, no tracking, and no account - a genuinely private alternative to Google Maps.
French privacy-first map built on OpenStreetMap. No tracking, no profiling, fully GDPR-compliant and open data.
A free, editable map of the entire world built by a community of mappers and stewarded by the UK-registered OpenStreetMap Foundation. Its open data powers countless privacy-friendly apps - and you can use and contribute to it directly.
Navigation and mapping from HERE Technologies, headquartered in Amsterdam. Offline maps, transit routing, and no Google tracking.
Amsterdam-founded navigation company making sat-nav devices and the maps and traffic data behind many cars and apps. Publicly listed and independent of Big Tech — a European alternative to Google-owned navigation.
Want more options? Browse all European Maps & navigation alternatives →
People also replace
Apple Maps 
Waze 
Bing Maps 
Garmin 
Ditching more than Google Maps?
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.