European alternatives to Slack
The workplace chat tool that defined the category, now owned by Salesforce. It runs on AWS under US jurisdiction, and by default your messages aren't end-to-end encrypted, which matters for sensitive team data.
Company information about Slack
- Company
- Slack Technologies LLC
- Parent company
- Salesforce Inc.
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, United States
- Founded
- 2013
- Data jurisdiction
- United States
- Ownership
- Publicly traded
- GDPR
- No
- Open source
- No
- Infrastructure
- Amazon AWS
Why people switch away from Slack
Default AI training on messages
Slack was found in 2024 to use workspace messages and files to train AI features by default, with no in-app toggle – opting out required a workspace owner to email support.
No end-to-end encryption
Slack messages aren't end-to-end encrypted by default, so the company – and anyone who can legally compel it – can technically access conversation content.
Answers to US law
Slack is a US company on AWS, putting workspace data under the CLOUD Act, well outside GDPR's reach.
Everyday annoyances
- Free plan hides old messages. The free tier only surfaces recent history before older messages disappear from search, a hard limit for teams that rely on it.
- Notification overload. Channels, threads, DMs and app integrations combine into a stream of pings that takes real discipline to tame.
- Huddles lag behind dedicated tools. Voice and video huddles have a reputation for connection issues compared with purpose-built video conferencing apps.
- Pricing scales fast for teams. Per-seat billing on paid tiers adds up quickly, and key admin and compliance features sit behind the priciest plan.
- Integration sprawl. Years of third-party app connections can leave a workspace cluttered with bots nobody remembers approving.
European alternatives to Slack
Open-source collaboration suite developed by French company Linagora. Combines Matrix-based messaging, cloud drive, mail, and calendar in one platform. EU-hosted and self-hostable.
German all-in-one collaboration platform combining team chat, project management, video conferencing, and document editing. All data stored exclusively in Germany with end-to-end encryption. ISO 27001 certified. Used by 10,000+ companies.
Swiss end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration platform for enterprise and government use. Backed by Schwarz Group (Lidl/Kaufland), hosted in the EU, and used by security-conscious organisations across Europe.
European secure communications platform built on the open Matrix protocol. Used by NATO, the EU, French and German governments, and 47M+ users across 80,000+ deployments. Self-hostable with full end-to-end encryption.
Want more options? Browse all European Team communication alternatives →
People also replace
Google Workspace 
Microsoft 365 
DingTalk 
Microsoft Teams 
Discord 
iMessage 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.