Why Does a Simple Directory Expose Europe's Digital Weakness?

The 'Only EU' directory (only-eu.eu/en/) launched on Hacker News on April 3, 2026, and immediately went viral. It lists 120 European alternatives to US apps across categories like cloud storage, email, office suites, and social media. The site's creator, a French developer named Thomas B., told Hacker News he built it to 'help people and companies reduce their dependence on US tech.' But the list itself tells a different story: most entries are small, regional, or niche. For example, the 'Google Drive' alternative is 'CloudFusion'—a German startup with 50,000 users. Compare that to Google Drive's 2 billion users. The directory is less a solution and more a diagnostic tool showing how deep the dependency runs.

In my view, this is a wake-up call disguised as a resource. The fact that someone had to compile 120 alternatives suggests that no single European player has emerged as a clear winner. The fragmentation is the story.

Which European Alternatives Actually Have a Fighting Chance?

Let's be honest: most of these 120 alternatives are dead on arrival. But a few stand out. ProtonMail (Swiss) has 70 million users and is a credible Gmail alternative. Nextcloud (German) has 400,000 deployments and is a legit Dropbox competitor. Signal (Swiss) has 40 million users and is a genuine WhatsApp rival. These three companies have scale, funding, and a clear value proposition (privacy). The rest? They're hobby projects or regional players that will never escape their home market.

The key question is whether these few strong players can build a 'European stack'—a cohesive ecosystem where ProtonMail, Nextcloud, and Signal work together seamlessly. Without that, users will always default to US products that are better integrated (Google Workspace, iCloud, WhatsApp).

Who Wins and Who Loses From This List Going Viral?

What Concrete Predictions Can We Make About This Trend?

1. By Q4 2026, the European Commission will announce a dedicated €500 million fund to support the top 10 European alternatives from this directory, citing 'digital sovereignty' as the rationale.
2. Proton AG will acquire at least one smaller European startup (likely a calendar or contacts app) by Q3 2026 to build a more integrated alternative to Google Workspace.
3. By mid-2027, at least 30% of the 120 listed alternatives will be defunct or acquired, as the unsustainable long-tail of European tech startups fails to gain traction.

Timeline of European Digital Sovereignty Efforts

European Alternative Market Share (Estimated)

• ProtonMail vs Gmail: ProtonMail has ~70M users vs Gmail's ~1.8B. That's a 3.9% ratio—growing but not threatening.
• Nextcloud vs Dropbox: Nextcloud has 400K deployments vs Dropbox's 700M users. Nextcloud is a solid enterprise option but consumer adoption is negligible.
• Signal vs WhatsApp: Signal has 40M users vs WhatsApp's 2B. Signal's growth is steady but it's still a niche for privacy-hardcore users.
• Overall: European alternatives hold less than 5% combined market share in every major category. The gap is structural, not a marketing problem.

• The 'Only EU' directory is a symptom, not a cure—it proves Europe has many alternatives but no dominant ones.
• The real battle is ecosystem integration: ProtonMail + Nextcloud + Signal could form a 'European stack' if they cooperate.
• Most of the 120 alternatives will fail because they lack the capital, network effects, or integration to retain users.
• EU policymakers will use this list to justify new funding, but that funding will likely go to the same 3-5 companies that already work.
• The US tech giants are not threatened by this list; they are threatened by regulatory action, not grassroots directories.