Alternatives to US and big tech companies
This list is partially based on the sources listed at the bottom of this page. Please visit them - you won't regret it.
I created the list trying to focus on Canadian companies, open source projects and, wherever possible, free products and services. The main objective is to avoid companies that I feel don't align with my values, but I must underline that it is essential for me to be able to keep doing the things I need to do. There are compromises that I'm making, but I try to keep them to a minimum.
Office suite (text, spreadsheets, presentations, etc)
- Replacement for: MS Office, Apple iWork, Google Workspace/Drive
- Candidates:
- Apache OpenOffice - Official Site - The Free and Open Productivity Suite (free, open source)
- Home | LibreOffice - Free and private office suite - Based on OpenOffice - Compatible with Microsoft (free, open source)
- ONLYOFFICE - Secure Online Office | ONLYOFFICE (free tier available, open source)
- My choice: ONLYOFFICE - It integrates well with my Nextcloud instance, is available for all operating systems, so I can access and edit my documents from any device, at any time.
- Downsides: I haven't found any so far.
- Compromises: I don't think I had to do any for this.
File storage
- Replacement for: MS OneDrive, Google Drive, Apple iCloud, Dropbox
- Candidates:
- Sync | Secure Cloud Storage, File Sharing and Document Collaboration (Canadian)
- kDrive - secure online storage on a fully sovereign cloud | Infomaniak (Swiss, best value that I could find)
- Jottacloud – Cloud storage made easy
- Proton Drive (see below under All-in-One Suites)
- Nextcloud (Requires some technical expertise, also see below under All-in-One Suites)
- My choice: Nextcloud - I wanted to be able to do more, all in one place. If not this, I would have chosen kDrive, which offers a lot of space for a good price and allows the WebDav integration that Sync is missing (and that I really wanted to easily sync files between devices).
- Downsides: It takes time to set up and you either have to host it yourself, or pay rent on someone else's server. I am hosting mine on Hetzner - Managed nextcloud: cheap cloud storage
- Compromises: Just the fact that the initial setup can take time and it's not a complete out-of-the-box experience.
- Replacement for: Gmail, Outlook
- Candidates:
- Proton Mail (security, free or paid options, also see All-in-one Suites below)
- Omail - Canada's Private Email Service (Canadian, beta, free or paid options)
- Niliâ„¢ | Your Canadian Email Address (Canadian, eco-friendly, paid only)
- Zoho mail (see All-in-one Suites below)
- My choice: Proton Mail - I tried it out with a free account, then decided to pay for a Mail Plus one. I wanted to be able to create multiple addresses in the same account as well as having a guarantee of privacy and security. I am happy with my choice.
- Downsides: None so far.
- Compromises: None that I can think of.
All-in-One Suites
- Replacement for: Google Drive, MS Office
- Candidates:
- Proton Pricing Plans - Free & Paid Plans | Proton
- Zoho | Cloud Software Suite for Businesses
- Nextcloud (Requires some technical expertise, also see above under File Storage)
- My choice: Nextcloud + Onlyoffice (see the respective descriptions above under Office Suites and File Storage)
- Downsides: the time and effort to test the solution and setting things up for sure (especially on multiple devices). I haven't been using them for long, but I don't feel like I will regret the choice.
- Compromises: None.
Coming soon
- Social media
- Video streaming
- Music Streaming
- Git repository
Not convinced that you should switch? Read why I think you should here: US and big tech companies? No thanks!
Sources: