8 Best European Alternatives to Zoom (2026), Compared

The best European alternative to Zoom is alfaview (Germany): meeting rooms for up to 500 people, apps for every platform, live transcription and German data centres, from €12 a year per room. If you want open-source software you can also run on your own servers, pick OpenTalk (Germany) – video meetings from the Heinlein group, hosted in Berlin.

I wrote this ranking for people who use Zoom for what it is best at – video meetings, webinars and online classes – but no longer want those calls with Zoom Communications, Inc., a US company in San Jose, California. Zoom’s privacy statement says your data may be transferred to and stored in the United States and other countries outside Europe, and that it relies on standard contractual clauses and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework for those transfers. The European tools below are run by companies in Germany, Switzerland, the UK and Norway. I compared eleven video tools and kept eight. If you also need team chat and channels, not only meetings, read my European alternatives to Microsoft Teams as well.

What are the best European alternatives to Zoom?

If you only have a minute: these are the European video conferencing tools I would switch to from Zoom, in order. Each one is reviewed in detail below.

1. alfaview (Germany) – rooms for 500 people with apps, transcription and translation. Best for most people leaving Zoom.
2. OpenTalk (Germany) – open-source meetings hosted in Berlin, also on-premises. Best for sovereignty and the public sector.
3. Infomaniak kSuite (Switzerland) – free kMeet meetings plus chat, drive and mail. Best if you want Zoom Workplace as a suite.
4. bbbserver (Germany) – managed BigBlueButton with dial-in and learning platform links. Best for schools and trainers.
5. Nextcloud Talk (Germany) – open-source calls and webinars on your own server. Best for self-hosting.
6. Wire (Germany/Switzerland) – end-to-end encrypted calls for up to 150 people. Best for confidential calls.
7. Element (UK) – encrypted Element Call on the Matrix standard. Best for large organisations.
8. Whereby (Norway) – browser meetings guests join without a download. Best for quick client calls.

Zoom alternatives compared

Prices from public pricing pages. Affiliate links and sponsored placements are labelled.

“Data hosted in” shows where each service runs, based on the DNS records of its app or website and an ASN lookup (25 Oct 2026), together with what the company says about its data centres. For Nextcloud you choose the hosting yourself.

How I compared the Zoom alternatives

I looked at eleven European video conferencing tools and kept eight. The order is driven by how much of Zoom you keep after switching – large meetings, webinars, recording, apps and phone dial-in – then by privacy and data sovereignty, then by price. Concretely, I weighed five things:

• Jurisdiction and ownership – where the company is registered, who owns it and whether the service runs on a US cloud such as AWS.
• Feature match with Zoom – meeting size, time limits, breakout rooms, recording, webinars or streaming, phone dial-in and apps for desktop and phone.
• Price – the free plan, the cheapest paid plan, and whether you pay per user, per host, per room or per connection.
• Security – end-to-end encryption, open-source code, self-hosting and certifications such as ISO 27001 or the BSI IT Security Label.
• What users say – ratings on Trustpilot, read together with the number of reviews, which is small for most of these tools.

I left out three tools. Jitsi Meet is popular, but the public service meet.jit.si is operated by 8×8, Inc., a Delaware corporation in Campbell, California, and Jitsi is an 8×8 trademark. eyeson GmbH sells a video API for developers with prices on request, not a ready meeting app for your team. Senfcall, a free BigBlueButton service from a volunteer student team with servers in Germany, is fine for private calls, but I found no business plan on its site. US tools such as Google Meet, Webex and Microsoft Teams are not considered. All data comes from the vendors’ own pricing, about, legal and security pages and from Trustpilot, checked on 25 October 2026.

The best European alternatives to Zoom, reviewed

Every tool below gets the same treatment: who is behind it, what users say, what it replaces from Zoom and what it does not, its pros and cons, and my opinion on who should switch to it.

1. alfaview

The closest European match for Zoom – big rooms, real apps and live transcription, hosted only in Germany

alfaview is made by alfaview gmbh in Karlsruhe, Germany, whose director is Nikolaos Fostiropoulos. He founded the company and also the training provider alfatraining, and alfaview belongs to his group of companies (alfacube) together with the speech-recognition firm EML Speech Technology. alfaview says it uses only data centres in Germany that are headquartered in Germany. Its app servers run on Hetzner (AS24940), OVHcloud (AS16276) and noris network (AS12337), all located in Germany; the website is on SOPRADO (AS20546).

What users say. I found no Trustpilot profile for alfaview. On G2 it has 4.7/5 from 11 reviews, a small sample. The data protection commissioners of Berlin and Baden-Württemberg list alfaview among the video tools they consider GDPR-compliant, according to alfaview.

What it replaces from Zoom – and what it doesn’t. alfaview works the way Zoom does: you install an app for Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone or Android (or join from the browser), and an Outlook add-in schedules meetings. Rooms hold 300 people on Professional and 500 on Premium, with 50 breakout rooms, waiting room, polls, whiteboard, chat, simultaneous screen sharing and interpretation tracks. Paid plans add recording, live streaming, live transcription and a digital interpreter in 8 languages, plus 50 hours of live translation a month – alfaview’s answer to Zoom’s AI captions. What you lose: calls are encrypted with TLS in transit, not end to end; phone dial-in costs extra; and there is no persistent team chat like Zoom Team Chat.

Facts: HQ Germany (Karlsruhe) · free plan: yes (1 room, 50 participants, no recording) · One €12/year (100 participants) · Professional €3.90 per room/month or €39/year (300 participants) · Premium €9.90 per room/month or €99/year (500 participants) · prices excl. VAT · ISO 27001, ISO 9001, BSI IT Security Label, TISAX · apps for web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and Outlook.

Switching from Zoom: easy – install the app, create a room and send the link instead of a Zoom invite.

My take: alfaview is first because it gives you back the most of Zoom: proper desktop and phone apps, very large rooms, recording, streaming and live captions – and it costs a fraction of Zoom Pro, because you pay per room rather than per host. Everything runs in German data centres on German providers. If end-to-end encryption is the reason you are leaving Zoom, look at Wire instead. Best for: companies, schools and trainers who run big meetings, webinars and classes. Not for: people who need end-to-end encrypted calls.

Visit alfaview.com →

2. OpenTalk

Open-source video meetings from Berlin – in OpenTalk’s cloud or your own data centre

OpenTalk is made by OpenTalk GmbH in Berlin, a Heinlein group company; the group also runs the email provider mailbox.org. The imprint names Peer Heinlein as managing director, and in January 2026 OpenTalk announced Agathe Hütter as its new CEO. OpenTalk began as a project for the city of Berlin and is used by the state administration of Thuringia. The video servers run with Heinlein Hosting in two data centres in Berlin, on Heinlein’s own network (AS199118).

What users say. OpenTalk has no reviews on Trustpilot yet. In July 2024 it was the first video conferencing service to receive the BSI’s IT Security Label for video conferencing services.

What it replaces from Zoom – and what it doesn’t. OpenTalk covers most of a Zoom meeting: chat, polls, whiteboard, meeting minutes, breakout rooms and recording on Standard, plus streaming, phone dial-in and audit-proof voting on Premium, for up to 50 or 200 people. Guests need no account. The code is published under the EUPL on the German government’s Open CoDE platform, and an on-premises version runs in your own data centre. What you lose: there are no desktop or phone apps yet (a mobile app is in development), Standard meetings stop after 240 minutes, the free plan is limited to 5 people and 30 minutes, and OpenTalk names no end-to-end encryption.

Facts: HQ Germany (Berlin) · free plan: yes (5 participants, 30 minutes) · Standard €7.50 per user/month or €75/year (50 participants, 240 minutes) · Premium €12.50 per user/month or €125/year (200 participants, no time limit, dial-in) · prices shown excl. VAT · open source (EUPL) · on-premises option · BSI IT Security Label.

Switching from Zoom: easy – send an OpenTalk link instead of a Zoom link; guests join in the browser.

My take: OpenTalk is the most sovereign choice in this list: German company, Berlin servers, open-source code and a BSI security label. It sits second only because it runs in the browser and costs more per user than alfaview costs per room. Best for: public bodies and organisations that want open-source meetings they can host themselves. Not for: people who want Zoom-style desktop and phone apps.

Visit opentalk.eu →

3. Infomaniak kSuite

Free kMeet video meetings, plus chat, drive and mail – a Swiss take on Zoom Workplace

kMeet is part of kSuite from Infomaniak Network SA, a Swiss company from Geneva founded in 1994, whose main shareholder is the Infomaniak Foundation. Infomaniak runs its own data centres in Switzerland, and kmeet.infomaniak.com is on its own network (AS29222).

What users say. Infomaniak has 3.9/5 from 2,068 reviews on Trustpilot, but that profile covers all Infomaniak products, from web hosting to mail, not only kMeet.

What it replaces from Zoom – and what it doesn’t. Infomaniak calls kMeet its free video conferencing service, and paid kSuite plans have no participant limit. You get a shared chat, screen-share annotation, remote control, a password or custom encryption key per room, scheduling through the Infomaniak calendar and streaming through Infomaniak’s video service. There are mobile and desktop apps. Around kMeet, kSuite adds team chat (kChat), kDrive storage, mail and online office – much like Zoom Workplace adds Team Chat, Phone and Whiteboard. What you lose: Infomaniak does not state time limits or recording for kMeet on the pages I checked, kSuite is encrypted in transit and at rest rather than end to end, and you cannot self-host it.

Facts: HQ Switzerland (Geneva) · founded 1994 · kMeet: free · kSuite free plan: 15 GB, 1 address · paid kSuite per user/month excl. VAT: Standard CHF 1.76, Business CHF 7.34 (CHF 3.67 in the first year), Enterprise CHF 13.83 · no participant limit on paid kSuite plans · ISO 27001 · apps for web, desktop and mobile.

Switching from Zoom: easy for meetings; moderate if you also move chat, files and mail into kSuite.

My take: kMeet is the easiest way to get free, European video calls, and kSuite turns it into a whole workplace for less than Zoom Pro. It sits third because Infomaniak publishes far fewer meeting details than alfaview and OpenTalk, so I cannot promise you webinar features or recording. Best for: small teams that want meetings, chat and files from one Swiss provider. Not for: webinar hosts who need recording and streaming spelled out.

Visit infomaniak.com →

4. bbbserver

Managed BigBlueButton from Germany – classes, webinars and phone dial-in, priced per connection

bbbserver is run by invokable GmbH in Remscheid, Germany, with three managing directors: Julian A. Richter, Dr. Bernd Richter and Toni F. Müller. It runs BigBlueButton, the open-source web conferencing system known from schools and universities, and adds its own management interface. bbbserver says its company, data and all servers are in Europe, in ISO 27001-certified data centres; its website runs on Hetzner (AS24940) in Germany. It says more than 11,000 business, 9,300 education and 4,600 public-sector customers use it.

What users say. bbbserver has only 2 reviews on Trustpilot, too few to say anything about it.

What it replaces from Zoom – and what it doesn’t. bbbserver gives you everything BigBlueButton does – webcam, audio, screen sharing, chat, whiteboard, presentations, waiting room, breakout rooms and recording – plus scheduled and recurring meetings, streaming, recording downloads, AI summaries and live transcription on request. Phone dial-in with German and US numbers is included, conferences hold up to 300 people and last up to 24 hours, and it connects to learning platforms over an API. Conferences run on servers that are deleted and reinstalled every 24–48 hours, and meeting data is deleted when the conference ends. What you lose: you pay for simultaneous connections, so a 100-person webinar needs a much bigger package than the entry price; there are no native apps on the pages I checked; and the free plan allows only 2 participants for 30 minutes.

Facts: HQ Germany (Remscheid) · free plan: yes (2 connections, 30 minutes) · paid from €7.00/month excl. VAT (€8.33 incl. 19% VAT) for 5 simultaneous connections, €9.00 excl. VAT for 10 · unlimited users per package · up to 300 participants, 24-hour conferences · dial-in included · based on open-source BigBlueButton.

Switching from Zoom: easy – create a room, invite guests by link or phone number, and connect your learning platform if you use one.

My take: bbbserver is the most complete way to use BigBlueButton without running it yourself, and phone dial-in comes included in every paid package. It sits fourth because the per-connection pricing gets expensive for large events, where alfaview’s per-room price wins. Best for: schools, trainers and small teams that know BigBlueButton. Not for: organisations with occasional very large webinars on a small budget.

Visit bbbserver.de →

5. Nextcloud Talk

Open-source calls and webinars on your own Nextcloud server

Nextcloud Talk is made by Nextcloud GmbH in Stuttgart, Germany, whose managing director is Frank Karlitschek. Talk is part of Nextcloud Hub, which also includes Files, calendar, mail and office. Nextcloud is open source under the AGPL licence: you run it on your own servers or with a hosting partner, so you decide where your data lives. Nextcloud’s own website runs on Hetzner in Finland (AS24940).

What users say. Nextcloud has 2.7/5 from 51 reviews on Trustpilot, a company-wide profile. Users praise owning their data; complaints are about file sync errors, difficult self-hosting and slow support.

What it replaces from Zoom – and what it doesn’t. Talk gives you video calls with screen sharing, webinars with a waiting lobby and, with the High Performance Backend, phone dial-in over SIP. Calls are end-to-end encrypted in the web and desktop apps, and there are apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone and Android. Because it sits next to Nextcloud Files and calendar, it also replaces Zoom’s chat and scheduling. What you lose: someone has to run it – your own IT or a hosting partner – and published business prices start at 100 users.

Facts: HQ Germany (Stuttgart) · open source (AGPL) · Talk subscription €42 per user/year net (from 100 users) · Nextcloud One for under 100 users: price on request · end-to-end encrypted calls in web and desktop apps · apps for web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android.

Switching from Zoom: hard – you need a server or hosting partner first.

My take: Nextcloud Talk is the only option here where you choose any data centre, including your own. It sits fifth because it is a platform you operate rather than a service you sign up for, which is the opposite of Zoom’s appeal. Best for: organisations with IT staff who already run Nextcloud or want to. Not for: small teams without anyone to run a server.

Visit nextcloud.com →

6. Wire

Always-on end-to-end encryption for calls of up to 150 people – but hosted on AWS

Wire was founded in 2012. Its parent company, Wire Group Holdings GmbH, is incorporated in Berlin, where its headquarters are; the website imprint names Wire Swiss GmbH in Zug, Switzerland. Wire says European investors hold over 90% of the group. Its servers are in Germany and Ireland, but the web app runs on Amazon Web Services (AS16509) in Frankfurt – a US cloud.

What users say. Wire has 2.9/5 from just 10 reviews on Trustpilot, too few to be representative.

What it replaces from Zoom – and what it doesn’t. Wire gives you video conferences for up to 150 people on the SMB plan, screen sharing, guest links, group chats and file sharing, with apps for the web, Windows, macOS, iPhone and Android. Calls, messages and files are always end-to-end encrypted, the code is open source, and you can run it in Wire’s cloud, on-premises or hybrid. What you lose: there are no webinars, streaming or phone dial-in in its plan overview, the free plan allows calls between two people only, and the cloud runs on AWS.

Facts: HQ Germany (Berlin), imprint in Zug, Switzerland · founded 2012 · free plan: yes (up to 5 users, 1:1 calls) · SMB €7.45 per user/month yearly or €8.94 monthly (calls up to 150) · ISO 27001, ISO 27701 · open source · runs on AWS.

Switching from Zoom: moderate – guests can join by link, but your team needs Wire accounts and apps.

My take: Wire is the pick if encryption matters more than features: no one but the participants can follow the call. It sits sixth because it is a secure messenger with calls rather than a meeting platform, and because its cloud runs on AWS. Best for: teams that hold confidential calls. Not for: webinar hosts and anyone avoiding US cloud providers.

Visit wire.com →

7. Element

Encrypted Element Call on the open Matrix standard – from a UK company

Element was founded in 2017 as New Vector Ltd and renamed in 2020. Its main company, Element Creations Ltd, is registered in London, UK, with subsidiaries in France, Germany and the USA. The UK is outside the EU. Element is built on Matrix, an open standard, and you run it yourself or as a managed cloud. Its public web app sits behind Cloudflare.

What users say. Element has 2.7/5 from 10 reviews on Trustpilot – too few to mean much.

What it replaces from Zoom – and what it doesn’t. Element Call gives you end-to-end encrypted voice and video calls inside Element’s chat rooms, with apps for the web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone and Android, and federation lets you call people in other organisations on Matrix. Element holds ISO 27001:2022. What you lose: there are no published prices, the paid Enterprise plan starts at 100 users, the free Community edition is meant for non-professional use, and there are no webinar or dial-in features in its pricing overview.

Facts: HQ United Kingdom (London) · founded 2017 · Community: free, self-hosted, non-professional use · Enterprise: from 100 users, price on request · open source · ISO 27001:2022.

Switching from Zoom: hard – a professional setup needs a sales contact and a hosting decision.

My take: Element is the best choice when calls must be encrypted and stay on your own infrastructure. It sits seventh because the company is in the UK, prices are not public and it is built for big deployments. Best for: large organisations and public bodies that run their own Matrix server. Not for: small businesses that want to sign up and start.

Visit element.io →

8. Whereby

Simple browser meetings with no download – from Norway, on AWS

Whereby is made by Whereby AS in Måløy, Norway. Norway is in the European Economic Area but not in the EU. Whereby says it runs mainly on AWS in Dublin, and its website resolves to Amazon (AS16509) – so this European product depends on a US cloud.

What users say. Whereby has 3.7/5 from 50 reviews on Trustpilot. Users praise how easy it is for guests; complaints are about support, billing and dropped connections.

What it replaces from Zoom – and what it doesn’t. Whereby replaces Zoom’s personal meeting link with fixed room links that guests open in any browser, without an account or download. Pro rooms hold 100 attendees, Business rooms 200, with recording and custom branding. It holds ISO 27001:2022. What you lose: end-to-end encryption only in small rooms, no webinars or dial-in, and it runs on AWS.

Facts: HQ Norway (Måløy) · free plan: yes (4 attendees, 30 minutes) · Pro $10.99 per host/month (100 attendees) · Business $13.99 per host/month, minimum 3 hosts (200 attendees) · prices excl. VAT, yearly billing saves 17% · ISO 27001:2022 · runs on AWS.

Switching from Zoom: easy – share a room link instead of a Zoom link.

My take: Whereby is the friendliest tool for people outside your company and the quickest Zoom swap for one-to-one client calls. It is last because it is based outside the EU, hosted on AWS and costs not much less than Zoom Pro. Best for: consultants and small firms who meet clients by link. Not for: anyone who wants their calls off US clouds.

Visit whereby.com →

What European video conferencing costs compared with Zoom

Zoom Pro costs $16.99 per user a month, or $14.16 on a yearly plan, and Business $18.33 a month on a yearly plan. European tools are priced in very different ways – per room, per user, per host or per simultaneous connection – so compare them with how many meetings you actually run at the same time.

Prices as shown on each vendor’s pricing page on 25 October 2026, in the currency shown there. Infomaniak shows lower first-year prices on its Business and Enterprise plans.

How to switch from Zoom to a European video conferencing tool

1. List how you use Zoom. Count your largest meeting, how often you record or stream, and whether people dial in by phone. That tells you whether you need alfaview’s big rooms, OpenTalk’s Premium plan or bbbserver’s included dial-in.
2. Try the free plan with a real meeting. alfaview, OpenTalk, kMeet, bbbserver and Whereby all have free plans or free rooms – run one internal meeting before you buy.
3. Download your Zoom recordings. Save cloud recordings and transcripts you need to keep before you cancel, as they are stored in your Zoom account.
4. Replace recurring links. Update calendar invites, email signatures and booking pages that still point to your Zoom personal meeting link.
5. Cancel or downgrade Zoom. Once your recurring meetings run on the new tool, drop to Zoom Basic so you can still join meetings other people host on Zoom.

Zoom alternatives: FAQ

My verdict: which European Zoom alternative to switch to

Most people leaving Zoom should start with alfaview: it has the apps, the big rooms, recording and live captions you are used to, all in German data centres, and you pay per room instead of per host. If open-source code and self-hosting matter, or you work in the public sector, choose OpenTalk. If you want free meetings with chat, drive and mail around them, Infomaniak kSuite with kMeet is the Swiss answer to Zoom Workplace.

Teachers and trainers who know BigBlueButton will feel at home with bbbserver, and teams whose calls must be end-to-end encrypted should look at Wire – keeping in mind that its cloud runs on AWS. Whatever you choose, download your Zoom recordings first and keep a free Zoom account for meetings that others host.