GDPR-compliant EU alternatives to Slack (2026)

Q: Why use an EU alternative to Slack?

EU-headquartered alternatives to Slack are subject to EU law, which can simplify GDPR compliance and data transfer paperwork. Whether a given provider is also outside US surveillance legislation such as the CLOUD Act depends on its ownership and hosting, which EU Alts checks per listing.

EU-built team chat and messaging platforms with servers hosted in Europe, strong data residency guarantees, and GDPR compliance.

The tools listed below are recorded as founded or headquartered in Europe. Switching to a European Slack alternative can reduce the need for Standard Contractual Clauses and simplify your GDPR compliance posture; whether a provider is also outside the CLOUD Act depends on its ownership and hosting, which are checked per listing. The 2 providers below are headquartered in Switzerland and United Kingdom.

2 EU-built startups found

Element
Secure, decentralised messaging built on Matrix — a UK alternative to Slack and Microsoft Teams.
Collaboration, Messaging, Open Source
Wire
Secure end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration — a European alternative to Slack and Microsoft Teams.
Collaboration, Messaging, Security

How to switch from Slack to an EU alternative

A three-step migration path that keeps your team running while you move to a European, GDPR-compliant european team messaging provider.

Export your data from Slack. Use Slack's built-in export to pull configuration and customer data into a portable format. Keep this archive as the baseline you can roll back to.
Pilot an EU-headquartered provider. Pick one provider from the list above and run it in parallel for a small project. Verify the features you depend on, sign a Data Processing Agreement, and confirm the EU data-residency claims on the vendor's sub-processor list.
Cut over and decommission Slack. Migrate the rest of your data, update integrations, and switch DNS or config to point at the new provider. After a short overlap to verify behaviour, cancel your Slack subscription and update your records of processing activities.

Frequently asked questions

Is Slack GDPR compliant?

Slack is owned and operated by a US company, which means it falls under US legal jurisdiction regardless of where it hosts data. Under the US CLOUD Act (50 U.S.C. § 1881a) and FISA 702, US authorities can compel Slack to disclose user data — including data stored on European servers — without notifying the data subjects or their EU supervisory authority. This creates a compliance gap that Standard Contractual Clauses cannot always close, as the Schrems II ruling showed. Whether an EU-based alternative is also outside the reach of such orders depends on its ownership, parent company and hosting provider, not on its headquarters alone. None of the 2 listings on this page currently has ownership and hosting recorded as European-only with a cited source, so treat each one as unverified until you have checked it yourself. Check each listing's recorded ownership and hosting before choosing a european team messaging provider.

Why use an EU alternative to Slack?

EU-headquartered alternatives are subject to EU law, which can simplify GDPR compliance and data transfer paperwork. Whether a provider is also outside US surveillance legislation such as the CLOUD Act depends on its ownership and hosting, which EU Alts checks per listing.

Are EU alternatives to Slack GDPR compliant?

Not automatically. A provider headquartered in the EU is subject to GDPR, but compliance still depends on the individual provider: a Data Processing Agreement, its sub-processor list, where data is hosted, and who ultimately owns the company. None of the 2 listings on this page currently has ownership and hosting recorded as European-only with a cited source, so treat each one as unverified until you have checked it yourself. Check each listing's recorded ownership and hosting, and ask the vendor for its DPA, before replacing Slack.

How many EU alternatives to Slack are there?

EU Alts currently lists 2 EU-built alternatives to Slack, headquartered in Switzerland and United Kingdom. The directory is updated continuously as new European startups are submitted.

How much do EU alternatives to Slack cost?

Pricing varies by provider. Many EU european team messaging alternatives to Slack publish their prices on their own websites, and some offer a free tier; EU Alts does not record prices, so compare the plans on each vendor's pricing page against your volume and feature needs.

How do I migrate from Slack to an EU alternative?

Most teams move from Slack to an EU-built alternative in three stages: (1) export your existing data from Slack in a standard format, (2) pilot one EU-headquartered provider from the list below with a small project or team, then (3) cut over once integrations and feature parity are confirmed. Migrations can almost always be done without downtime because the EU provider runs in parallel during the pilot — the cut-over itself is usually a DNS or configuration change.

Which EU alternative to Slack is best for European businesses?

If you specifically need EU data residency, the strongest picks are usually providers that are both EU-headquartered and EU-hosted, with public sub-processor lists and a signed Data Processing Agreement. From the list below, Element (United Kingdom) is a common starting point because it is headquartered in Europe. The right choice ultimately depends on which european team messaging feature set you depend on — check each listing's recorded ownership and hosting before relying on it, then compare on product fit.