Zoom is a US company. Every video call you host on Zoom — the recording, the participant list, the chat transcript — is processed on infrastructure subject to US law and potentially accessible under the CLOUD Act or a National Security Letter. For European businesses, this creates genuine compliance risk, particularly in regulated sectors like healthcare, legal, and finance where call content may include sensitive personal data.
The practical alternative: choose a video conferencing platform that is either headquartered in the EU or fully self-hostable on EU infrastructure you control.
What makes a video conferencing tool GDPR-compliant?
GDPR compliance in video conferencing comes down to three things:
- Data residency — call metadata, recordings, and participant data stored within the EU
- Legal jurisdiction — the provider must be subject to EU law (not US CLOUD Act)
- DPA availability — for B2B use, a Data Processing Agreement must be accessible and GDPR-specific
"EU data region" options offered by US providers like Zoom or Google Meet do not solve the CLOUD Act problem. When the provider is a US company, US law applies regardless of where the servers sit.
Top EU-built Zoom alternatives
Whereby — Norwegian browser-based video meetings
Whereby is a Norwegian company offering browser-based video meetings. No app download, no account required for guests — just a link. Whereby stores all data within the EU and is subject to Norwegian law (EEA member, full GDPR applicability).
Key features:
- Fully browser-based — guests join with a link, zero friction
- Persistent room URLs (room.whereby.com/your-team)
- Screen sharing, reactions, breakout groups
- Recording to cloud (EU storage)
- Custom branding on paid plans
- Free tier: one room, up to 100 participants
Whereby is the closest experience to Zoom for teams that need frictionless external meetings. The persistent room URL eliminates the "generate a link" step that slows down ad-hoc calls.
Best for: teams that host frequent external meetings and want a clean, no-install experience with EU data residency.
Livestorm — French webinar and video meeting platform
Livestorm is a Paris-based video communication platform focused on webinars, product demos, and online events — but also suitable for team meetings. All infrastructure is hosted in the EU.
Key features:
- Browser-based (WebRTC), no downloads
- Built-in registration pages, email automation, and analytics
- On-demand video replay for attendees
- Live chat, polls, Q&A moderation
- CRM and marketing tool integrations
- Free tier: events up to 30 minutes, 30 live attendees
Livestorm is the strongest EU-built option for webinars and large events. For regular team calls it is slightly over-engineered — but for customer-facing video (demos, onboarding calls, product launches), it has no EU-built competitor.
Best for: sales, marketing, and customer success teams running demos, webinars, and online events.
Jitsi Meet — open-source, self-hostable, free
Jitsi Meet is a mature open-source video conferencing platform originally developed in Germany, now maintained by 8x8 (US). The key distinction: the open-source version (Apache 2.0 licensed) can be self-hosted on any EU infrastructure you control, making it the most sovereignty-complete option on this list.
Key features:
- Open-source — no vendor dependency when self-hosted
- WebRTC-based, no app required for browser use
- Self-hosted on Hetzner or any EU VPS
- End-to-end encryption (E2EE) for small meetings
- YouTube livestreaming, Dropbox recording integration
- Active development, used by millions globally
When self-hosted on EU infrastructure, Jitsi gives you complete control: the provider (you) is in the EU, the data stays on your server, and there is no third-party access to call content.
The meet.jit.si public server is US-hosted — only self-hosting delivers full EU sovereignty.
Best for: technically capable teams that want maximum data sovereignty and are comfortable deploying a Docker Compose or Debian package on a VPS.
Nextcloud Talk — integrated into the EU collaboration suite
Nextcloud is a German open-source platform for file sync, collaboration, and communication. Nextcloud Talk is its built-in video calling module, integrated with files, calendar, and contacts.
Key features:
- Self-hosted on your own EU server
- Video calls, screen sharing, group chat
- File sharing directly from Nextcloud Files during a call
- End-to-end encryption for one-on-one calls
- Turn-key hosted Nextcloud available from German providers (e.g. Hetzner, Ionos)
- Open-source (AGPL)
Nextcloud Talk is the natural choice if you are already running (or considering) Nextcloud for file sharing. It adds video conferencing without adding another vendor or DPA.
Best for: teams already using or planning to use Nextcloud for collaboration who want to consolidate onto a single EU-hosted platform.
Wire for Business — Swiss-based encrypted video calls
Wire is a Swiss company offering encrypted messaging, audio calls, and video conferencing for enterprises. Swiss jurisdiction is outside the US CLOUD Act and has strong privacy law (DSG, aligned with GDPR).
Key features:
- End-to-end encrypted video calls, messages, and file sharing
- Enterprise-grade: SSO, guest rooms, admin console
- Available as SaaS (Swiss servers) or on-premises deployment
- ISO 27001 certified
- GDPR-compliant DPA
Wire is the most security-forward option on this list — designed from the ground up for end-to-end encryption across all communication types. It works best as a unified communications platform rather than a standalone video tool.
Best for: regulated industries (finance, legal, healthcare, public sector) that need encrypted video calls with enterprise governance.
Eyeson — Austrian cloud video, purpose-built for integration
Eyeson is an Austrian video API and meeting platform with an interesting architecture: all video streams are rendered server-side (one single stream per participant, regardless of meeting size), which enables high performance at scale without browser WebRTC limitations.
Key features:
- Cloud video API for embedding video into your own product
- EU-hosted (Austria)
- Single-stream architecture — constant bandwidth regardless of participant count
- Screen sharing, virtual backgrounds, recording
- REST API for building video into custom applications
Eyeson is primarily useful for developers building video into a product (onboarding flows, telehealth platforms, education tools). For standard team video calls, Whereby or Livestorm are simpler.
Best for: developers building video conferencing into a product or application.
Comparing EU-friendly Zoom alternatives
| Tool | Country | Free tier | Self-hostable | E2E encryption | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whereby | Norway | Yes (1 room) | No | No | External meetings |
| Livestorm | France | Yes (30 min) | No | No | Webinars / events |
| Jitsi Meet | Open-source | Yes (self-hosted) | Yes | Small rooms | Maximum sovereignty |
| Nextcloud Talk | Germany | Yes (self-hosted) | Yes | 1-on-1 | Nextcloud users |
| Wire | Switzerland | No | Yes (enterprise) | Yes | Encrypted comms |
| Eyeson | Austria | Dev trial | No | No | Embedded video API |
| Zoom | US | Limited | No | No | — |
| Google Meet | US | Yes | No | No | — |
Zoom's EU data residency — why it doesn't solve the problem
Zoom offers a "Data Residency" add-on that stores data in European regions. This is often cited in procurement conversations as evidence of GDPR compliance. It is not sufficient for strict compliance:
- CLOUD Act still applies. Zoom is a US company. US authorities can compel Zoom to produce data held anywhere in the world — including on European servers — without notifying you.
- Zoom staff access. Even with EU data residency, Zoom's US-based engineering and support teams may have access to your data for operational purposes.
- SCCs, not adequacy. Data transfers to Zoom's US infrastructure for processing (even when at-rest data is EU-resident) rely on Standard Contractual Clauses, which carry residual legal uncertainty post-Schrems II.
The only complete solution is a provider headquartered outside the US and not subject to US jurisdiction — or a self-hosted deployment on EU infrastructure.
Recommended setup by team type
Small teams (under 20 people), external-meeting-heavy: Whereby on their EU-hosted plan. The frictionless guest experience and persistent room URLs remove meeting friction without sacrificing data residency.
Teams already using Nextcloud or self-hosting infrastructure: Add Nextcloud Talk — one server, one DPA, zero additional vendor relationship.
Technically capable teams that want maximum sovereignty: Self-hosted Jitsi Meet on a Hetzner CX22 (€4/month). Full control, no third-party access, E2E encryption for small rooms.
Companies hosting customer events, demos, or webinars: Livestorm — the strongest EU-built platform for structured video events with registration, analytics, and replay.
Regulated industries (finance, legal, healthcare): Wire for Business — Swiss jurisdiction, end-to-end encryption across all communication types, enterprise governance.
Browse all EU-built video conferencing tools on EU Alts, or explore the full video conferencing category.