Microsoft's email service: Outlook.com for personal accounts and Exchange Online for businesses on Microsoft 365, both used through the Outlook apps. Made by Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. It's also known as Outlook.com, Exchange Online and Hotmail. The European alternatives that replace it best are mailbox.org (Germany) for small businesses moving email off Google or Microsoft, Infomaniak (Switzerland) for small businesses that want one Swiss provider and Proton (Switzerland) for teams that want encrypted email and files in one plan.
European alternatives
10
From 6 countries
Keep data in Europe
5
By default, no setting needed
With a free plan
4
No time limit
Open source
0
Can run on your own servers
Outlook alternatives from Europe, compared
Best first for someone replacing Outlook. Headcount and founding year come from LeadWave's database; prices, hosting and G2 ratings from each company's own pages and G2, checked in November 2026.
German business email with office and video add-ons
Email, calendar and contacts run by Heinlein Hosting in Berlin. The Standard plan adds cloud storage, online office editing and video meetings. Ad-free and paid only.
Compared with Outlook: German business email with calendar and contacts from €1 a user. Works in Outlook over standard protocols rather than Exchange, so some Exchange features differ.
Headquarters
Berlin, Germany
Your data
Not stated
Price
From €1/user/month, billed yearly
Free plan
No
Best for
Small businesses moving email off Google or Microsoft
2. Infomaniak
Swiss email, cloud storage, chat and video meetings
Swiss hosting company whose kSuite bundles email, kDrive storage with online document editing, kChat messaging and kMeet video calls. Runs in its own data centres in Switzerland.
Compared with Outlook: Swiss email with calendar, plus storage, editing and video in kSuite. Fewer enterprise admin tools than Exchange Online.
Headquarters
Geneva, Switzerland
Your data
In Europe
Price
Free
Free plan
Yes
Best for
Small businesses that want one Swiss provider
3. Proton
Encrypted email, files, documents and video meetings
Swiss company behind Proton Mail, Drive, Docs, Sheets and Meet. Mail, files and documents are end-to-end encrypted. Business plans bundle the apps as Proton Workspace.
Compared with Outlook: Encrypted email and calendar with business plans. Desktop mail apps need Proton's own bridge or apps rather than a plain Exchange connection.
Business plans include migration from Microsoft and Google accounts.
Headquarters
Geneva, Switzerland
Founded
2014
Employees
635
Your data
In Europe
Price
From $3.99/user/month, billed yearly
Free plan
Yes
Best for
Teams that want encrypted email and files in one plan
4. OVHcloud
Business email hosting from a French cloud provider
French cloud and hosting company. Sells Email Pro mailboxes and hosted Microsoft Exchange alongside domains and servers. Email Pro data is hosted in France.
Compared with Outlook: French host selling Email Pro mailboxes and hosted Microsoft Exchange. Hosted Exchange keeps Outlook features, but the software is still Microsoft's.
Businesses that already host domains or servers there
5. Tuta
End-to-end encrypted email and calendar
Encrypted email and calendar from Tutao GmbH in Hanover, formerly called Tutanota. Subject lines and contacts are encrypted too. Free and paid personal plans, plus business plans with custom domains.
Compared with Outlook: Encrypted email and calendar. Works only in Tuta's own apps, so teams can't keep using Outlook.
Independent email provider in Berlin, funded only by customer fees. One flat price per account, with 2 GB of storage, calendar and address book. Runs on green energy.
Compared with Outlook: Simple paid inbox for €1 a month. For individuals; no team admin features.
Headquarters
Berlin, Germany
Your data
In Europe
Price
From €1/month
Free plan
No
Best for
Individuals who want simple, paid, private email
7. Mailfence
Encrypted email with calendar and documents
Email service from ContactOffice Group in Brussels with OpenPGP encryption, calendar, contacts and document storage. A free plan and paid plans with custom domains.
Compared with Outlook: Belgian email with OpenPGP encryption, calendar and documents. Smaller provider with a free plan.
Dutch email service started by the founders of the Startpage search engine, but separately owned. Unlimited aliases, PGP encryption and custom domains. Paid only, with a 7-day trial.
Compared with Outlook: Dutch private email with unlimited aliases and custom domains. Aimed at individuals more than teams.
Headquarters
Netherlands
Founded
2012
Your data
Not stated
Price
From $4.99/month, billed yearly
Free plan
No
Best for
Individuals who want aliases and a custom domain
9. Runbox
Norwegian email service with custom domains
Email provider run from Oslo since 2000 and owned mostly by its staff and board. Works with standard email apps over IMAP. Paid plans only, billed yearly or every three years.
Compared with Outlook: Norwegian email with custom domains, usable in Outlook over IMAP. A small, employee-owned provider.
Headquarters
Oslo, Norway
Founded
2000
Your data
Not stated
Price
From €19.95/year, billed yearly
Free plan
No
Best for
Small businesses wanting a long-running independent provider
10. Soverin
Paid Dutch email service without tracking
Small Dutch email provider funded by subscriptions instead of data. Sells mailboxes to consumers and businesses, and through hosting partners.
Compared with Outlook: Dutch paid email for consumers and small businesses. Basic features.
Headquarters
Netherlands
Your data
Not stated
Price
From €3.25/month
Free plan
No
Best for
Individuals and small firms wanting simple paid email
Why look for a European alternative to Outlook?
Outlook is headquartered in Redmond, United States and owned by Microsoft (United States). These are the reasons buyers in Europe most often give for looking elsewhere:
Microsoft is a US company, so US law, including the CLOUD Act, applies to it wherever data is stored.
Fair to note: Microsoft's EU Data Boundary covers its enterprise services, such as Exchange Online, for business customers in the EU and EFTA. It is not described as covering free Outlook.com accounts.
Email is often the easiest part of Microsoft 365 to move first, since most providers work with standard mail apps.
How this list was made
A company counts as European if it's headquartered in Europe: the EU, the EEA, Switzerland, the UK, or elsewhere in geographic Europe, never Russia or Belarus. Headquarters means where it's run from, not a registered office. Companies founded in Europe but headquartered elsewhere today are listed separately, and a non-European owner is always named.
Each company was checked against its own legal notice, pricing page and data-processing terms, and its G2 page. Headcount, funding and founding year come from LeadWave's database of SaaS companies. No company paid to be listed or ranked.
It depends on what you use Outlook for. Mailbox.org (Germany) for small businesses moving email off Google or Microsoft, Infomaniak (Switzerland) for small businesses that want one Swiss provider and Proton (Switzerland) for teams that want encrypted email and files in one plan. All 10 on this page are headquartered in Europe; the table compares their hosting, prices and G2 ratings.
No. Outlook is headquartered in Redmond, United States and owned by Microsoft (United States). As a US company it falls under US law, including the CLOUD Act, wherever it stores your data.
Infomaniak, Proton, Tuta and Mailfence have a free plan with no time limit.
Infomaniak, Proton, OVHcloud, Tuta and Posteo store customer data in Europe by default.
Proton documents an import from Outlook; the details are under each one below.
Microsoft's EU Data Boundary applies to its enterprise cloud services, such as Exchange Online, for business customers in the EU and EFTA. Free Outlook.com accounts are consumer services and are not listed in it.
Usually yes, with providers that support IMAP, such as mailbox.org, Posteo, Runbox and Infomaniak. Encrypted services like Proton and Tuta work differently, so check their app support first.
