European alternatives to Google, Apple, Dropbox and 120 US apps • Hacker News Board

Re: European alternatives to Google, Apple, Dropbox and 120 US apps

#171

Post by yreg » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 7:09 PM UTC

outsidein wrote: post #36

The affiliate information shows that it the website shows mostly / only affiliate offers, and omits (intentionally?) much better a lternatives like posteo.de for email. Listed vendors like OVHcloud must follow the US cloud act, so not really independent from US. Just advertising, no real privacy focused.

I found it super suspicious that this post has raised to the very top of the frontpage when it was posted.

Not sure if baseless accusations of vote manipulation are ok here though, so I didn't comment on it.

Re: European alternatives to Google, Apple, Dropbox and 120 US apps

#172

Post by reddalo » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 7:13 PM UTC

roelschroeven wrote: post #140

reddalo wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget that Italy has mandatory e-invoicing in their own strange XML format. :(

Does Italy use Peppol, or something home-grown?

They use a home-grown solution called FatturaPA. It was originally meant to be used for sending e-invoices to government agencies and public administrations, but it was then expanded to all businesses and made mandatory in 2019.

In their denfese, they came up with the system before 2013. But I think it should be time for the EU to step in and force a unified system across the Union (e.g. UBL / CII).

Re: European alternatives to Google, Apple, Dropbox and 120 US apps

#173

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 7:17 PM UTC

vldszn wrote: post #122

reddalo wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget that Italy has mandatory e-invoicing in their own strange XML format. :(

Thanks for the heads up. Will try to add support for this format as well. Starting in April 2026, e-invoices are mandatory in Poland, that’s why I’m rushing to add support now =)

[deleted]

Re: European alternatives to Google, Apple, Dropbox and 120 US apps

#174

Post by madman_dev » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 7:47 PM UTC

madman_dev wrote: post #2

Hi HN, I built only-eu.eu, a curated bilingual (DE/EN) directory of European alternatives to common US software and services. Motivation: The CLOUD Act creates a structural difference between US and European cloud providers that's separate from GDPR. European companies can't be compelled by US federal courts to hand over data regardless of server location. For companies and individuals who care about this, finding ve…

One data point on the affiliate question:

11 of 125 listed products have an affiliate relationship. The other 114 link directly to the product website with no commercial connection.

Re: European alternatives to Google, Apple, Dropbox and 120 US apps

#175

Post by holoduke » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 9:27 PM UTC

monooso wrote: post #117

holoduke wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't we just use claude desktop / cli to generate an invoice. In my experience if you provide some skills and access to some data it can generate pretty consistent invoices. No other tools needed at all.

My clients love non-deterministic invoices.

My Claude can create a reuse a 200% deterministic script that generates invoices tailored exactly to my needs. No way any other tool can match that. You guys live in ancient times

Re: European alternatives to Google, Apple, Dropbox and 120 US apps

#176

Post by yreg » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 9:50 PM UTC

eloisant wrote: post #45

smarx007 wrote: post #6

Spotify is already European...

Which is why it's not listed in the US services you can find an alternative for

It obviously was listed when this was posted.

Re: European alternatives to Google, Apple, Dropbox and 120 US apps

#177

Post by nonick » Mon, Apr 06, 2026, 5:28 AM UTC

reddalo wrote: post #118

vldszn wrote: post #22

I’m working on a free and open-source invoice generator: https://easyinvoicepdf.com - No sign-up, works entirely in-browser - Live PDF preview + instant download - VAT EU support - Shareable invoice links - Multi-language (10+) & multi-currency (100+) - Multiple templates (incl. Stripe-style) - Mobile-friendly - QR code support GitHub: https://github.com/VladSez/easy-invoice-pdf Would love feedback, contributions, or…

Don't forget that Italy has mandatory e-invoicing in their own strange XML format. :(

Romania too has e-invoice (e-factura).

Re: European alternatives to Google, Apple, Dropbox and 120 US apps

#178

Post by madman_dev » Mon, Apr 13, 2026, 8:29 AM UTC

Wrote up the technical details: https://dev.to/mdtzlm/i-built-a-directory-of-eu-software-alt... Covers the Bunny.net migration, what broke during launch, and what's next.