Top Competitors for All Google Native Apps and Services
Under new EU antitrust laws, Google is legally obligated to show its users the apps and browsers of its competitors. But here in the US there is no such regulation , and Google is under no obligation to inform you about similar products that may be available from other companies. But don’t worry – we went ahead and found this information ourselves.
Below you will find selections from major competitors such as Mozilla and Microsoft, as well as the best open source options. We’ve also included some Apple apps and services for completion, but some are for iOS or macOS only, and we’ve flagged this where appropriate. Since many Apple users still use Google services, we thought it was worth highlighting what was available on their devices as well.
We also have a guide on how to ditch Google entirely, which covers everything from alternative apps and services to ditching Google’s hardware and operating systems. But since the goal of this article is to completely separate from Google, we’ve put together this short list of common alternatives to popular third-party Google apps for your reference.
Chromium
Google search
Gmail
- Thunderbird
- Tutanota
- Proton mail
- Perspectives
- iCloud Mail (iOS and macOS only)
You’ll find even more options in our roundup of the best Gmail alternatives .
Google documents
- Colab now
- Zoho
- Libre Office
- Open office
- Microsoft Office
- iCloud (iOS and macOS)
Google drive
- Dropbox
- Synchronize
- One disc
- iCloud (iOS and macOS)
Android Messenger / Chat
- Samsung Messages (Samsung devices only)
- Telegram , signal
- Slack
- FB messenger
- Apple Messages (iOS and macOS)
Google Maps
Google hangouts
Google pay
- Paypal
- Venmo
- Samsung Pay
- Cache application
- Apple Pay (iOS only)
Media casting
Youtube
There is no real replacement for YouTube due to the nature of the platform and the unique content hosted on it, but there are several decent alternatives and ways to use YouTube without having to provide Google with tons of data, all of which we detail in our How To Get Out of the Google Guide .
Google stadia
Google’s upcoming game streaming platform , Stadia , is not yet available but is coming soon. In the next section, we’ll take a look at alternative marketplaces for mobile games, but when it comes to streaming games specifically for consoles and PCs, here are your current options:
- Playstation now
- GeForce Now
- Steam Link (stream your Steam games from your PC to another device via Wi-Fi),
- Xbox / Windows 10 Game Streaming (lets you stream gameplay from Xbox and Windows 10 games to other devices in your home)
Microsoft is also rumored to be planning to announce its own dedicated streaming platform in the near future to rival Stadia.
Google play store
While the Google Play Store is one platform in itself, there are routines tied to specific media types, so we’ll take a look at each one separately:
Programs
- Amazon
- Galaxy Apps (Samsung devices only)
- F-Droid open source app store
- Apple App Store (iOS)
Games
- Amazon
- Galaxy Apps (Samsung devices only)
- Modest kit
- Itch.io mobile
- App Store (iOS)
Music (including Google Play Music and YouTube Music)
Podcasts
Books
Films and TV