About Star Stack
An independent directory helping developers and businesses discover EU-based alternatives to the cloud services they rely on.
What This Project Is
Star Stack is a curated database of cloud services, developer tools, and software under EU and EFTA jurisdiction. It currently tracks 1,200 EU services and 1,521 non-EU services (for comparison) across 118 categories, from cloud hosting to analytics to AI APIs.
Each service is assessed using a six-dimension sovereignty scoring system that evaluates jurisdiction, ownership, governance, portability, licensing, and community health. The methodology draws on academic research in digital sovereignty and open source governance. Full details are on the methodology page.
The goal is practical: help people make informed decisions about their infrastructure without having to spend hours researching ownership structures and legal jurisdictions.
EU Digital Sovereignty
Three US companies control around 65% of Europe's cloud market. This dependency creates real risks: the US CLOUD Act allows American authorities to compel data disclosure regardless of where data is stored, and the Schrems II ruling confirmed fundamental conflicts between US surveillance law and EU data protection.
The push for alternatives is accelerating. In November 2025, France and Germany convened a Summit on European Digital Sovereignty, launching a joint task force on AI, data, and public infrastructure. The EU's Cloud and AI Development Act is expected in early 2026. Institutions are acting too: the International Criminal Court in The Hague replaced Microsoft Office with OpenDesk, a European open-source alternative.
A 2025 survey found 61% of European CIOs want to increase use of local cloud providers. The alternatives exist, but they are scattered and hard to evaluate. Star Stack aggregates them with consistent, transparent assessment criteria.
Principles
Transparent methodology
The scoring system is fully documented. Services with incomplete data receive pessimistic defaults rather than benefit-of-the-doubt scores.
Community corrections welcome
Anyone can submit new services or flag inaccuracies. The database improves through collective effort.
We use what we recommend
Star Stack runs on Hetzner (Germany), uses Plausible analytics (Estonia), Mistral AI (France), and hosts code on Codeberg (Germany).
Who's Behind It
Star Stack is built out of conviction and love for Europe. I'm Leo, a developer based in Munich, working on application development for over 8 years with startups and enterprises across various domains. I am a big believer in Europe and its ideals, and I love the European Union as a project. I would like to see more European startups, a stronger tech ecosystem, and deeper European integration.
This started as personal research: I wanted to know what EU alternatives actually existed for the tools I was using, and whether they were genuinely sovereign or just marketing themselves that way. The research grew into a database, and the database became this project.
I am a pragmatic supporter of European integration. I value the cultural diversity of Europe, the freedom of movement across borders, and the potential for the EU to build resilient, independent digital infrastructure. This project is a small contribution toward that.
Support This Project
Maintaining the database and building new tools takes significant time. Sponsorships help keep Star Stack independent and improving.
Get in Touch
Questions, partnerships, or media inquiries?
hello@starstack.eu