Recommended Google alternatives (2025 edition)

Last updated on November 18th, 2025

Since I last wrote about Google alternatives a year ago, a lot’s changed. Google and other tech companies have eliminated their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, out of fear of conservative backlash and trying to appease the bigotry-driven Trump administration. (Never mind the relative lack of Black and Latino faces in the tech industry.) The artificial intelligence push has also continued unabated, despite all the flaws of generative AI. And, of course, there’s the usual concerns about Google and privacy.

As such, many people are still looking for alternatives to Google’s services. While most of what I wrote last year still applies, there’s been some changes or additions I figured merited a new post.

Major Google services to focus on for alternatives

While Google has a ton of services (from Google Authenticator to YouTube TV), some are easier to switch from, or a bigger concern, than others. There’s also Google’s bad habit of killing off services regardless of popularity. (I’m looking at you, Google Reader.) Below is a list of the main Google services worth focusing on for finding alternatives; they also cover the majority of concerns about Google (privacy, AI, etc.):

• Google Search
• Chrome web browser
• Gmail
• Google Photos
• Google Drive
• Google Docs
• Android

YouTube would be on this list, if it wasn’t pretty much the de facto/only real online video choice for the average person. Federated alternatives like PeerTube exist, as well as rival services like Vimeo and Dailymotion, but none of these have the level of popularity of YouTube.

Google Search

 

Much has been written about Google Search’s decline in quality, which their aggressive AI push isn’t helping. While there’s a “Web” tab to filter results, it might be better to consider switching to another search engine.

Alternatives to Google Search:

• DuckDuckGo (https://duckduckgo.com/). DuckDuckGo is a search engine is based on Bing, but doesn’t have most of Bing’s junk. That said, MSN versions of websites do clog the “News” tab. DuckDuckGo does offer an AI chatbot in the menu (*sigh*), but it can be turned off in settings. I’ve mostly switched to using DuckDuckGo.
• StartPage (https://www.startpage.com/). StartPage is alternate search engine based on Google, but without recent add-ons like Google’s AI. As such, it’s basically how Google looked and worked a decade ago.

Chrome

While Chrome dominates the web browser space, there are alternate browsers available:

• Firefox. Mozilla’s Firefox is currently the only major browser not based on Chromium, the open source browser on which Chrome’s based. Firefox is available on MacOS, Windows, Linux, and Android. One advantage of the Android version: you can install the uBlock Origin ad blocker.
• Safari. For Apple device users, Safari’s a perfectly fine browser, though more barebones in features versus Chrome or Firefox. However, it’s unclear if Apple’s own AI pursuits will affect Safari, or by how much. As for an ad blocker, I suggest AdGuard.
• Vivaldi. Vivaldi is a Chromium-based browser that comes with a ton of features built-in. Chrome plugins will also work in Vivaldi.

I mainly use Firefox on all my devices. Backup browsers include Safari (on my Mac Mini) and (for the rare sites that need something Chromium-based) Chrome.

While plenty of “Google alternative” articles suggest Brave, I don’t. It’s got direct ties to cryptocurrency, making it an automatic disqualification in my book. Additionally, Brave’s company CEO, Brendan Eich, donated to an anti-same sex marriage initiative in California in 2008. (Eich used to be Mozilla’s CEO, but controversy over the donation led him to depart.) The browsers I listed above can achieve the same privacy benefits as Brave just fine.

I also don’t suggest Edge. Microsoft’s Chromium-based browser was a decent choice a few years ago. However, Microsoft’s been loading Edge up with unwanted features like AI, similar to Windows 11.

Gmail

Gmail’s pretty ingrained in online life, but there are other email services with more attention to privacy. (Even if sending an email to a Gmail address is unavoidable.) Some Gmail alternatives:

• Fastmail (https://www.fastmail.com/). An email service based in Australia, with various features offered at several price tiers. However, Fastmail doesn’t offer a free tier; it’s also a bit on the pricier side.
• Mailbox.org (https://mailbox.org/en/). A Germany-based email provider.
• Mailfence (https://mailfence.com/).
• Posteo (https://posteo.de/en). Another Germany-based email provider. However, there’s no free tier or trial.
• Proton Mail (https://proton.me/). A popular privacy-focused email provider. However, some have taken a negative view of the service, after Proton’s CEO posted tweets seen as supporting the Trump administration.
• StartMail (https://www.startmail.com/).
• Tuta (formerly Tutanota) (https://tuta.com/). A popular privacy-oriented email service. However, Tuta doesn’t offer third-party (POP/IMAP) mail app support; you’ll have to use their own app or their webmail access. A free tier with 1 GB of space is available.

Some of the above providers offer some type of encryption. However, email encryption is both finicky and has seen a lackluster uptake. If end-to-end encryption and absolute privacy matter, I recommend a messaging app like Signal instead.

As of this writing, I’m still looking at Gmail alternatives, but I’ve used Fastmail and Mailbox.org in the past.

Google Drive/Photos

Some alternatives to Google Drive and Photos:

• Ente (https://ente.io/). A secure photo hosting service, located in the EU.
• Local offline backups. Yes, you can and should back up your own files at home. That said, you’re responsible for managing all of your files.
• Nextcloud (https://nextcloud.com/). The “techie” do-it-yourself option, Nextcloud is software that lets you self-host your own Google Drive-like cloud storage service. While it’s the most privacy-oriented option on this list by its nature, Nextcloud comes with all the downsides of self-hosting.
• pCloud (https://www.pcloud.com/). pCloud is a Switzerland-based cloud storage service. It offers a one-time-purchase “lifetime” option, which I wouldn’t go for for any online service, even if pCloud’s been around for awhile. pCloud is also fairly inexpensive, and works cross-platform, including on Linux. At sign-up, you’re also given the choice of picking their US-based server or European Union-based server, the latter subject to the EU’s stricter privacy laws.
• Proton Drive (https://proton.me). Proton offers cloud storage as a standalone service, as well as bundled with Proton Mail.
• Sync.com (https://www.sync.com/). A popular cloud storage service with strong attention to privacy. However, Sync.com doesn’t have a Linux app.

I’ve been using pCloud for generic cloud storage, as well as backing up photos from my Android phone.

Google Docs

A few Google Docs alternatives:

• LibreOffice (https://www.libreoffice.org/). A free and open source office suite that replicates Microsoft Office’s features, and can save/open/edit files in Word/Excel formats. It’s also AI-free!
• Microsoft Office 2024. If you really need Office (or don’t like LibreOffice), buying the old-school, standalone version (not Microsoft 365, the subscription-based online version) is still an option. As of this writing, Office 2024 costs $150, and is available for Windows and MacOS.

Android

Given Google is the company behind Android, eliminating Google entirely is difficult; you’d have to install your own alternative operating system, which isn’t easy for the average user. The easier options to at least minimize Google’s presence on your phone:

• Turn off as many Google services as possible. This includes whatever AI settings Google often runs by default on some phone models, such as higher-end Samsung phones or the Google-made Pixel line.
• Consider an iPhone instead of an Android phone.
• Use third party/non-Google apps as much as possible. Samsung makes its own line of apps for its phones, similar to Google’s default Android apps. There’s also Android versions of some software, such as Firefox. The more “techie” crowd might consider installing F-Droid, an app store that only carries free and open source apps.

Conclusion

A few sites listing Google alternatives:

• Restore Privacy
• No More Google
• Switching Software

While I still use a few Google services (including YouTube, Android, and a Walmart store-brand Google TV device), I’ve mostly shifted to a mix of third-party services: Firefox instead of Chrome, DuckDuckGo instead of Google Search, etc. Although my setup’s not perfect (or as ideologically pure as some might want), it seems to work OK, and avoids most of Google’s worst aspects.

“Google Logo 1” by Ryan J. Quick is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (Flickr / cropped from original)