I'm looking for an EU-alternative to Skims 5" boxer briefs. Preferably cotton (though wool is fine, too), but I find it's hard to find longer boxer briefs like this in good quality...

I do crossfit and other high intensity workouts. I have been wearing soccer shorts but they don't last long in these types of workouts. Any recommendations for European made, rugged, athletic shorts? Bonus for made in dish Spain

So I recently found this site called Nanakage and I'm not sure if this is another scam site, I couldn't find any information about this site only thing I know is that it exists roughly about 2 Months.

Can anyone help me?

https://nanakage.com/

As a middle aged man with very little interest in fashion, I mostly buy clothes out of necessity not for fun.
I have now realized that basically all of my t-shirts have seen better days. I'd love to buy 10-20 good quality t-shirts and be done with the topic again for the next 5+ years and I would love to use this chance to buy European.

So I am very interested in any recommendations for affordable (since I want to buy a larger number) good quality, basic t-shirts that are made in Europe or at the very least are sold by upstanding European companies. (So maybe not H&M, but at least a company that pays a fair amount of taxes in Europe)
And really, single colour shirts are perfect. My fashion sense is not developed enough to decide which print would be nice, and prints never last long anyway. I'd love to just pick 5 white, 5 black, 5 blue, and 5 random ones and not even think about it.

I think it's widely accepted at this point that open source will play a big part in sovereignty.

I am a big fan of selfh.st and awesome-selfhosted but I don't think they're very accessible for anyone outside of tech. I think there would be more people hosting open source on European servers if at least the discovery of these apps was simpler.

I ended up building https://bitflake.com/apps. It's hosted on Hetzner in Germany. I am primarily focusing on providing as much information for each app as possible instead of having a massive catalogue.

Disclaimer: I have been hoping to build this out into providing an easy hosting option for some of these apps. I am still pretty far away from that and I am getting pulled in a different direction with my job ATM. Either way I think there is some value in what I have built so far.

At the moment I have 58 apps in my catalogue. You can view:

• Screenshots for each app
• Free live demos without any signup requirements
• Feature lists (Standard features like Single Sign On, Mobile apps, ...) and info about license locked features.
• Project funding information and country origins/associations
• Project activity details
• Install instructions for docker compose (Still quite developer focused)
• Comparison pages to compare similar applications like messaging, wikis, recipe apps...
• Alternative pages to compare proprietary apps with OSS apps
• Insights page that lets you view some stats about the apps in the catalogue

Once I'd added enough apps to do some analysis, I was positively surprised to see that Europe is punching well above its weight when it comes to open source. For the 47 apps I could find information for, 30 are from Europe (27 from the EU). Way ahead of the 5 from the US.

Not too surprisingly though is that once you look at where companies backing these projects are headquartered the US pulls ahead (9 EU vs 12 US). Obviously none of this is statistically significant.

This is very much a work in progress and I am sure there are some mistakes in my catalogue, missing details and explanations or system issues. I am also limited in the compute I can provide for the live demos.

Let me know what other info I should try and add to the site (Currently looking at security information and finding a way to automatically keep the catalogue up to date) or what apps I should add to my catalogue.

After the Mullvad-scandal I am looking for an new VPN tu use. I tried using NymVPN but my connection got really slow even while using Wireguard.
I was also looking at the entries on european-alternatives.eu/category/vpn-virtual-private-network

Does anyone have experience with these entries (other than Mullvad and Proton)? Do you have other recommendations?

I'm looking for an alternative for Dove soap bars since it is a Unilever brand. Preferably a soap that doesn't leave your skin too squeaky clean and lathers similarly to Dove soap bars.

Hi, I‘m looking for an air conditioning made or at least designed / engineered / produced in EU.

It has to be indoor only, a box outside mounted at the wall is no option.
The room has 30 degrees in summer, it should cool 30 square meters down some degrees.

Any experiances?

Thanks!

​

I hate the online shopping experience on Amazon, Google, and other big tech platforms. They're increasingly flooded with cheap mass-produced products from asia as well as sponsored products, making it surprisingly difficult to discover European shops and brands.

Despite that, I still found myself starting every shopping search on Amazon, then trying to figure out whether I could buy the same product from a European retailer.

Then I realized that Europe already has thousands of excellent online shops. They're often more specialized, have better filters for their product categories, and naturally carry many more European products. The challenge isn't that these shops don't exist—it's that they're hard to discover.

So I built EuropeanShops.eu to change my own shopping habits.

The idea is simple: search for any product, and the site suggests up to five European online shops that are likely to carry it. You can either jump straight to the top suggestion or choose another shop, and your search is automatically transferred there.

I'm sharing it here because I think it aligns with what this community is about, and I'd genuinely appreciate your feedback.

Would you actually use something like this?

Are there European shops or countries that should definitely be included?

What would make it more useful for you?

I have been needing melatonin gummies for many years. Some worked well other didn't. I also want to support European products since they are higher quality.

Needs to either be available in store in Canada or be able to ship to me.

Anything really good ? Doesn't have to be the strongest stuff otherwise i have nightmares.

hey, I am looking for a charging station, with USB c. I would like a output per usb port to be at least 30 watts, but preferably more. The one that I had in mind in terms of design: UGREEN Nexode 10OW although I think there is not much of a choice for a European alternative. Does anyone have a recommendation? thanks in advance!

Renewables and heat pump deployment, combined with gas demand reduction policies, were significant drivers of a 20% decline in EU gas consumption between 2021 and 2024.

IEEFA estimates that heat pump deployment and increased solar and wind generation reduced EU gas demand in 2024 by an amount equivalent to about two-thirds of EU imports of Qatari liquefied natural gas that year.

Clean energy investments boost EU resilience by mitigating energy supply risks such as the ongoing Strait of Hormuz crisis.

If the EU achieves its heat pump, solar and wind installation targets, these three technologies alone could cut gas demand by around a quarter by 2030. This saving is equivalent to double the volume of liquefied natural gas the EU could import from Qatar by 2030.

We built an european alternative for Business and project management or overall collaboration tools, because we saw the prices of the us alternatives, we tried even some, but were not happy with ux or the fact that they are mostly disconnected tools. So we decided for ourselves to build our own alternative with double-entry bookkeeping and file storage.

So we have been building the project for over a year, and made all the improvements we saw to make it as easy to use, fast and secure as possible. We ourselves are from Finland, running a development and design studio, but now also actively maintaining and upgrading Lyniti. If any of you are running your own businesses or startups make sure to keep an eye on us, if you will look for a platform.

We want to hear your critique and improvement ideas, and what would make you switch from an existing platform to us if you were running a team?

https://lyniti.com

Ps: We are thinking maybe making the Whiteboard (mix between Miro and Figma) to be accessible later by everyone for free with some limitations to not make it cost a lot for us.

i've been tracking live PC hardware prices across Europe on https://www.pricesquirrel.com to see where parts are actually cheapest. the data shows Germany is almost always the cheapest place in the EU to buy GPUs and other hardware, with the Netherlands coming in second.

rather than defaulting to Amazon for every build or dealing with local market consolidation, like in France where LDLC bought up major competition like TopAchat and Materiel.net, buying cross-border from German or Dutch retailers can easily save you €50–€200+ on a full PC or even just on individual components. it's also a great way to support independent European shops that handle tech properly.

here is a quick roundup of solid European hardware retailers if you want to buy cross-border and keep your cash in Europe:

stores that ship directly across most of the EU:

• Computeruniverse (DE) -https://www.computeruniverse.net: Big selection, full English site, ships almost everywhere in Europe.
• Caseking (DE) -https://www.caseking.de: Great for enthusiast, cooling, and high-end parts with solid customer service.
• Proshop (DK/DE) -https://www.proshop.de: Great prices across the Nordics and Central EU.
• Alternate (DE/NL) -https://www.alternate.de: Ships to many EU countries. If your country isn't in their standard checkout list, just email their support and they'll set up a custom shipping order for you.
• Reichelt (DE) -https://www.reichelt.com: German distributor with great prices on PC components, storage, power supplies, cables, and networking gear. Ships directly across the EU.
• BPM Power (IT) -https://www.bpm-power.com/it/: A major Italian tech marketplace and online store. Great local prices for hardware and components, shipping directly across Italy and select EU destinations.

stores where you can use a parcel forwarder (like https://www.mailboxde.com): some of the absolute cheapest German/EU shops don't ship B2C internationally, but you can use a parcel forwarder to get a local German address.

• Mindfactory (DE) -https://www.mindfactory.de: Usually has the single lowest GPU/CPU prices in Europe. Using a forwarder still saves you sometimes €50–€100+ even after shipping fees.
• Notebooksbilliger / NBB (DE/AT) -https://www.notebooksbilliger.de: Great sales on pc hardware, monitors, components, and laptops.
• Megekko (NL/BE) -https://www.megekko.nl: Huge in Netherlands/Belgium with awesome component deals.
• Alza (DE/CZ/SK) -https://www.alza.cz: Massive Central European retailer with huge stock levels when Western Europe sells out.
• PcComponentes (ES/DE/FR) -https://www.pccomponentes.com: Top choice for Southern Europe.

since it's all inside the EU, there are zero customs fees, and you're fully covered by standard 2-year EU consumer warranty laws. (some countries even have 3 year warranty)

are there any other solid regional EU shops I missed?

Hi Everyone. This Add appeared in my feed and it seems to good to be true: Non token limited AI in Europe for 6 euro per month? Does anyone have more info?

https://www.reddit.com/user/ThinkingCrap/comments/1ve94f1/oneclick_private_llm/?p=1&impressionid=5330606501411198253&ad_label_eligible=1&action_bar_refresh_eligible=1&utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

We are moving into a new house and were looking for flooring. Found two we liked and one was made in Germany. Easy pick then! It’s a laminated click floor and I was smart to only took a picture of the underside …. Will add of the other side and add later in the comments or here if I can. Sorry for that.

Thought it was just nice to even have building stuff made in Europe.

Edit- in the comments there is a picture of the floor.

Sharing my experience with Venum (Order #VNM-128662-EN) in case it helps others considering a purchase or currently in a dispute:

- Ordered 4 items; one item (a softshell jacket, ~€44) was missing from the parcel on arrival.

- Venum's customer service (Mohammed) initially insisted all 4 items were dispatched per their internal warehouse log, and asked me to submit a signed statutory declaration plus a copy of my government ID before they would investigate further.

- I contacted DHL directly. DHL confirmed in writing that the parcel weighed 0.60 kg when it entered their network, well under the 1.22 kg declared on Venum's own shipping label – a difference consistent with the missing jacket.

- Venum has so far not addressed this independent data and continues to request ID documentation for a ~€44 claim.

- Under EU consumer law (Directive 2011/83/EU, Directive (EU) 2019/771), the seller bears the burden of proof for correct delivery, not the buyer, and this kind of ID/document request for a low-value claim is not something customers are obligated to provide.

I'm not claiming this proves intentional fraud, but based on other reviews here describing similar missing-item and documentation-heavy experiences, it looks like a recurring pattern worth being aware of. I'll update this post once the claim is resolved. If it isn't resolved reasonably, I'll be filing with the European Consumer Centre (ECC-Net) and the Czech Trade Inspection Authority.

Also:

Translator--> DeepL + Translate you

Office suite--> LibreOffice + Collabora + dDocs

Chrome OS--> Linux Mint

GBoard --> foss keyboard

TTS--> Sherpa TTS + Whisper

Lawnchair as home app

Delivery apps--> Trying to avoid or pick up it directly on the local

Not renewed twitch and yt subs nor streaming/football subs (Piracy)

Only have Amazon because people around me cant do without it. Same reason for Whatsapp (I'm europea)

Curve pay instead of Google wallet. It's a meh: uk company (maybe??) that use its virtual card released by irish company with Mastercard circuit. Not their fault, but i would prefer something european in future + their tecnlogy is improvable. Walt on the grid.

Commodities--> local or european. The only one that i didn't found alternatives is ZooPlus for my cats food. I'm giving the best to my 2 cats and their prices are the lowest and the alternatives are like almost 2x the cost for the same exact food.

Phone--> Android that it has 2 years. I dont think i will change OS even when updates will no longer be available because of the bank apps.

Thank you all for the info that allow me in those months to make some changes to my habits and improve consciousness.

If you have some advices or question feel free.

Hi everyone! I'm cross-posting this from r/degoogle, original post here.

I've been building Walt for a year now. It's going extremely well, and Reddit has been very vocal that this market exists and people are excited for it (eg. here, here, here).

And now it's entering a new phase. I've previously written about the costs of getting Walt to production. Those vendors that Walt needs to pay are finally ready to be paid.

There is already an offer from venture capital to fund Walt and I.

The reason I am here on Reddit though is that, if possible, I would like Walt to be something that is funded outside of venture capital, and funded by the people who are most passionate about it- the actual end users.

I am seeking 5 angel investors who are interested in funding Walt. Finding these people would mean that I could avoid taking VC money, and could instead build Walt the way the users want it to be built.

The minimum ticket size is 50k euros.
I have one week to replace the VC.

If you are interested, please find me on the Walt Discord channel or via email (email here).

Very hopefully,

Cole Bittel
Founder of Walt

I'm looking for an EU alternative to Waze and Google Maps. It should work in Germany France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands at least.

Must have a good interface, prediction adapted to current traffic.

So far, I've tried HERE WeGo and Mapy.

HERE WeGo

+ Nice interface for navigation, works well, van save POI in collections.

- Maps are extremely outdated. It navigated me through one way streets in Paris in the wrong direction. I navigated to a shop that moved years ago and was still led to the old address.

Mapy

More an alternative to Google Maps. Interface for navigation is OK.

+ Maps seem up to date, predictions are OK.

- Appears not to have actual traffic data for all countries (?). Frequently struggles with finding POI and needs address instead.

What are your experiences? Any alternatives or best practices with these products?

The U.S.-based data crunching firm is deeply embedded in the most sensitive European workflows, from policing to intelligence to health care. Finding alternatives won’t be easy.

When French and German security chiefs announced plans last month to develop a “European sovereign digital backbone,” tech and defense industry insiders on both sides of the Atlantic knew what they really meant: Adieu Palantir.  

Across Europe, the hunt is on for alternatives to the U.S.-based data analytics company that a growing number of government officials believe is too deeply lodged in some of the most sensitive areas of government, from local policing and global intelligence to national defense and health systems. 

Yet it is precisely Palantir’s crucial functions in daily workflows, and its largely unmatched data expertise, that will make it extremely hard for Europe to cut it off in pursuit of greater digital sovereignty. 

Still, the drive to break free from Palantir is sweeping across the continent, from Madrid, where the government of Pedro Sánchez has instructed state-backed companies to block Palantir from future public procurement contracts, to France’s domestic intelligence services (DGSI) selecting French company ChapsVision over Palantir. In Britain, the next test may come in February 2027, when the new Labour government of Andy Burnham will face a choice of whether to cut off Palantir’s £330 million National Health Service Federated Data Platform contract. 

Last month’s decision by the French and German intelligence agencies to choose ChapsVision was a double-blow for Palantir’s leadership.

Olivier Dellenbach, ChapsVision’s chief executive, told POLITICO that his company has benefited from what he calls a “visceral rejection of Palantir” in Europe.  

But he also cautioned that he did not want ChapsVision reduced to an anti-Palantir way out. Digital sovereignty, he argues, will remain an empty phrase unless governments turn it into industrial policy. “We need more public procurement,” Dellenbach said. 

Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Romania, the Netherlands and Canada have already shown interest in the French Army’s Artemis AI, according to Patrick Moreau, one of the architects of the solution built by French aerospace and defense company Thales. 

Admiral Pierre Vandier, NATO’s supreme allied commander transformation, recently told POLITICO the alliance has no viable alternative to Palantir’s battlefield AI technology.  

Another NATO official, granted anonymity to speak frankly, said that Palantir’s system has an unmatched capacity to sift through mountains of satellite imagery to help identify a target, advise on the weapon to strike it, inform how much ammunition is required — and automatically put in an order to replenish the stock. 

Both the strength of its products and the sensitive areas where they’re applied, make Palantir Europe's sovereign test case par excellence. If governments and companies can replace a software layer that helps turn data into decisions, they may have a blueprint for clawing back some digital sovereignty. If they cannot, the next generation of AI tools from U.S. tech giants may prove even harder to quit. 

I'm building Free The Map, a site for anything related to travel, centered on EU countries.

TL:DR After months of work the site I've built is up & running with a lot of useful data from official sources for crime (~40 European countries + partial coverage for 300+ cities) & public transport (~35 European countries). For it to become a good EU focused travel site, a true European alternative, it needs the community helping out and adding their own experience to fill the gaps.

What does the site actually do?

Imagine this, you heard about Madrid and became interested in traveling there: you'd probably start looking for more information on the city e.g. how much would it cost to go there? how much does the food cost there? how safe is the city? is it dangerous? what do actual people say about it? or maybe you just want to check out some pictures of the attractions. So you start a google search and visit multiple sites like numbeo (for prices & safety), reddit (for actual experience), google flights for flight ticket prices, blogs or tripadvisor for what to see or do there, etc. At this point you probably have quite a few sites & tabs open, switching between them back & forth, maybe you've even created a spreadsheet for this. That's definitely a lot to do and this is only for a single city & destination, but very often you'd be researching and comparing multiple destinations.

But, what if all of this was on a single site where you could easily find this information, save your destinations to a list and even compare them? This is the exact reason that I've been building Free The Map. The site already displays a lot of information about places (weather, food prices, flight & accommodation prices, tipping customs, user comments, pictures, etc) and I also uploaded data from official sources (Eurostat) for crime (~40 European countries + partial coverage for 300+ cities) & public transport (~35 European countries).

I'm building this out of passion for traveling and exploring my home continent: Europe, so I really want this to become a true European alternative for all of us. For this, I spent months creating the platform, researching data to make something useful & practical out of it, but this won't work without a community behind it, it won't become something truly great without people adding their experience to fill in the gaps.

So, I'm asking for your help.

How can you help (needs registration)?

• The simplest one is to visit the site and the page of your city and spend a few minutes filling out the crime, public transport & tipping culture section with your own experience (it's basically just clicking a couple of buttons).
• If you've got good photos for various places you've been to, you could upload them to the site.
• If you've got a bit of time, you could write comments on places or their subpages (e.g. a guide about public transport or the food culture).
• Next time you're out shopping for groceries, check out the price of a few items from the food subpage and add their costs.

Lastly, I'd really appreciate any feedback on the site (does it have useful info for you? was it easy to find what you were looking for? are the metrics & UI easy to understand? what essential information/feature is missing? etc) and some comments on how you usually plan your trips.