The Best Competitors to Every First-Party Google App and Service

Because of new EU anti-trust laws, Google is legally obligated to show its users apps and browsers from its competitors. But here in the US, there are no such rules, and Google doesn’t have to fill you in on similar products that may be available from other companies. Don’t worry, though–we went ahead and found that…

Because of new EU anti-trust laws, Google is legally obligated to show its users apps and browsers from its competitors. But here in the US, there are no such rules, and Google doesn’t have to fill you in on similar products that may be available from other companies. Don’t worry, though–we went ahead and found that information ourselves.

Below, you’ll find picks from major competitors like Mozilla and Microsoft, as well the best open-source options. We’ve also included some Apple apps and services for completion’s sake, but some are iOS or macOS only and we’ve made note of that where necessary. Since many Apple users still use Google’s services, we thought it was worth highlighting what was available on their devices as well.

We also have a guide on how to completely quit Google that covers everything from alternative apps and services, to ridding Google from hardware and operating systems. But since the goal of that piece is a complete separation from Google, we made this quick list of common alternatives to Google’s popular first-party apps for reference.

Chrome

• Firefox
• Opera
• Edge
• Chromium
• Safari (iOS and macOS only)

Google Search

• DuckDuckGo
• Bing

Gmail

• Thunderbird
• Tutanota
• Proton Mail
• Outlook
• iCloud Mail (iOS and macOS only)

You’ll find even more choices in our roundup of the best Gmail alternatives.

Google Docs

• Kolab Now
• Zoho
• Libre Office
• Open Office
• Microsoft Office
• iCloud (iOS and macOS)

Google Drive

• Dropbox
• Sync
• OneDrive
• iCloud (iOS and macOS)

Android Messenger/Chat

• Samsung Messages (Samsung devices only)
• Telegram, Signal
• Slack
• FB messenger
• WhatsApp
• Apple Messages (iOS and macOS)

Google Maps

• MapQuest
• Bing Maps
• Here.com
• OpenStreetMap
• Waze (Owned by Google)
• Maps (iOS, MacOS)

Google Hangouts

• Skype
• Telegram
• FB messenger
• WhatsApp
• Facetime (iOS)

Google Pay

• Paypal
• Venmo
• Samsung Pay
• Cash App
• Apple Pay (iOS only)

Media Casting

• Kodi
• Plex

YouTube

There is no true YouTube replacement due to the nature of the platform and the unique content hosted on it, but there are a few respectable alternatives and ways to use YouTube without having to give Google tons of data, all of which we detail in our How To Quit Google guide.

Google Stadia

Google’s upcoming game streaming platform, Stadia, isn’t available just yet, but it’ll be here soon. We cover alternative marketplaces for mobile games in the next section, but when it comes to specifically streaming console and PC games, here are your current options:

• PlayStation Now
• GeForce Now
• Steam Link (Stream your Steam games from your PC to another device over Wi-Fi),
• Xbox/Windows 10 Game Streaming (allows you to stream gameplay from your Xbox and Windows 10 games to other devices in your home)

Microsoft is also rumored to be planning an announcement its own dedicated streaming platform to rival Stadia in the near future.

Google Play Store

While the Google Play Store is itself one platform, there are sub-apps tied to specific types of media, so we’ll cover each one separately:

Apps

• Amazon
• Galaxy Apps (Samsung devices only)
• F-Droid open source app store
• Apple App Store (iOS)

Games

• Amazon
• Galaxy Apps (Samsung devices only)
• Humble Bundle
• Itch.io mobile
• App Store (iOS)

Music (including Google Play Music and YouTube Music)

• Apple Music
• Spotify
• Amazon Music Unlimited
• Tidal
• Pandora

Podcasts

• PocketCasts
• Antenna Pod
• Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Books

• Amazon Kindle
• iTunes

Movies and TV

• Amazon Prime Video
• Vudu
• iTunes
• Netflix
• Hulu