CryptPad vs Google Docs
CryptPad is a European alternative to Google Docs: same use case, headquartered in France and governed by EU GDPR, while Google Docs (Google) is based in the United States.
By the EU Alternatives team Last updated
End-to-end encrypted collaborative docs, spreadsheets, forms, and kanban boards where even the server cannot read your content.
- Jurisdiction
- EU / EEA
- Primary privacy law
- EU GDPR
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- No
- Open source
- Yes
- Free tier
- Yes
Real-time co-editing in the browser, with comments, suggestions and version history that let a whole team work on one file at once, plus offline editing. Free with any Google account against the shared 15 GB quota, with Workspace from 6.80 euros per user each month. Google LLC in Mountain View runs it under US law.
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- GDPR by default
- Requires DPA + TIA
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- Yes
CryptPad vs Google Docs at a glance
| CryptPad | Google Docs | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | France | United States |
| Data jurisdiction | EU / EEA | United States |
| Primary privacy law | EU GDPR | Requires DPA + transfer assessment |
| US CLOUD Act exposure | No | Yes |
| Best for | Teams that need this built for European data-protection requirements | Teams already invested in the Google ecosystem |
Choose CryptPad if…
- You want a provider governed by a European privacy regime
- GDPR or public-sector data-protection requirements apply to you
- You want to start free and scale up later
- Open-source code and self-hosting matter to you
- You'd rather back the European tech ecosystem
Stick with Google Docs if…
- You depend on integrations only available in the Google ecosystem
- Your organisation has no EU data-residency constraints
- Migration costs outweigh the jurisdiction benefits for now
About CryptPad
CryptPad is a French collaboration suite where everything is end-to-end encrypted, including the documents themselves: the server stores only ciphertext, so not even the operator can read your work. It bundles rich text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, kanban boards, whiteboards, and code pads in one browser-based workspace.
Real-time collaboration works like mainstream suites: share a link, co-edit live, track changes, and manage team access through encrypted team drives. No account is required for basic use, and registration itself asks for no personal data. The open source AGPL code can be audited or self-hosted on your own servers.
Key features:
- End-to-end encryption on every document, unreadable by the server operator
- Full suite with docs, sheets, slides, forms, kanban, whiteboard, and code
- Real-time co-editing with cursors, history, and link sharing
- Team drives for encrypted shared folders with role-based access
- No personal data required to register or collaborate
- Self-hostable AGPL code for complete infrastructure control
- Free tier with 1 GB of encrypted storage
CryptPad is developed by XWiki SAS in Paris, France, with its flagship instance hosted in Europe and operated under GDPR. The zero-knowledge design means compliance is structural: there is no readable customer content to hand over, subpoena, or leak.
Ideal for journalists, NGOs, public bodies, and any team that wants Google Docs style collaboration without trusting the host with the content.
Why choose CryptPad over Google Docs?
The decisive argument is data jurisdiction. Google Docs is headquartered in the United States, which means personal data processed through it can be subject to non-EU legal regimes: the US CLOUD Act, FISA 702, or similar laws depending on the provider. After the 2020 Schrems II ruling, EU organisations must carry out a transfer impact assessment for every such data flow.
CryptPad removes that overhead. As a France-based provider, it operates under EU GDPR, and data stays inside the EU/EEA by default. For regulated sectors such as health, public administration, and finance, that's not a nice-to-have but a requirement. For everyone else, it's concentration-risk insurance: you avoid depending on a single jurisdiction that can change the rules without warning.