OpenTalk vs Google Meet
OpenTalk is a European alternative to Google Meet: same video conferencing use case, headquartered in Germany and operating under GDPR by default, while Google Meet (Google) is based in the United States.
By the EU Alternatives team Last updated
Secure video conferencing platform operated in German data centers with GDPR compliance. Features breakout rooms, interactive whiteboards, polls, and recording capabilities.
- Jurisdiction
- EU / EEA
- GDPR by default
- Yes
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- No
- Open source
- No
- Free tier
- No
Google Meet by Google.
- Jurisdiction
- US
- GDPR by default
- Requires DPA + TIA
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- Yes
OpenTalk vs Google Meet at a glance
| OpenTalk | Google Meet | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Germany | US |
| Data jurisdiction | EU / EEA | US law applies |
| GDPR by default | Yes | Requires DPA + transfer assessment |
| US CLOUD Act exposure | No | Yes |
| Open source | No | — |
| Free tier | No | — |
| Best for | Teams that need video conferencing with EU data residency | Teams already invested in the Google ecosystem |
Choose OpenTalk if…
- You want your data to stay under EU law without extra legal paperwork
- GDPR compliance or public-sector requirements apply to you
- You'd rather back the European tech ecosystem
Stick with Google Meet 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
Why choose OpenTalk over Google Meet?
The decisive argument is data jurisdiction. Google Meet is headquartered in US, 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.
OpenTalk removes that overhead. As a Germany-based provider, it operates natively under 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 non-EU jurisdiction that can change the rules without warning.