With the U.S. political and economical attacks to every country(except Russia), many have been looking for alternatives to american products. So, with exception of buying small local ones, which I’ll always recommend above anything else, I decided to put together a list of international alternatives to United States’ products in multiple different areas.
If you know others, feel free to leave a comment and I may add to the list!
Technology & Electronics:
- Smartphones: Apple iPhone alternatives include Samsung (South Korean), Nothing Phone(UK), OnePlus(Chinese) or Huawei (Chinese).
- Laptops: Instead of Apple MacBook, consider Lenovo (Chinese), Positivo(Brazilian) or Acer (Taiwanese).
- Cameras: While Canon (Japanese) is often considered, you can also use Sony (Japanese) or Leica (German).
- Televisions: Alternatives to American brands like Vizio include LG (South Korean) or Philips (Dutch).
- Smart Home Devices: Google Home or Amazon Echo alternatives include Sonos (Swedish) speakers or Xiaomi’s (Chinese) smart home products.
- VR Headset: Instead of Oculus or Steam’s Index, try HTC Vive(Taiwan), PICO(Chinese) or Pimax(Chinese)
- SmartWatches: Samsung Galaxy Watch(South Korean), Multilaser(Brazilian) and Huawei Watch(Chinese) are great alternatives to american smartwatches.
- Routers and Modems/Switches: Acer(Taiwanese), Intelbras(Brazilian), D-Link(Taiwanese), ASUS(Taiwanese), Multilaser(Brazilian), FritzBox(German) and mikrotik(Latvian) are all great non-american brands.
Software & Services:
- A.I.: Maritalk(Brazilian), Mistral(French), BERTje(Dutch) and DeepMind(Chinese) are excelent alternatives to chatGPT and other american A.I.s.
- Payment Processors: PagSeguro(Brazilian), Adyen(Netherlands) and Mercado Pago(Argentina) won’t choose what you can buy like american alternatives.
- Web Browser: Libre Wolf is european based and Vivaldi, which is from Norway.
- Search Engine: Ecosia(German), Qwant (French).
- Cloud Storage: Consider Mega (New Zealand-based), Proton Drive(Switzerland) or pCloud(also Switzerland)
- Cloud Computing/Host: KingHost(Brazilian), Locaweb(Brazilian), OVHcloud(French), VEXXHOST(Canadian), Aptira(Australian), TransIP(Netherlands) and Alibaba(Chinese)
- Email Services: Alternatives include ProtonMail (Swiss), or Mailfence (Belgian).
- Social Media: Poosting(Brazilian), Mastodon(German).
- Video Streaming: Netflix alternatives include MUBI (international, HQ in UK) or Rakuten TV (Japanese).
- O.S.: Windows/Mac have alternatives like Linux Mint(French), Ubuntu(UK) and Manjaro(German).
Automobiles:
- Cars: Ford and Chevrolet alternatives include Toyota (Japanese) or Volkswagen (German).
- Motorcycles: Harley-Davidson alternatives include BMW Motorrad (German) or Ducati (Italian).
- Luxury Cars: Cadillac alternatives include BMW (German) or Mercedes-Benz (German).
- Electric Cars: Tesla alternatives include the German Porsche Taycan or the Chinese BYD Han.
Fashion & Apparel:
- Luxury Brands: Instead of Coach, consider Gucci (Italian) or Louis Vuitton (French).
- Sportswear: Nike alternatives include Adidas (German) or Puma (German).
- Casual Wear: Gap alternatives could be H&M (Swedish) or Zara (Spanish).
Food & Beverages:
- Coffee: Instead of Starbucks try 3 Corações, from Brazil, Italian espresso from Lavazza or Colombian coffee from Juan Valdez.
- Fast Food: McDonald’s alternative could be Germany’s Currywurst from Curry 36, Bob’s from Brazil or Japan’s Gyoza from MOS Burger.
- Soda: Coca-Cola and Pepsi alternatives include (Brazilian) Guaraná Antarctica (French) Orangina or (Indian) Thums Up.
- Chocolate: Hershey’s alternative is Swiss chocolate from Lindt, Belgian chocolate from Neuhaus or brazilian Cacau Show.
- Wine: Instead of popular American wines, try wines from regions like Bordeaux (French) and Barolo (Italian), Miolo(Brazil) or Penfolds(Australia).
- Condiments: Heinz ketchup can be swapped with (French) Deli’s ketchup or (British) HP Sauce.
- Bottled Water: Fiji Water or Poland Spring alternatives include (French) Evian or (Icelandic) Glaciar.
Health & Beauty:
- Skincare: Neutrogena alternatives include La Roche-Posay (French) or Shiseido (Japanese).
- Makeup: Maybelline alternatives include L’Oréal (French) or Korean beauty brands like Innisfree.
- Personal Care: Gillette alternatives include Bic (French) or Merkur (German).
Home Appliances:
- Vacuum Cleaners: Dyson (British) or Miele (German) as alternatives to Shark.
- Washing Machines: Bosch (German) or Candy (Italian) instead of Whirlpool.
- Refrigerators: Liebherr (German) or Samsung (South Korean) as alternatives to GE Appliances.
Financial Services:
- Credit Cards: Instead of American Express, consider Nubank(Brazil), HSBC (British) or BNP Paribas (French).
- Online Payment: PayPal alternatives include PagSeguro(Brazil), Skrill (British) or Klarna (Swedish).
Entertainment:
- Gaming Consoles: Sony PlayStation (Japanese) or Nintendo Switch (Japanese) as alternatives to Microsoft Xbox.
- Music Streaming: Spotify (Swedish) or Deezer (French) instead of Apple Music.
- E-Book Readers: Kindle alternatives include Kobo (Canadian, owned by Rakuten Japanese) or PocketBook (Ukrainian).
Travel & Navigation:
- Ride Sharing: Uber alternatives include 99 Taxi(Brazil), Grab (Singaporean) or Bolt (Estonian).
- Navigation: Google Maps alternatives include OpenStreetMap(UK) and Here WeGo (a service owned by German automotive manufacturers).
Retail:
- Online Shopping: Amazon alternatives include MagazineLuiza(Brazil), MercadoLibre(Argentina), Rakuten (Japanese) or AliExpress (Chinese).
- Department Stores: Macy’s alternatives include El Corte Inglés (Spanish) or Galeries Lafayette (French).
Fitness & Sports Equipment:
- Fitness Trackers: Fitbit alternatives include Garmin (Swiss-American, but mainly known as Swiss) or Xiaomi Mi Band (Chinese).
- Sports Equipment: Dick’s Sporting Goods alternatives include Decathlon (French).
Toys & Games:
- Board Games: Hasbro alternatives include Ravensburger (German).
- Toys: Mattel’s Barbie alternatives include Bild Lilli (German) or L.O.L. Surprise! by MGA Entertainment (owned by a British businessman, HQ in Canada).
- Portables: SteamDeck alternatives include Zeenix(TecToy, Brazil) and Legion Go(Lenovo, China)
