What is Amazon?

Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Seattle, Amazon has become the big player in e-commerce as it is the largest online retailer worldwide with an estimated 310 million active users. Originally, founded as an online book selling company, Amazon has expanded its business with nowadays offering products in categories like beauty, toys, home and much more. Moreover, Amazon has grown into an internet based business enterprise that now offers digital streaming with Amazon Prime or cloud computing with AWS for example.

Many more companies, you might not even be aware of, have been acquired by Amazon, including Audible, Twitch or Whole Foods.

Why people are choosing to stop using Amazon

While Jeff Bezos is well-known for the extensive wealth that Amazon has given him, the same can certainly not be said about his employees. Amazon has repeatedly made headlines for its toxic and unsafe working conditions. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Amazon is ranked among the top companies with the highest employee turnover and more than double the injury rate than the industry standard.

Moreover, there is the company’s ecological impact: With a carbon footprint the same level as the whole country of Norway, due to its product transportation relying primarily on oil, there definitely is room for improvement.

There are further reasons why people are starting to look for alternatives to Amazon: With a price increase for Amazon Prime users in 2022 from 69€ to 89.90€ and the implementation of ads before streaming, many are not happy with Amazon’s service anymore. Moreover, instead of previously 30 days, you now have only 14 days to return your order.

Switch to Amazon alternatives

Overview of best Amazon alternatives in 2026.

As part of the bigger movement called digital sovereignty, more people and countries are starting to become aware of the problems with US Big Tech.

As established, there is a variety of reasons to leave Amazon and switch to alternatives: Whether it is because you want to reduce your carbon footprint or become digitally sovereign.

So far, there is no continent-wide Amazon alternative available, but a lot of countries have regional or nation-wide alternatives. In the following, an overview of the different European alternatives to Amazon will be presented.

Tip: Instead of relying on one sole provider or platform for everything, it is also possible to shop at each marketplace and order there individually. You can even use some sites to compare prices and find out where you can pay the least amount of money. Often you do not even have to set up an account for each platform and you can simply pay as a guest.

Austria

Saaza

Screenshot of Amazon alternative Saaza’s website.

In Austria, a popular alternative to Amazon is Saaza which offers a wide range of products. Its product’s categories include home and garden essentials, as well as tech and beauty items and much more. According to its website, Saaza offers almost 50.000 different articles.

If you purchase something for more than 49.90€, the standard shipping is free and you can return your purchase for free as well. The accepted payment methods include, among other, Visa, Mastercard, Klarna and Apple or Google Pay for example.

Moreover, according to Saaza on its website, it tries to be environmentally friendly by using electronic cars and recycled packaging.

Related: Austria is among the countries that are starting to become digitally sovereign by ditching Microsoft and switching to open source alternatives. You can find an overview of all the countries that are starting to become digitally sovereign here.

Baltics: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Pigu

Screenshot of Amazon alternative Pigu’s website.

What started in 2007 has now become the dominant platform for e-commerce in the Baltic region. Currently, the platform offers more than 8.3 million products in different categories ranging from electronics, home appliances to books and clothing and much more. In 2019, Pigu launched its marketplace platform that allows third-party sellers.

You can pay for your order with credit or debit card (Visa/ Mastercard), digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay or you can pay via bank transfers. The costs for shipping depend on the package size and delivery method. The standard fee for a delivery to local post offices or pickup points thereby starts at 1.60€ while a home delivery costs more.

France

Cdiscount

Screenshot of Amazon alternative Cdiscount’s website.

When talking about French Amazon alternatives, there is no way around Cdiscount. The marketplace offers a wide range of products in categories like garden, technology, furniture and much more.

It is possible to pay, among others, with your Visa or Mastercard or your PayPal account. The costs for shipping vary between 2.99€ and 22.99€ (or even completely free for members), depending on the shipping provider.

Related: You can find more information on why we recommend not using PayPal but alternatives instead.

Note: Other French Amazon alternatives are FNAC or Boulanger, for example.

Rakuten

Screenshot of Amazon alternative Rakuten’s website.

The French marketplace Rakuten offers, according to its website, more than 250 million products in categories ranging from books, music, food and drinks, fashion, beauty, and much more. The platform allows businesses and individuals to sell new and used products.

According to Rakuten’s website, the platform has more than 13 million active buyers and more than 10 thousand professional sellers.

Rakuten covers your shipping costs through its partners via three shipping methods: Colissimo, Chronopost, and Mondial Relay. Furthermore, it offers several different payment methods including credit/ debit cards, PayPal or Rakuten Wallet, for example.

Note: In 2025, Rakuten launched its marketplace in Spain.

Germany

Avocadostore

Screenshot of Amazon alternative Avocadostore’s website.

A German alternative to Amazon that focuses on sustainable products is Avocadostore. It has developed into the biggest German marketplace for eco fashion and green lifestyle and primarily offers fashion and home products for men, women and children. According to its website, more than 300 distributors offer their products on Avocadostore. Moreover, the company carefully chooses which products it offers on its website as it has a list of sustainability criteria that need to be fulfilled.

You can pay with PayPal, Google or Apple Pay or your credit card (Mastercard or Visa).

There are no standard shipping costs, as every distributor defines its own shipping and returning policies.

Otto

Screenshot of Amazon alternative Otto’s website.

Otto is the second biggest online marketplace in Germany and offers a wide range of categories including fashion, furniture, beauty products or multimedia for example. According to Otto’s terms of service, you have 30 days to return your order.

It is possible to pay for your order with PayPal, your bank account or via credit card. The shipment for your order, no matter the value or size of it, costs 4.95€. If you order something bigger, like furniture for example, and your order needs to be send with a forwarding agency, the shipment costs 39.95€.

According to its website, Otto aims to become climate-neutral by 2030 by, among other things, using recycled packaging.

Note: Other German Amazon alternatives are “Kaufland.de” or “Tchibo.de”.

Netherlands and Belgium

Bol

Screenshot of Amazon alternative Bol’s website.

What started in 1999 with selling books online has meanwhile become an e-commerce platform with 14 million active customers in the Netherlands and Belgium. The platform offers a product range of 63 million items and more than 43.000 sales partners who sell their goods. The variety of products now ranges from categories like books, electronics, food/ drinks and clothing and many more.

According to its website, Bol is working on becoming more sustainable – from packaging to transport and energy use.

The payment options include iDEAL, credit or debit card (Mastercard/ Visa) or Wero. For shoppers the shipping fees for an order under 25€ ranges from 2.99€ to 7€. For items over 100€, the shipping costs are usually included in the product price.

Poland

Allegro

Screenshot of Amazon alternative Allegro’s website.

With more than 22 million customer per month, Allegro is the most popular e-commerce platform in Poland. The platform offers products in a broad range of categories including electronics, fashion, real estate and much more.

Regarding the payment methods, Allegro offers quick digital payments through Allegro Finance. But you can also use credit or debit cards or traditional bank transfers.

The shipping costs vary depending on the carrier, package size and destination. The prices range between 2.80 to 5.40€ (10 to 20 PLN) for local lockers.

Romania

eMAG

Screenshot of Amazon alternative eMAG’s website.

eMAG is the leading e-commerce marketplace in Romania with products ranging from technology, fashion, garden and much more. Romanian sellers can list their products for free on the eMAG marketplace platform which allows them to access at least 500.000 potential customers on the platform daily. Currently, the platform counts tens of thousands of sellers. Furthermore, according to its website, customers can choose from a catalogue of more than 10 million products.

Multiple payment methods are available including online cards (Visa or Mastercard), cash or bank transfers.

The shipping fees depend on your total order value and your delivery method. For orders under 400 RON value, the shipping costs start at 16.99 RON. For orders over 400 RON, the shipping is free.

Note: eMAG has also developed a marketplace concept in Hungary.

Wrapping up

Amazon is the big player worldwide when it comes to online marketplaces. But more European Amazon alternatives are showing that it does not have to stay this way. It is not only possible to ditch Amazon and switch to a local alternative, but it is necessary!

Digital sovereignty becomes as important as ever in times of Big Tech using and abusing its customer’s data. Only together we can achieve independence and fight for a better web.