Filtered comparison
By Daniel Reeve · figures read at source 2026-09-10 · page updated 2026-09-18
Most articles answer this question with a logo and a claim. The distinction that actually matters for a DPA is narrower: is the product EU-hosted by default, or is EU data residency something your administrator has to configure at tenant level? Those are different guarantees, and we separate them below.
The shortlist
Most articles answer this question with a logo and a claim. The distinction that actually matters for a DPA is narrower: is the product EU-hosted by default, or is EU data residency something your administrator has to configure at tenant level? Those are different guarantees, and we separate them below.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Free tier | Context window | Web search | File upload | Image gen | Cited sources | EU hosting | Open weights | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mistral Le Chat |
EU data preference, self-hosting, budget | Free · Pro $14.99/mo · Team $24.99/user · Students $5.99 | Yes — plus $10/mo API credits | Not verified | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Yes | Yes | Open ↗ |
 Gemini |
Google Workspace users, files, video | Free · Google AI Plus / Pro / Ultra (varies by country) | Yes — full app access | Not verified | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Depends | No | Open ↗ |
 Microsoft Copilot |
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams | Bundled with Microsoft 365 tiers — check which product | Limited free tier | Not verified | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Depends | No | Open ↗ |
Read from each vendor's own pages on 2026-09-10. Cells marked Not verified are gaps we could not close at source — we publish them rather than copy a figure from another comparison. How we test.
One by one
Mistral AI · Free · Pro $14.99/mo · Team $24.99/user · Students $5.99
The only one in this set that is EU-hosted by default rather than by configuration: a French company, hosted in France, prices published plainly, and the cheapest paid plan here at $14.99. Several models are downloadable, though only the Apache 2.0 ones may be used commercially.
Google · Free · Google AI Plus / Pro / Ultra (varies by country)
EU data residency depends on your Google Workspace configuration — it is a tenant setting, not a property of the consumer app. Verify it in your own admin console rather than trusting any comparison table, including this one.
Microsoft · Bundled with Microsoft 365 tiers — check which product
Same caveat: Microsoft 365 offers data residency commitments that vary by tenant, licence and region. Check the product name on your licence first — the Copilot brand covers several different products with different terms.
The honest part
ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Grok and Meta AI have no EU data-residency option on their consumer plans. DeepSeek is hosted outside the EU and its data handling and jurisdiction need review before any sensitive or client work. None of that makes them unusable in Europe — it makes them a matter for your data protection assessment rather than a default.
Questions
Mistral Le Chat, hosted in France, is the only one in this comparison that is EU-hosted by default. Gemini and Microsoft Copilot can provide EU data residency depending on how your Workspace or Microsoft 365 tenant is configured.
No, and conflating the two is the most common mistake here. Hosting location is one input to a data protection assessment; processor terms, sub-processors, transfer mechanisms and your own purpose limitation all matter as well. Treat this page as a starting shortlist, not as legal advice.
For some models, yes. Mistral publishes downloadable weights, but only its Apache 2.0 models may be used commercially, and its own documentation notes the open weights are not safety-tuned. At low volume, self-hosting usually costs more than an API, not less — do it for control and data residency, not to save money.