In short
A GDPR-compliant ChatGPT alternative for SMEs needs four things: hosting in the EU, a data processing agreement, no training on your data, and clarity about which model handles the requests. Langdock, DeutschlandGPT and innoGPT are chat platforms from Germany from €24 to €25 per user and month. Mistral Vibe comes from France. Pharen Hub is an AI workspace from Germany that includes team chat, projects, documents and workflows next to the AI chat and can be self hosted with a licence from €20.
No platform is GDPR compliant by itself. Your specific use becomes compliant, with a legal basis, a DPA and suitable data. All figures as of 19 September 2026.
€24, €25, €26. That is how close DeutschlandGPT, Langdock and Microsoft 365 Copilot sit on price per user and month. If you are looking for a GDPR-compliant ChatGPT alternative for a mid-sized company, price hardly decides it. The differences are in hosting, in the models behind the platform and in whether you are allowed to run the platform yourself.
We are a vendor ourselves, and Pharen Hub is in the list. That is why every statement about the others comes from their own pages, checked on 19 September 2026 and linked. The full comparison of nine platforms is in the AI platform comparison 2026.
Why do companies look for a ChatGPT alternative?
Private ChatGPT use at work has three problems. There is no data processing agreement with your company, nobody controls which data gets pasted in, and the knowledge stays stuck in individual accounts.
OpenAI offers ChatGPT Business and Enterprise for companies. According to OpenAI, European data residency is available for new Enterprise workspaces. The contract partner remains a US company, the models come from OpenAI only, and ChatGPT cannot be self hosted. We did not find reliable list prices for Enterprise on the vendor pages.
Source: OpenAI on data residency in Europe.
Which GDPR-compliant ChatGPT alternative is there for SMEs?
Five options from our comparison are candidates for mid-sized companies.
| Vendor | Headquarters | Hosting | Self hosting | Models | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Langdock | Germany | EU on Microsoft Azure | Single tenant from 2,000 seats, on-premise from 5,000 | More than 40 models, own API keys possible | Business €25, Business Max €99 per user and month |
| DeutschlandGPT | Germany | Open Telekom Cloud, Magdeburg and Biere | No | GPT, Claude, Gemini, Llama, Mistral | Business €24 per user and month, €20 billed annually |
| innoGPT | Germany (Vechta) | AWS Frankfurt | Not confirmed on the security page | More than 50 models | No public price list |
| Mistral Vibe | France | EU by default | Yes, on the Enterprise plan | Mistral models | Pro $14.99, Team $24.99 per user and month |
| Pharen Hub | Germany (Leipzig region) | Managed cloud or your own environment (Hetzner, Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, your own server) | Yes, licence from €20 | Selected, customer-owned, self-hosted or OpenAI-compatible models | Free, Starter €25, Team €79, Pro €199 per workspace and month |
Sources: Langdock Security, Langdock pricing, DeutschlandGPT security, DeutschlandGPT pricing, innoGPT data protection and security, Mistral Vibe, Mistral pricing, Pharen pricing.
One difference is not in the table. Langdock, DeutschlandGPT, innoGPT and Mistral Vibe are chat and agent platforms. Team chat, project management and wiki keep running next to them in your other tools. Pharen Hub is an AI workspace: Channels, Docs, Lists, Workflows and AI agents sit in the same environment, and billing is per workspace instead of per head.
How can you tell whether a ChatGPT alternative really holds up under GDPR?
Every website says “GDPR compliant”. Four questions separate the offers.
- Where is the data stored, and who owns the data centre? Langdock and innoGPT are German companies, and their infrastructure runs on Azure and AWS, which are US groups with EU data centres. DeutschlandGPT hosts in the Open Telekom Cloud.
- Which model handles the request? Models from OpenAI, Anthropic or Google run behind almost every platform. Even with EU hosting, the model provider remains a US company. The same applies to a self hosted Pharen Hub with a US model behind it. If you want to rule that out, connect your own or a self hosted model.
- Is your data used for training? Langdock, DeutschlandGPT and innoGPT rule that out on their pages. At Mistral the exclusion is the default on the Enterprise plan only, and on the smaller plans you have to opt out.
- Do you get the DPA and the subprocessor list before anyone tests? Without a contract under Art. 28 GDPR, every test with real data is a risk.
How to check your own use is described on the page about GDPR compliant AI.
What does it cost for 30 people?
Langdock Business comes to €750 a month for 30 people, DeutschlandGPT Business to €720. Pharen Hub on the Pro plan costs €199 plus AI consumption, which depends on your usage. Whether that ends up cheaper depends on which other subscriptions you can cancel. The cost comparison runs it with your numbers.
Where are the limits?
Langdock, DeutschlandGPT and innoGPT list an ISO 27001 certification, DeutschlandGPT also ISO 9001 from TÜV SÜD, Langdock also SOC 2 Type II. Pharen Hub does not currently list an ISO 27001 certification. What we do technically and organisationally is on the security page. If a vendor certificate is a purchasing condition, one of the others is the right choice today, or you run Pharen Hub inside your own certified environment.
The reverse also holds: if you have fewer than 2,000 users and need the platform on your own server, you will not find that at Langdock or DeutschlandGPT. More on this in the guide to the on-premise AI platform.
Which option fits which case?
| Situation | Obvious choice |
|---|---|
| You want ChatGPT for everyone, with a German contract partner and free model choice. | Langdock, DeutschlandGPT or innoGPT |
| Hosting outside US cloud providers is mandatory. | DeutschlandGPT as managed cloud, Pharen Hub or Mistral self hosted |
| The AI should run on your own server, and you are fewer than 2,000 people. | Pharen Hub or Mistral Enterprise |
| Chat, projects, documents and agents run in five tools and you want one. | Pharen Hub |
| A vendor ISO certificate is a purchasing condition. | Langdock, DeutschlandGPT or innoGPT |
Frequently asked questions
Can ChatGPT itself be used in a GDPR-compliant way?
For companies, OpenAI offers ChatGPT Business and Enterprise with their own contract terms, according to OpenAI with European data residency for new Enterprise workspaces. That does not cover private use of individual accounts at work. Whether your use is permitted depends on contract, data and legal basis.
Which ChatGPT alternative comes from Germany?
Langdock, DeutschlandGPT, innoGPT and Pharen Hub are headquartered in Germany. DeutschlandGPT hosts in the Open Telekom Cloud in Magdeburg and Biere, Langdock on Azure in the EU, innoGPT on AWS in Frankfurt. Pharen Hub runs in the managed cloud or in your own environment.
Is there a ChatGPT alternative I can host myself?
Yes. Pharen Hub can be self hosted with a self hosted licence from €20, Mistral offers self hosting on the Enterprise plan, and Langdock lists on-premise from 5,000 seats. DeutschlandGPT explicitly rules out on-premise. Details are in the guide to the self hosted AI workspace.
Is a German server location enough for GDPR?
No. Server location is one of several questions. The model provider, the subprocessors, the DPA and your own legal basis come on top. Ask about hosting, subprocessors and model providers separately.
So a price of €24, €25 or €26 does not settle the choice. The decision is made on hosting, model and operation. If you want to test that with a process of your own, talk to us or start on the free plan.
