EU Sovereignty Score
Self-hosted / open sourceNotes & TasksHeadquarters: GB

CherryTree: sovereignty score and 8 European alternatives

CherryTree is an open-source note-taking application that organises notes in a hierarchical tree. It supports rich text, syntax highlighting for code and attachments, and stores data in a single file (XML or SQLite) or across multiple files and directories. CherryTree runs as a desktop application on Linux, macOS and Windows and is distributed through channels such as PPA, Flatpak, Snap, Homebrew and installers.

The program is written by two developers and has no legal entity or foundation behind it. The lead developer lists the United Kingdom as the location on their public profile. The source code is licensed under the GPLv3+. Because your notes live in your own local files and the software runs on your own computer, your data stays with you; the developers offer no hosted service and no account is needed.

See the 8 European alternatives ↓Assess your stack with CherryTree pre-selected
MastodonLinkedInBlueskyXEmail
Sovereignty score
77 / 1000 = high exposure
100 = sovereign
  • Jurisdiction SOV-250
    Headquartered outside the EU (GB)
  • Data residency SOV-3100
    No hosting in Europe (OTHER)
  • Cryptographic key sovereignty SOV-390
    Self-hostable: encryption keys under your own control
  • Freedom from lock-in SOV-680
    Open source: low switching costs
  • Source & runtime sovereignty SOV-4 · SOV-665
    Source code auditable, forkable and self-hostable

SOV codes: the matching objective in the European Commission's Cloud Sovereignty Framework. Official source

How the score is calculated

Facts and evidence

Last checked October 14, 2026
Headquarters
GB (OTHER)Verified by hand
EU adequacy decision
Yes — found adequate by the European CommissionVerified by hand
Sovereignty model
Open-source, distributedVerified by hand
Data hosting
OTHERVerified by hand
Open-source
YesVerified by hand
GDPR-compliant
YesVendor-stated
Category
Notes & Tasks
Type
Product
Website
giuspen.net ↗

How we verify · Something wrong? Suggest a correction

Top EU-based & GDPR-compliant alternatives to CherryTree

The European alternatives to CherryTree come from our knowledge base of over 8,400 vendors. We only list vendors headquartered in the EU or the EEA; fully European-owned vendors rank before vendors with a foreign owner. For each alternative you see the country, the open-source status and a short description.

Score per alternative: 0 = high exposure, 100 = sovereign

28 European Notes & Tasks vendors are in the catalogue. View the whole category · Submit an alternative · View category on the map

Is CherryTree one of many dependencies?

Score your whole stack in about three minutes. Free, no account needed.

Assess your stack →View a sample report (opens in a new tab)

Why digital sovereignty matters with CherryTree

CherryTree is headquartered in GB, outside the EU. Contracts and data therefore also fall under non-European law. The GDPR applies through contractual terms, but in a conflict with local legislation you have less certainty than with a European vendor.

CherryTree hosts data outside the EU (OTHER). Personal data therefore leaves the EU, which requires a transfer mechanism under the GDPR and pulls the data residency score down.

CherryTree is open source. You can audit the source code, self-host the software and keep the encryption keys under your own control. Switching is easier because data and software are not tied to a single party.

What this means for your organisation depends on your whole stack and context. The free assessment weighs CherryTree together with your other vendors and gives a total score, a heatmap and the main risk drivers.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best European alternative to CherryTree?

It depends on your use case. Strong EU alternatives to CherryTree include Amie, Anytype and Bear. On this page you can compare 8 EU alternatives by jurisdiction, data residency and open-source status.

Are there open-source alternatives to CherryTree?

Yes. Open-source EU alternatives to CherryTree include Carnet, CryptPad and HedgeDoc. These keep your data fully under your own control and let you self-host if you want to.

Is CherryTree GDPR-compliant and where is the data hosted?

CherryTree is headquartered in GB (OTHER) and hosts data in OTHER. The vendor states it is GDPR-compliant, but the data falls under non-EU jurisdiction. For full EU data residency the EU alternatives on this page usually offer more certainty.

Details and sources

Verified by handHeadquarters, owner, hosting locations and licence have been checked by us against public sources. Free of charge and for every vendor, not a paid label. Nothing in this knowledge base is taken over automatically. Last checked on October 14, 2026.

Sources

Public sources used in the latest check of this record.

Compliance evidence

The links below point to the vendor's own public documents. We only record what we found: a missing link means "not found publicly", not "not compliant".

No public compliance evidence has been recorded for this vendor yet. Do you know its DPA or subprocessor list? Something wrong? Suggest a correction

In the changelog

Earlier changes to this page, as listed in the public changelog.

Digital sovereignty in Notes & Tasks

Notes & Tasks: Note-taking apps and task management — write, organise, sync. In this category the choice of vendor determines who has legal access to your data, where that data lives and how easily you can switch later.

Also in this category

See all →
Open in the alternatives dashboardMissing a vendor? Submit itAre you this vendor? You can also become a sponsor on the Notes & Tasks page — with no effect on your score
8 European alternatives to CherryTree — GDPR-compliant & EU-hosted · EU Sovereignty Score