A Google Workspace for Education Alternative for Schools and Colleges
European schools have been leaving Google Workspace for Education since data protection authorities in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere questioned how pupil data flows through it. MassiveGRID's Nextcloud Hub gives teaching and administrative staff files, Nextcloud Office, Talk, mail and calendar on Nextcloud Enterprise, with the data in the E.U., U.K., U.S. or Asia at your choice, from $5.90 per user per month; larger institutions get a dedicated instance with their own domain and SSO.
Why schools look for an alternative
Google Workspace for Education is free or cheap, which is why it spread, and it processes pupil and staff data in regions Google chooses under terms a school cannot change. Since 2022 data protection authorities in several European countries have ordered schools to stop using it or to apply restrictions, and school boards elsewhere have asked the same questions on their own. Our guides on replacing Google Workspace in schools and Nextcloud for schools and universities cover the legal background country by country.
The practical requirement is modest: shared folders for departments, documents staff can edit together, video for parents' evenings and remote lessons, calendars and mail, with the data in a jurisdiction the school's data protection officer can name. That is a Nextcloud Hub plan.
What replaces what
| Google for Education | Nextcloud Hub | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Drive and shared drives | Nextcloud Files and group folders per department | 100 GB per user on Starter, 1 TB on Business |
| Docs, Sheets, Slides | Nextcloud Office | DOCX, XLSX, PPTX and ODF; worksheets and reports edit together |
| Meet | Nextcloud Talk | Remote lessons, parents' evenings, guests from a browser link |
| Gmail, Calendar | Nextcloud Mail and Calendar | Mailbox per staff user; shared calendars for rooms and timetables |
| Classroom | No direct equivalent | Pair Nextcloud with Moodle for the learning platform; see the Moodle guides on the blog |
| Forms | Nextcloud Forms | Surveys and sign-ups |
| Learner accounts | By policy | Hub plans suit staff; learner accounts at scale are a dedicated-instance conversation with SSO against the school's directory |
Hub plan or dedicated instance
A school's staff: Hub plan
Up to 50 staff on Starter or Business, ordered online, data in the region you choose, mail and video included.
A college or trust: dedicated instance
Own domain, SSO against the directory, learner accounts, clustering, and a Nextcloud Enterprise subscription in the institution's name.
With a learning platform
Nextcloud for files and collaboration alongside Moodle on MassiveGRID PaaS, connected through Jitsi or Talk for video.
Nextcloud Hub Pricing
Per-user plans on MassiveGRID's Nextcloud Enterprise platform: files, office, email, chat and video calls, calendar and contacts, in the U.S., E.U., U.K. or Asia. Pick the region and team size to see what your team would pay.
First month for $1 on monthly billing with coupon code NEXTCLOUD, applied by the Order buttons.
- Files, Photos, Calendar and Contacts
- Nextcloud Office: documents, spreadsheets and presentations
- Talk: chat, audio and video calls, screen sharing
- Standard Email
- 100 GB storage per user
- Desktop and mobile sync clients, public share links
- Nextcloud Enterprise platform with managed updates and daily backups
- Ticket support
- Files, Photos, Calendar and Contacts
- Nextcloud Office and Talk: documents, chat, audio and video calls
- Notes, Tables, Deck and Tasks
- Standard Email
- 1 TB storage per user, ten times Starter
- Desktop and mobile sync clients, public share links
- Nextcloud Enterprise platform with managed updates and daily backups
- Priority support: faster response and escalation
- Files, Photos, Office, Talk, Calendar and Contacts
- Notes, Tables, Deck and Tasks
- Enterprise Email with delegation and other enterprise mail features
- 1 TB storage per user
- Desktop and mobile sync clients, public share links
- Nextcloud Enterprise platform with managed updates and daily backups
- 24x7 support
- Upgrade path to a dedicated instance with your own domain and branding
USD per user per month before taxes; the billing-cycle discount applies to every plan. Order 1 to 50 users online. Need your own domain, a compliance boundary of your own or more than 50 users? See the dedicated instances below or contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Files, office, video and mail for staff, data where the school chooses
Order a Nextcloud Hub plan for the staff room and the first month is $1 with coupon code NEXTCLOUD. Colleges and trusts: ask about a dedicated instance with SSO and learner accounts.