Shopware
A single roll-up of ownership and CLOUD Act exposure.
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EU-Sovereign EU/EEA/Switzerland-owned and -operated, with no identified CLOUD Act exposure.
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EU-Based EU-operated, with at most minor or transient US exposure.
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EU-Hosted This listing EU hosting available, but a US parent or hyperscaler sub-processor creates material exposure.
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US-Linked Operated by a US-incorporated entity, directly subject to US jurisdiction.
German mid-market commerce platform (Schöppingen, est. 2000); Cloud entry €600/mo. PayPal owns ~41% as of Oct 2025.
Shopware offers EU hosting in Germany, but a US parent or sub-processor leaves material CLOUD Act exposure. It is listed under E-commerce.
Assessment notes
shopware AG (Schöppingen DE, HRB 11471 Coesfeld) is German-incorporated and EU-hosted with ISO 27001 + SOC 2 Type II + PCI DSS, but PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL) acquired Carlyle's stake in October 2025 and now holds ~41%, flipping the ownership signal to eu_hq_us_funded and creating material CLOUD Act exposure via the US-public-company parent stake; founders Hamann still majority-own.
Findings
- CLOUD Act
- CLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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None EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
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Minor A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
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Material This listing US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
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Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
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- Ownership
- Ownership
Where ultimate control over the operating company sits.
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EU-owned EU-incorporated and EU-controlled; no significant US ownership.
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EU HQ, US-funded This listing EU-headquartered but US venture- or PE-controlled.
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EU subsidiary, US parent European operating company owned by a US parent company.
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US-owned The operating company itself is US-headquartered.
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Other A non-EU jurisdiction. Swiss/EEA-owned vendors count as European here; the UK and others do not.
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- Sub-processors
- — not disclosed
Verified signals
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EU / adequacy hosting: Yes
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EU / adequacy operator: Yes
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No US CLOUD Act exposure: No
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Public DPA: Yes
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Sub-processors disclosed: Yes
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Open-source clients: Yes
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Third-party certification: Yes
Exposure depends on how you run this product.
Vendor-operated: the sub-processors below apply.
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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None EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
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Minor A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
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Material This listing US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
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Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
Deploy on your own EU infrastructure and you control hosting and every sub-processor.
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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None This listing EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
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Minor A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
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Material US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
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Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
Jump to
About Shopware
Shopware (Schöppingen, DE, founded 2000) is the most visible German Shopify alternative but is structurally NOT in Shopify's SMB price range: Cloud Rise plan starts at €600/month excl. VAT, with pricing scaling on GMV. The free open-source Community Edition is self-hosted and is the realistic indie / SMB path, not the SaaS Cloud. Ownership changed materially in October 2025: PayPal took over Carlyle's stake from the 2022 $100M Carlyle + PayPal round, bringing PayPal's stake to ~41%. PayPal is a US-public company on Nasdaq, which is a substantive CLOUD Act-relevant ownership flip from the 2024 "eu_owned" perception. Certifications: ISO 27001 + SOC 2 Type II + PCI DSS + GDPR. The AVV names the infrastructure: Shopware SaaS runs on AWS EMEA SARL with eu-central-1 Frankfurt as the primary region and eu-west-1 Dublin for disaster recovery. Best fit for mid-market DACH merchants who need a full-control B2B+B2C platform with on-prem option, not for solo merchants comparing Shopify Basic ($39/mo) prices.
Sub-processor map · not disclosed
Frameworks & certifications
Capability matrix
Table 1Capabilities of Shopware
Integration & access
Compliance & governance
Pricing & tiers
Public documents
Alternatives in this category
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France · €24/moEU-HostedCLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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None EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
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Minor A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
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Material This listing US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
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Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
Public DPA: Yes Sub-processors: Yes Open source: Yes -
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PolandEU-SovereignCLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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None This listing EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
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Minor A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
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Material US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
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Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
Public DPA: No Sub-processors: No Open source: Yes -
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Finland · €49/moEU-SovereignCLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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None This listing EU operator, no US parent, no US sub-processors of note.
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Minor A transient US sub-processor (CDN, maps); data at rest stays in the EU.
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Material US parent, or a core sub-processor is a US-owned hyperscaler.
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Direct The operator itself is US-incorporated.
Public DPA: Yes Sub-processors: No Open source: No -
| Product | Sovereignty | CLOUD Act | Signals | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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EU-Hosted | CLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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Public DPA: Yes
Sub-processors: Yes
Open source: Yes
|
€24/mo |
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EU-Sovereign | CLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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Public DPA: No
Sub-processors: No
Open source: Yes
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— |
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EU-Sovereign | CLOUD Act exposure
How exposed customer data is to US authorities under the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act).
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Public DPA: Yes
Sub-processors: No
Open source: No
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€49/mo |