The best replacement for snow chains is cables.

The best alternatives to snow chains are rated as following:
★★★★★  cables
★★★★★  snow tires
★★★  snow cables
★★  snow socks
★  studded tires
★  winter tyres
★  snow tyres
★  studded snow tires
★  4 wheel drive
★  autosock
  cable chains
  winter tires
  tyre socks
  tyres
  traction cables

Your alternative for snow chains is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about snow chains, one probably shouldn't forget about rental cars.

Other search terms related to snow chains and their ratings are:
★★★★★ rental cars
You have in mind a companion for snow chains and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of snow chains in all years. Click on graph for more.
snow chains
cables
snow tires