How to export Slack messages: what each plan allows (2026)

Who can export Slack messages, and what does each plan get?

Slack's Guide to Slack import and export tools sets out the rules. Regular members can't export a workspace. They need an owner, an admin or someone with the Export admin system role.

On Free, Slack's export article adds one more catch: file links are only exported for the last 90 days.

How do you export Slack messages from a workspace?

These are the steps from Slack's Export your workspace data article for Free, Pro and Business+:

1. On desktop, click Admin in the sidebar.
2. Select Workspace settings, then click Security.
3. Click Import & export data, then the Export tab.
4. Choose a range from the Export date range menu and click Start export.
5. Open the email Slack sends and click Visit your workspace's export page.
6. Click Ready for download to get the ZIP file.

On Business+, an approved owner can also schedule weekly or monthly exports under Import & export data > Schedule exports. Each run covers only the previous week or month.

How do you export private channels and DMs?

On Business+, the workspace owner uses the submit an application link on the Export tab and picks the export type. Slack Support emails the primary owner before it reviews the request. Once approved, the owner can run or schedule exports that include private channels and DMs, including Slackbot conversations.

Build this into your timeline. If you plan to leave Slack and want DM history, the application has to be approved while you're still on the paid plan. On Free and Pro, Slack only approves this kind of export with valid legal process, member consent, or a legal requirement or right.

What's inside a Slack export?

Slack's How to read Slack data exports explains the format:

• users.json lists members and their IDs. channels.json lists public channels. Approved full exports add groups.json (private channels), dms.json and mpims.json (group DMs).
• Each channel gets its own folder with one JSON file per day that has messages.
• Each message has a sender ID, the text and a Unix timestamp. Edits and deletions are logged with the original text.
• Files are links back to the workspace, not copies. Slack says the links stop working if the file, the channel or the workspace is deleted.
• Canvases come as download links in canvases.json.

That last point matters most when switching. Download any files you need to keep before you close channels or delete the workspace.

A pre-switch checklist

1. Confirm who is the primary owner. Only owners can apply for full exports.
2. Decide whether you need private channels and DMs. If yes and you're on Business+, apply now.
3. Run a full-range public export and check it opens.
4. Pull the files you need out of the link list while the workspace still exists.
5. Export canvases you rely on.
6. List your apps, workflows and integrations. The export holds messages, not your automations.
7. Tell the team the cut-off date, then run one final export after it.
8. Only then downgrade or delete.

When should you downgrade relative to your Slack renewal?

Slack's Change or cancel your paid Slack plan article lets workspace owners, and the member who upgraded the workspace, downgrade to Free from Admin > Manage billing > Change subscription details. You choose whether it takes effect immediately or on your next renewal date.

If you leave early, Slack may credit the unused part of the plan. Those are Slack credits, not cash.

Slack says they are non-refundable and expire when the paid plan ends. So on an annual plan, the cleaner move is to set the downgrade for the renewal date and finish exports before it.

Don't rely on Free as an archive. Slack's plans and features page lists 90-day access to message history on Free, and says messages and files on Free are only stored for one year before they're permanently deleted.

For scale: Pro is $7.25 per user a month and Business+ is $15 (list price, billed yearly, October 2026, per Slack pricing). A 25-person team on Business+ pays $4,500 a year, so timing the downgrade to the renewal date avoids paying for a term you won't use.

When one system makes more sense

If chat is the main thing you need, another off-the-shelf chat app is usually the right move, and the Slack alternatives page compares them. If Slack is one of several tools you're replacing at once, it can be simpler to move chat, tasks and docs into one system on the same date.

The Slack cost calculator and our software consolidation guide help you see whether that's worth it. FitMySaaS can import the export ZIP as part of that build.

Questions

Can I export a Slack conversation without being an admin?

Not through Slack's export tools. They are for workspace owners, admins and members with the Export admin system role. A member can ask one of them to run the export.

Can I export Slack messages to PDF or CSV?

Slack's export article lists JSON for message exports and TXT as an option for some Enterprise exports. CSV is only mentioned for channel audit reports. For PDF or a spreadsheet, you convert the JSON yourself or use a third-party tool.

Does a Slack export include DMs?

Only on an approved full export. On Business+ and Enterprise, the owner applies for the self-serve tool. On Free and Pro, Slack needs valid legal process, member consent, or a legal requirement or right.

Does the export include the actual files?

No. JSON exports contain links to files in the workspace. The links stop working if the file, channel or workspace is deleted, so download what you need first.

How far back does a Free workspace export go?

Slack's guide says the Free standard export excludes data older than one year, and file links only cover the last 90 days.