Free Slack Backup Tool: Export Your History Without the Enterprise Price Tag

Last updated: June 02, 2025

If you're running a Slack community, you've probably discovered the uncomfortable truth: accessing your message history beyond 90 days costs $8.75 per member per month. For a 500-person community, that's $52,500 annually. Most community managers have a slightly different budget in mind.

This guide shows you how to create a free, searchable backup of your entire Slack history without paying for Slack's Pro plan. It's completely legal, takes about 10 minutes, and yes, it actually works.

Why Slack's Free Plan Falls Short for Communities

Slack's free plan comes with significant limitations that particularly impact communities:

• Only the most recent 10,000 messages are visible (roughly 90 days for active communities)
• Older messages aren't deleted—they're just hidden behind a paywall
• Search functionality is limited to visible messages only
• As of August 2024, Slack now permanently deletes messages older than one year on free plans

Above: The email that sent community managers scrambling for alternatives. Read Slack's official announcement about these changes.

The Real Cost of Slack Pro for Communities

To put this in perspective, $52,500 could fund an entire year of community activities, conferences, or educational resources. Most community managers would rather invest that budget directly into their members rather than message history access.

How to Create a Free Slack Backup

The good news is that data privacy regulations require Slack to let you export your workspace data at no cost. This export includes your complete message history—even messages hidden behind the paywall. Here's how to turn that export into a searchable archive.

Step 1: Export Your Slack Data

1. Click your workspace name in Slack's sidebar
2. Navigate to Tools & settings → Workspace settings
3. Click the Import/export data button (top right)
4. Select Export → Start Export
5. Wait for the email confirmation, then download your .zip file

Note: Slack limits exports to once per hour, and the process can take 10-20 minutes depending on your workspace size.

Step 2: Create Your Searchable Archive

1. Sign up for a free Thread Archive account
2. Upload your Slack export .zip file
3. Wait while the system processes your data (typically 5-15 minutes)
4. Access your fully searchable Slack archive

Step 3: Share With Your Community

Once processed, you'll receive a unique URL for your archive. Share this link with your community members to give them access to your complete message history. They'll be able to search through all conversations, not just the most recent 90 days.

What's Included in the Free Slack Backup

This gives you the core functionality of Slack's paid search features at no cost. Your community gets access to its full history, and you keep your budget intact.

Optional: Keep Your Archive Updated Automatically

While manual exports work well for most communities, Thread Archive also offers a Pro tier for those who want automated updates:

Frequently Asked Questions

Compare Your Options

Here's how the solutions stack up for a 500-person community:

Thread Archive was built specifically for communities that need their message history but can't justify enterprise pricing. Your community's knowledge and conversations are too valuable to lose. Get started today and preserve them for free.