Keep Slack messages past the free plan’s 90-day limit

What happens to old messages on Slack’s free plan?

Free workspaces can view and search the last 90 days of messages and files, and Slack deletes messages and files more than a year old. For a community, that means the answer someone gave in March is out of search by July, and new members never see it at all.

Read Slack’s free plan limits, explained for the dates, the sources and what upgrading brings back.

How does Community Archives keep messages past 90 days?

It copies the channels you choose into an archive that lives outside Slack, on its own web address. After the first import, new messages arrive as they are posted, and they stay readable in the archive after Slack hides them.

• Thread replies stay threaded, even when a reply arrives before the message it answers.
• Files uploaded to Slack are stored with their message, up to 500 MB per file and 5 GB per archive. Files linked from Google Drive or other services are noted on the message, not copied.
• Reactions on messages and thread replies come across and keep updating.
• Edits update the archived copy, and deleted messages are marked deleted.
• One search covers every channel, and you can narrow it to files, threads, one person, or a date range.

For the same details side by side with WhatsApp, see what gets archived.

Can it bring back messages older than 90 days?

No. When you connect, the archive imports the history Slack still makes available for each channel you pick. On the free plan that is about the last 90 days. If Slack limits the history, setup tells you the earliest date the import reached.

Community Archives cannot recover anything older, so every day before you connect is another day of messages that slides out of view.

How do I connect a Slack workspace?

1. Start an archive. Create your archive and choose Slack as the source.
2. Install the app. Approve the Community Archives app in your workspace. Slack needs to confirm that you are a workspace admin.
3. Pick the channels. Choose public channels, plus any private channels you invite the app to. Only the channels you pick are imported.
4. Share the address. Decide who can read the archive, then share its web address with the community.

Community Archives does not send messages to your channels. Slack lists it as an installed app, and the free plan allows up to 10 apps.

Who can read it, and do members need a paid Slack seat?

Members only

Readers sign in with Slack, and access follows your workspace’s current member list. Nobody needs a paid Slack seat.

You can also make the archive Invite only, where people you invite by email get a secure sign-in link, or Public, where anyone with the link can read it. Only a public archive can show up in search engines.

What does it cost compared with a paid Slack plan?

It costs $9.99 USD/month per archive after a 7-day free trial, however many members read it. Slack’s paid plans are priced per user, so for a community of hundreds the difference adds up quickly.

Slack Pro costs $8.75 USD per active member a month on monthly billing, so a community with 300 active members would pay about $2,625 a month (Slack pricing, October 2026). See Community Archives pricing for limits and billing.

How does it compare with Slack Pro, exports and moving platforms?

Communities on the free plan usually weigh a few options. They differ in who can read the history and who pays.