Slack Free Plan Limits: History, Apps & Huddles (2026)
The headline limit: Slack’s free plan only shows you the most recent 90 days of message and file history — older messages get hidden, and anything more than one year old is permanently deleted (Slack: Feature limitations on the free version). Everything else on the free plan is shaped by that constraint, plus a handful of caps on apps, huddles, and automation.
What the Free Plan Includes (and Caps)
Included
- Unlimited public and private channels and direct messages
- Searchable message and file history for the most recent 90 days (Slack Free plan)
- One-on-one audio and video huddles, capped at 30 minutes
- File sharing and audio/video clips
- Up to 10 third-party or custom app installations (Slack: Feature limitations)
Capped / not included
- 90-day message and file history. Older messages are hidden; data over one year old is deleted (Slack).
- Huddles are 1:1 only, with a 30-minute limit — no group huddles (Slack: Paid vs. Free).
- No Workflow Builder. Existing workflows stop running on downgrade and you can’t create new ones (Slack: Feature limitations).
- Canvases and lists become read-only — you can view them but not create new ones.
- Slack Connect is 1:1 only — shared channels with outside organizations require a paid plan.
- No SAML-based SSO or SCIM provisioning, and no AI features (conversation summaries, recaps, search answers).
What the 90-Day History Limit Actually Means
Free Slack doesn’t delete most of your messages right away — it hides them. Once a message or file passes the 90-day mark, it disappears from search and scrollback, but it’s still stored and reappears the moment you upgrade to a paid plan, which restores the previous 12 months (Slack: Feature limitations).
The harder cutoff is the one-year mark: data older than a year is permanently deleted from free workspaces and can’t be recovered (Slack: Paid vs. Free). So a decision you documented in a channel 14 months ago is simply gone — which is why teams that rely on Slack as a record eventually have to upgrade or export.
How to Work Around the Free Plan Limits
- Export the important stuff before it ages out. Free workspace owners can export public-channel history; pull a regular export so 90-day-old context isn’t lost for good.
- Move decisions out of chat. Keep specs, decisions, and SOPs in a docs tool so they don’t vanish with the 90-day window — Slack is a poor system of record on the free plan.
- Pick your 10 apps deliberately. With only 10 integrations, prioritize the ones that save real time (calendar, ticketing, your AI assistant) over novelty bots.
- Use a longer call tool for groups. The 30-minute, 1:1 huddle cap means any team meeting needs Zoom, Meet, or Teams instead.
- Schedule individual messages natively, automate elsewhere. Slack’s “send later” works on every plan, but recurring/automated messages need paid Workflow Builder — route those through an external automation tool.
Troubleshooting
Why did my old Slack messages disappear?
On a free workspace, messages and files older than 90 days are hidden from view and search. They’re not deleted (until they pass one year) — upgrading to a paid plan reveals the previous 12 months (Slack).
How many apps can I install on Slack’s free plan?
Up to 10 third-party or custom apps. Installing an 11th requires removing one or upgrading to a paid plan (Slack: Feature limitations).
Can I do group video calls on free Slack?
No. Free huddles are one-on-one only and capped at 30 minutes. Group huddles (up to 50 people) require a paid plan (Slack: Paid vs. Free).
How much is Slack Pro?
Slack Pro is $7.25 per active user/month billed annually, or $8.75 billed monthly, and it unlocks unlimited history, group huddles, unlimited apps, Workflow Builder, and Slack Connect channels (Slack Pro plan).
Quick Reference
| Feature | Free | Pro (paid) |
|---|---|---|
| Message & file history | 90 days (deleted after 1 year) | Unlimited |
| App integrations | 10 | Unlimited |
| Huddles | 1:1, 30-min cap | Group, up to 50, unlimited length |
| Workflow Builder | No | Yes |
| Canvases & lists | Read-only | Create & edit |
| Slack Connect | 1:1 messaging only | Shared channels |
| SAML SSO / SCIM | No | Yes |
| AI summaries & recaps | No | Yes |
| Price | $0 | $7.25/user/mo (annual) |
If the 90-day window and the 10-app cap are squeezing your workflow, an AI executive assistant can take some load off Slack instead of forcing an upgrade. Carly works in your inbox and calendar, connects to Slack, and handles scheduling, triage, and follow-ups for you — reliably, starting at $35/month. It won’t restore your history, but it can reduce how much you depend on chat as a system of record.
Related guides: Slack vs. Microsoft Teams · Best AI agents for productivity
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