- What Slack's free plan includes
- Slack Free plan limits at a glance
- How Slack's free history limit works
- The Slack free plan catch: one year, then gone
- How to set up Slack for free the smart way
- Making Slack's free plan work for a small team
- Who Slack's free plan suits best
- Getting started in Slack
- Moving from email or WhatsApp to Slack
- Frequently asked questions
The short version: yes, Slack is free, and Slack describes its Free plan as free forever. You get 90 days of searchable message history, up to 10 apps, one-to-one huddles and one-to-one messages with people outside your company. The catch is that messages and files on the Free plan are only stored for one year, and anything older is permanently deleted.
Slack is a natural first step when a small team outgrows email and group chats. The free plan is enough to see whether it suits the way you work, but its history rules are stricter than most people realise.
What Slack's free plan includes
- 90 days of message history: messages are saved and searchable for 90 days.
- Up to 10 apps from the Slack App Directory, which lists over 2,600.
- One-to-one huddles: audio and video meetings with screen sharing, between two people.
- One-to-one external messages with people outside your company through Slack Connect.
Slack Free plan limits at a glance
| Feature | Free plan | What upgrading changes |
|---|---|---|
| Searchable message history | 90 days | Access to the previous 12 months |
| Apps | Up to 10 | Unlimited app integrations |
| Messages and files stored | One year, then permanently deleted | The one year limit is a Free plan rule |
How Slack's free history limit works
Slack's plan card says messages on Free are saved and searchable for 90 days, and that upgrading gives you access to the previous 12 months of messages. In everyday terms, anything older than three months disappears from search and view on the free plan.
That's fine for quick chat about today's work. It's a problem if Slack becomes the place where decisions get made, because three months later nobody can scroll back to see what was agreed.
The Slack free plan catch: one year, then gone
Here's the part most teams don't spot until it's too late. Slack's help centre says messages and files on the Free plan are only stored for one year, and any content in your workspace more than a year old is permanently deleted. So it isn't just hidden behind an upgrade. After a year, it's gone.
If you share contracts, briefs or final designs in Slack, save the important ones somewhere permanent, such as a shared drive, at the time. Treat Slack on the free plan as a conversation tool, not an archive.
The 10 app limit is the other thing to plan for. Connecting your calendar, file storage, project tool and a couple of AI helpers can use up those slots quickly, so pick the ones that save you the most time.
How to set up Slack for free the smart way
- Create a free workspace and invite your team.
- Set up a few clear channels, such as one per client or project, instead of lots of small ones.
- Choose your 10 apps carefully, starting with the ones you'll use every day.
- Save decisions and final files to a shared drive, not just in Slack messages.
- Use one-to-one huddles for quick calls instead of setting up a separate meeting.
Making Slack's free plan work for a small team
A little structure goes a long way on the free plan. Agree on a short naming pattern for channels, such as client- or project- at the start, so people find the right place fast. Pin the key links and documents in each channel, and write a short summary message whenever a decision is made, so the outcome is easy to copy into your permanent notes before it ages out of the 90 day window.
It also helps to agree what doesn't belong in Slack. Files that need to live for years, sensitive client information and anything you might need to prove later should go into a document system from the start. Slack is brilliant for fast conversation, and the free plan makes that clearer than ever.
Who Slack's free plan suits best
It's a good fit for small teams, freelancer collectives and project groups that need fast chat and don't rely on old messages. It's a poorer fit for a business that uses Slack as its record of what was decided, or that works closely with several other companies, because external collaboration on Free is one-to-one only.
Getting started in Slack
If you're setting up your first workspace, my guides on how to create a Slack channel and how to archive a Slack channel will keep it tidy from day one.
Moving from email or WhatsApp to Slack
If your team currently runs on email threads or a group chat, start small. Move one project or one client into Slack for a couple of weeks, and leave everything else as it stands. You'll learn which channels you need, which apps deserve one of your 10 slots and whether the 90 day window suits the way you work, without upending everything at once.
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Set a simple rule for the team: anything that needs a decision gets its own message, and the person who makes the decision writes it down in your permanent notes. That one habit solves most of the problems the free plan's history limits create.
Finally, remember who can see what. Anyone invited to your workspace can see the public channels, so keep client conversations in their own channels and only invite the people who need to be there.
Slack also makes it easy to tidy up as you go. Archive channels when a project ends, so the sidebar only shows live work and new team members aren't confused by old conversations.
My verdict: Slack's free plan is good for day-to-day team chat. Just don't rely on it to remember anything for you. Save the important stuff elsewhere, and upgrade when your team needs history it can search.
Frequently asked questions
Is Slack free?
Yes. Slack has a Free plan that it describes as free forever.
How long does Slack keep messages on the free plan?
Messages are saved and searchable for 90 days on Free, and Slack says messages and files on Free are only stored for one year before older content is permanently deleted.
How many apps can you use on Slack Free?
Slack's Free plan allows up to 10 apps from the Slack App Directory.
Can you make calls on Slack's free plan?
Yes. The Free plan includes one-to-one huddles, which are audio and video meetings with screen sharing.
Can you message people outside your company on Slack Free?
Yes, one-to-one. Slack lists one-to-one external messages through Slack Connect on the Free plan.
