In this guide
Before you start.
- Export your history before you downgrade. Slack states that messages and files more than one year old will be permanently deleted, that this runs on a continuous basis, and that it will not be possible to restore messages and files once deletion occurs.
- Understand the two limits, because they are different. Slack states you can view and search messages and files from the last 90 days, and that the remaining 275 days become available again should you upgrade to a paid plan. Anything past a year is gone rather than hidden.
- Check your role. Slack states that Workspace Owners and members who have upgraded a workspace can change or cancel the plan, and separately that Workspace Admins help manage members but cannot access the Billing page or manage billing details.
- Spend your credits first if you have any. Slack states that credits have no currency or exchange value, are non-transferable and non-refundable, and will expire following the termination of your paid Slack plan, so downgrading destroys an accrued balance.
- Decide the timing deliberately. Slack lets you choose whether the plan change takes effect immediately or on your next renewal date.
- Plan for guests. Slack states that when you downgrade, any existing guest accounts will be deactivated, and that to keep working with them you need to reactivate them as full members, giving them access to your entire workspace.
- Slack Connect does not survive. Slack states that Slack Connect channels will disconnect and that you will be limited to working with external partners one-on-one, in direct messages.
- Canvases and lists have their own rules. Slack states canvases become read only and subject to the 90 day limit with all canvas content deleted after a year, and that lists will not be visible on a free plan but are stored, with list content deleted after a year and not restored if you upgrade.
- Note the Fair Billing scope. Slack states the policy applies to Slack plans and add-ons purchased via the Slack website and paid for by credit card or self-serve invoicing, so a sales-contracted or Enterprise deal is outside it.
- Slack does not sell plans through the Apple App Store or Google Play: its mobile app carries no in-app purchases.
FOLLOW THE RIGHT BILLING ROUTE
Cancel Slack, step by step.
Downgrade the workspace to the free plan
This is the route Slack documents for ending a paid plan while keeping the workspace and its channels.
- Export the workspace history you need, since the free plan hides recent content and permanently deletes anything over a year old.
- From your desktop, click Admin in the sidebar. If you do not see this option, click your workspace name to access workspace settings instead.
- Select Manage billing from the menu.
- From the Overview tab, select Change plan details.
- Select Downgrade to Free and decide whether your plan change will take effect immediately or on your next renewal date.
- Click Continue to Checkout.
- Review the downgrade details, then click Downgrade Slack.
Slack states that when you switch to the free plan you lose access to the paid features available on your plan and that message, file and app limits will be applied. Downgrading Business+ to Pro is a separate flow ending in Start Downgrade, Continue, then Confirm Billing and Downgrade.
Deactivate members instead of downgrading
Slack's Fair Billing Policy is genuinely different from most per-seat tools, which makes this a real option rather than a consolation prize.
- Open the admin area and find the member list for the workspace.
- Deactivate the accounts of people who have left or no longer need Slack.
- Check your credits the next day: Slack states credits will be deposited to your Slack account the next day for the unused portion of the billing period.
- Leave genuinely dormant accounts alone if you prefer: Slack states a member who has not used Slack in over 28 days becomes inactive and credits are deposited automatically.
- Work out the size if you need to: Slack publishes the calculation as the cost per member divided by the days in the month, multiplied by the remaining days, with a worked example of $8.75 divided by 30 days times 15 days giving $4.38.
- Spend the credits on Slack before any downgrade, since they expire when the paid plan ends.
Slack states that if all members become inactive you will be billed for a minimum of one member unless you downgrade, and that the Fair Billing Policy applies to plans and add-ons purchased via the Slack website and paid by credit card or self-serve invoicing.
What happens next?
- The paid features stop and the limits apply. Slack states you lose access to the paid features available on your plan and that message, file and app limits will be applied.
- History splits into two states. Slack states you can view and search messages and files from the last 90 days, and that the remaining 275 days become available should you upgrade to a paid plan.
- The deletion is permanent and continuous. Slack states messages and files more than one year old will be permanently deleted, that this has run on a continuous basis since August 26, 2024, and that it will not be possible to restore them once deletion occurs.
- Retention choice narrows. Slack states a free workspace can either keep all messages and files for one year or delete them after 90 days, so the keep-forever option is gone.
- Guests are deactivated. Slack states existing guest accounts are deactivated and that reactivating them as full members gives them access to your entire workspace.
- Slack Connect channels disconnect, group huddles drop to one-to-one, custom sections collapse into Channels, DMs and Starred, and apps are capped at 10.
- Credits do not carry over. Slack states they expire following the termination of your paid Slack plan, so an unused balance is lost at the downgrade.
- The workspace itself stays, with its channels, members and name intact. A downgrade is not a deletion, and Slack states only the Primary Owner can delete the workspace or transfer ownership.
WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK
If you get stuck.
I am a Workspace Admin but there is no billing page
That is by design. Slack states that Workspace Admins help manage members and can perform administrative tasks but cannot access the Billing page or manage billing details, and that the plan can be changed by Workspace Owners and members who have upgraded a workspace. Billing contacts do not help either: Slack states billing contacts cannot make changes to your billing details. Find the Primary Owner, a Workspace Owner, or whoever originally upgraded.
My old Slack messages have disappeared
Check whether they are hidden or deleted, because only one is reversible. Slack states the free plan shows messages and files from the last 90 days and hides older ones, with the remaining 275 days becoming available again if you upgrade. It also states messages and files more than one year old are permanently deleted, on a continuous basis, and cannot be restored once deletion occurs.
My Slack credits vanished after I downgraded
Slack states that credits have no currency or exchange value, are non-transferable and non-refundable, and will expire following the termination of your paid Slack plan. An accrued Fair Billing balance is therefore destroyed by the downgrade rather than carried forward. If the balance is meaningful, spend it on the paid plan before you switch.
My guests lost access after the downgrade
Slack states that when you downgrade, any existing guest accounts will be deactivated, and that to keep working with your guests you need to reactivate them as full members, which gives them access to your entire workspace. That is a genuine trade-off: the workaround both widens their access and makes them billable if you later upgrade again.
I deactivated people but got credits rather than a refund
That is Slack's Fair Billing Policy working as intended, and it is more generous than most. Slack states credits are deposited the next day for the unused portion of the billing period, and that a member who has not used Slack in over 28 days becomes inactive and is credited automatically. It also states that if all members become inactive you are billed for a minimum of one member unless you downgrade.
My workspace was bought through Slack sales and nothing here applies
Check the scope. Slack states the Fair Billing Policy applies to Slack plans and add-ons purchased via the Slack website and paid for by credit card or self-serve invoicing, so a sales-contracted or Enterprise Grid agreement sits outside it and does not auto-credit deactivations. On Enterprise Grid the Org Primary Owner and the Workspace Primary Owner are different roles with different billing screens.
Still not cancelled?Common reasons a subscription will not cancel
GOOD TO KNOW
Questions, answered.
How do I cancel my paid Slack plan?
Click Admin in the sidebar, select Manage billing, then from the Overview tab select Change plan details, select Downgrade to Free, choose whether it applies immediately or at renewal, click Continue to Checkout and then Downgrade Slack.
Will I lose my Slack messages on the free plan?
Partly, then permanently. Slack states you can view and search messages and files from the last 90 days, that the remaining 275 days return if you upgrade, and that messages and files more than one year old are permanently deleted and cannot be restored.
Does Slack refund the unused part of my plan?
As credits rather than money. Slack states it credits your workspace account with Slack credits equal to the cost of any unused portion, and that credits have no currency or exchange value, are non-transferable and non-refundable, and expire when the paid plan terminates.
Does removing a Slack member lower the bill?
Yes, which is unusual. Slack states credits are deposited the next day for the unused portion of the billing period when a member is deactivated, and that a member who has not used Slack in over 28 days becomes inactive and is credited automatically.
Am I charged for people I invite to Slack before they join?
No. Slack states that on a paid plan you will not be billed for invited members until they become active in Slack, and that an account becomes active when the person accepts the invitation and signs in for the first time.
Provider resources
- Slack: change or cancel your paid Slack plan
- Slack: Fair Billing Policy
- Slack: usage limits for free workspaces
- Slack: updates to message and file history on free workspaces
- Slack: feature limitations on the free version of Slack
- Slack: types of roles in Slack
- Slack: invited members in Slack
Instructions reviewed .
Subex is independent of Slack. Availability and cancellation terms can vary by plan, billing provider and country.
