To cancel a Slack subscription, a Workspace Owner or the Primary Owner downgrades the workspace to the free plan from the billing page. The workspace itself keeps running. Slack strips out the paid features, applies free-tier limits to message history, apps, and calls, and converts any unused paid time into non-refundable account credit.
Who Can Cancel
Only Workspace Owners and the Primary Owner can open the billing page and change the plan. Workspace Admins, regular members, and guests never see those settings.1Slack. Types of Roles in Slack If the option isn’t in your sidebar, you don’t have the role. Ask the Primary Owner to handle it or to promote you temporarily.
Enterprise Grid is the exception. You can’t self-cancel Grid through the interface; contact your Slack Account Manager or sales representative instead.
Downgrade Steps
Confirm you’re in the right workspace first by checking the URL (yourcompany.slack.com). Then, from the desktop app:
- Click Admin in the sidebar and choose Manage billing.
- On the Overview tab, click Change plan details.
- Select Downgrade to the Free plan. Slack asks whether to apply the change immediately or at your next renewal date.
- Click Continue to payment, review the summary, and finalize.
Downgrading at the next renewal date keeps paid features until the current billing cycle ends. An immediate downgrade cuts them off right away.2Slack. Change or Cancel Your Paid Slack Plan Slack sends a confirmation email to the Primary Owner once the change goes through.
Export Your Data First
Do this before you downgrade, not after. On the free plan, Slack hides messages and files older than 90 days, and data older than one year may be permanently deleted from free workspaces on a rolling basis.3Slack. Usage Limits for Free Workspaces The 90-day-to-one-year band is hidden but recoverable if you upgrade again; anything past a year can be gone for good.4Slack. Feature Limitations on the Free Version of Slack
Workspace Owners and Admins can export public-channel data on any plan. Exporting private channels and direct messages requires an application to Slack, and Business+ Owners can apply for a self-serve export tool that covers everything.5Slack. Guide to Slack Import and Export Tools One catch: exports include links to files rather than the files themselves, so download anything critical on the side.
What Changes on the Free Plan
The free tier isn’t just the paid plan minus the perks. Three limits reshape day-to-day use.
Message and File History
You can view and search only the last 90 days of messages and files. Older content is hidden, with the one-year deletion risk noted above.6Slack. Feature Limitations on the Free Version of Slack
App Integrations
Free workspaces are capped at 10 third-party or custom app installations. If you currently run more than 10, you’ll need to uninstall some before adding anything new.4Slack. Feature Limitations on the Free Version of Slack Teams built around CRM connections, project management tools, or automated workflows tend to feel this one first.
Huddles and Video Calls
Huddles drop to one-on-one only, with a 30-minute time limit per call.7Slack. Slack Paid vs. Free Group huddles and longer sessions require a paid plan.
Refunds and Credits
Slack’s Fair Billing Policy handles money you’ve already paid. When a paid member goes inactive, Slack adds a prorated credit for the unused time, which appears on your next billing statement.8Slack. Slack’s Fair Billing Policy
These credits have no cash value. They aren’t transferable, they can’t be refunded to your card, and they expire once you fully cancel your paid subscription.2Slack. Change or Cancel Your Paid Slack Plan For annual subscribers, that means the remaining months become credits you can only spend by re-subscribing or adding seats. Monthly subscribers generally see the downgrade take effect at the end of the current billing period.
Canceling vs. Deleting the Workspace
Canceling and deleting are not the same action. Canceling keeps the workspace alive on the free plan. Deleting wipes every message, file, and user account permanently.9Slack. Delete a Workspace Only the Primary Owner can delete a workspace, and Slack recommends exporting first.
To delete from the desktop app, click Admin, then Workspace settings, scroll to the Delete Workspace section, check the confirmation box, enter your Slack password, and select Yes, delete my workspace. SSO users without a standalone Slack password need to request a password reset before finishing.9Slack. Delete a Workspace