Short answer: Slack alternative when message history runs out. Put the current file, the decision and the next owner in one channel. Basic is 9 USD per paid account a month, or 86 USD a year, with 25 GiB. The trial is 3 days. The iPhone and iPad app is coming soon. The encryption scope is on the security page.
Compare a Slack alternative for message history. Review retention and exports, then test how BusyVault keeps project decisions in a 3-day trial.
Product view: conversations, files and next steps in one place.
Ninety days is a product limit, not a memory
Slack Free shows the latest 90 days of messages and files, and Slack documents deletion of data older than a year on that plan. Upgrading later does not bring back what was already removed. If a project outlives that window, the risk is not inconvenience. It is a decision you can no longer show.
Export first, then move the next project
BusyVault does not recover Slack history that Slack has deleted. Export what your plan still allows, keep an independent copy of the files that matter, and put the next project in BusyVault so the new decisions are not on the same clock. The free BusyVault account lasts 3 days. It is a trial, not an archive.
Decide after one searchable thread
If you need a specific Slack export or legal hold, finish that with Slack before you change tools. Check that choice on one live job in the web app. The trial is 3 days and includes 10 GiB. Basic is then 9 USD a month with 25 GiB, or Pro is 30 USD with 100 GiB. Extra storage is 0.03 USD per GiB a month. One paid account does not cover the team.
What to write down before you switch
Read “Slack alternative when message history runs out” as a buying note for one job, not as a score. Name the file you would actually send, the history you still need to search, and who pays for each account. BusyVault is the hosted app for that job. Other products stay on this page only where the comparison says who runs the server or what one upload allows. There is no star rating and no laboratory winner. Keep the quote you were sent beside any public price printed here.
Files, history and the next owner
On Slack alternative when message history runs out, keep the file next to the sentence that approved it. Slack documents a 1 GB cap on one upload and, on the Free plan, 90 days of visible history. Those two limits are the public facts this site already cites.
BusyVault bills storage per paid account: 25 GiB on Basic and 100 GiB on Pro. Extra storage is 0.03 USD per GiB a month after you confirm the charge. Basic is 9 USD a month or 86 USD a year. Pro is 30 USD a month or 288 USD a year. One subscription does not cover the team.
The trial is 3 days and 10 GiB. Use it to upload a real file and to search for a decision, not to announce a company-wide move. If the file does not fit or the old decision cannot be found, say so in the channel before you promise the room is the archive.
Where the app runs
BusyVault runs in the browser and can be installed from Chrome or Edge on Windows, macOS and Linux. The Android app is on Google Play and uses the same account. The iPhone and iPad app is coming soon. Enterprise customers can run BusyVault on their own servers under a separate contract. There is no public installer on this site for that path. This page does not claim SOC 2, ISO 27001 or HIPAA.
A check you can finish this week
For Slack alternative when message history runs out, finish four lines and stop. Line one is the project name. Line two is the channel name. Line three is where the current file lives. Line four is the next owner. Add one rule for meetings: what must be decided live, and what must be written down the same day.
Ask someone who was not on the call to find the file without help. If they open the right channel first, the structure works. If they search three threads and still ask which version is current, move the file to the channel and leave a pointer. Owners and administrators can export a BusyVault backup from workspace or channel settings. After a restore, check the text, the file references and who can open them. Keep the original files until that check passes. Product questions go to the address on the support page.
Export before you lose the thread
If Free Slack is about to hide older messages, export the threads you must keep before you change tools. BusyVault will not pull a Slack workspace in by itself. Use the 3-day trial to see whether one of those threads is easier to find in a project channel. Legal hold and retention are your policy, not a checkbox on this page.
Use these checks to record what worked, what failed and what needs another tool. They are evaluation criteria, not claimed test results.
A practical acceptance checklist
Check
Evidence to collect
Available records
Separate hidden history from permanently deleted records before planning an export.
Archive usability
Open the export and verify dates, authors and essential attachments.
Future retention
Confirm subscription, deletion and export conditions before relying on a new archive.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Asked before
switching.
Will moving to BusyVault recover Slack messages that were deleted?
No. A new workspace cannot restore data already deleted by another service. Review what your current Slack plan still makes available and export permitted records before the deadline. Preserve decisions and essential files in a readable archive, then establish the retention and export workflow for new projects separately.