You may need to downgrade your Notion workspace from a paid plan to the Free Plan to reduce costs or because your team no longer needs premium features. Notion allows workspace owners to downgrade at any time, but certain data and features will be affected if usage exceeds Free Plan limits. This article explains exactly what happens when you downgrade, the prerequisites you must meet before starting, and the complete step-by-step process to switch to the Free Plan.
Key Takeaways: Downgrading a Notion Workspace to Free
- Settings & Members > Plans: The only place to initiate a workspace downgrade from a paid plan to Free.
- Export workspace data first: Export all pages and databases before downgrading to keep a local backup of your content.
- Reduce members and file storage: You must have 10 or fewer members and stay under the 5 MB file upload limit before the downgrade can complete.
What Happens When You Downgrade a Notion Workspace to Free
The Free Plan in Notion includes unlimited pages and blocks for up to 10 members, a 7-day page history, and file uploads up to 5 MB per file. When you downgrade from a Plus, Business, or Enterprise plan, Notion immediately removes access to features that are not available on the Free Plan. These include unlimited file uploads, unlimited page history, custom domains, guest permissions, and advanced permissions like member groups.
If your workspace currently has more than 10 members, you must remove members until you are at or below the limit. Any existing files larger than 5 MB will remain in the workspace but you will not be able to upload new files exceeding that size. Page history older than 7 days will be trimmed and no longer accessible. Integrations that rely on API rate limits or premium features may stop working correctly.
Notion does not delete any content when you downgrade. All pages, databases, and blocks remain intact. However, if you later exceed storage limits, Notion may prevent new file uploads until you free up space. The workspace owner must initiate the downgrade from the workspace settings; no other member can perform this action.
Prerequisites Before You Start the Downgrade
Before you can downgrade, you must resolve two conditions:
- Member count: The Free Plan allows a maximum of 10 members. If your workspace has 11 or more members, you must remove members until only 10 remain. You can remove members from the Members section in workspace settings.
- File upload size: The Free Plan limits file uploads to 5 MB per file. If you have recently uploaded files larger than 5 MB, the downgrade may still proceed, but you will not be able to upload additional large files afterward. No action is required to remove existing large files.
It is strongly recommended to export your workspace data before downgrading. This ensures you have a local backup of all pages and databases in case you need to restore content later. To export, go to Settings & Members > Settings > Export and choose Markdown & CSV or HTML. The export includes all pages and databases in your workspace.
Steps to Downgrade a Notion Workspace to Free Plan
- Open workspace settings
Click the workspace name in the top-left corner of the Notion sidebar. From the dropdown menu, select Settings & Members. - Go to the Plans section
In the left sidebar of the Settings & Members page, click Plans. This shows your current plan and billing details. - Click Change Plan
On the Plans page, locate the Free Plan card. Click the Change Plan button on that card. A confirmation dialog appears. - Confirm the downgrade
Read the summary of what will change after downgrading. Check the box to acknowledge the changes. Click Confirm Downgrade to proceed. - Resolve any blockers
If your workspace has more than 10 members, Notion will show an error and prevent the downgrade. Go to the Members section in the left sidebar, remove members until the count is 10 or fewer, then return to Plans and click Change Plan again. - Verify the new plan
After the downgrade completes, the Plans page will display Free Plan as your current plan. Your billing cycle will end, and you will not be charged again.
The downgrade takes effect immediately. If you were on a monthly billing cycle, you will not receive a refund for the remaining days. If you were on an annual plan, Notion will not issue a refund for the unused portion. You will retain access to the workspace with Free Plan features from that moment onward.
What to Do If the Downgrade Fails or You See Errors
“Your workspace has too many members” error
This is the most common blocker. The Free Plan supports a maximum of 10 members. To resolve this, remove members until the count is 10 or fewer. You can remove members by going to Settings & Members > Members, clicking the three-dot menu next to a member’s name, and selecting Remove from Workspace. After removing members, try the downgrade again.
“You have pending invoices” error
If you have an unpaid invoice, Notion will not allow a downgrade. Pay the outstanding balance first. Go to Settings & Members > Plans > Billing History to view and pay any overdue invoices.
“Downgrade not available for Enterprise plans”
Enterprise plans are custom contracts. You cannot downgrade directly from the Plans page. Contact your Notion sales representative or Notion support to request a plan change. They will guide you through the offboarding process.
Missing features after downgrade
After downgrading, you may notice that some features no longer work. For example, guest accounts that were created under a paid plan may lose access if they exceed the Free Plan guest limit. You can manage guest access in Settings & Members > People & Guests. Page history older than 7 days will be unavailable. No content is deleted, but you cannot restore old versions.
Notion Free Plan vs Plus Plan: Key Differences
| Item | Free Plan | Plus Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Member limit | 10 | Unlimited |
| File upload limit | 5 MB per file | Unlimited |
| Page history | 7 days | 30 days |
| Custom domains | Not available | Not available |
| Guest accounts | 10 guests | 100 guests |
| API rate limits | Standard | Higher |
The Free Plan is suitable for personal use or very small teams that do not need unlimited file uploads or extended page history. The Plus Plan adds unlimited file uploads, 30-day page history, and unlimited members for a monthly fee per member.
Conclusion
You can now downgrade a Notion workspace to the Free Plan by following the steps in the Plans section of workspace settings. Before starting, reduce your member count to 10 or fewer and export your data as a backup. After the downgrade, you will lose access to premium features like unlimited file uploads and extended page history, but all your content remains intact. To avoid future issues, monitor your file upload sizes and member count to stay within Free Plan limits. If you need more features later, you can always upgrade back to a paid plan from the same Plans page.