How to Export Your Data From 8 CRMs: Limits, Formats and What Gets Left Behind

You are about to migrate or cancel, and you have just found out that your CRM’s export button gives you contacts but no notes, a download link that dies in 24 hours, or a zip that leaves out half your files. We read each vendor’s own documentation for eight CRMs on October 21, 2026 and put what it says into three tables, a chart and a checklist of what to export before you leave. This page is the other half of our CRM import limits page: that one covers what goes in, this one covers what comes out.

Five of the eight have an in-app route for the whole account: Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Pipedrive and monday. Dynamics 365 has no backup you can download, only Excel per table or a link to an Azure data lake. Airtable exports one table per CSV. HighLevel exports contacts and companies, one sub-account at a time.

Method. We fetched each vendor’s export, backup and cancellation documentation on October 21, 2026 and recorded only what the page says. Any cell that reads “not stated on the pages we read” means exactly that, not that the feature is missing. What we could not open is listed in the method section. We did not run the exports ourselves.

What export routes does each CRM have, and who can use them?

Every CRM here exports a list to CSV or Excel, but the whole-account routes, the permissions and the limits differ. Row caps are stated by only some vendors, and daily caps by even fewer.

CRM	Native export routes	File formats	Who can export	Limits per export or per day
Salesforce	Data Export Service (in Setup, weekly or monthly), Data Loader, report export	CSV files in a zip	“Weekly Data Export” user permission; “Export Reports” permission for reports	Manual run once every 7 days (weekly) or 29 days (monthly); each zip about 512 MB, so large orgs get several
HubSpot	Record export from any object view, one contact’s data export, Back up CRM data, Exports API	CSV, XLS, XLSX	Export permissions for records; Super Admin or CRM export permissions for one contact; Super Admin for backups	300 exports per rolling 24 hours in the app, 3 at once; the API allows 30 per rolling 24 hours; no row cap stated
Dynamics 365	Export to Excel on a table (static worksheet, dynamic worksheet, PivotTable); Azure Synapse Link to a data lake	XLSX; CSV snapshots in the data lake	“Export to Excel” privilege in a security role; Synapse Link needs the Dataverse system administrator role	100,000 rows at a time; size also depends on columns and lookups; per-day limit not stated on the pages we read
Zoho CRM	Module export, Data Backup, Bulk Read API	CSV or XLSX in a zip; backup is CSV in a zip	“Export” permission on the module in the user’s profile; backups need an administrative profile	CSV 200,000 records per module per export, XLSX 50,000, 500 from a selected list; 10 / 100 / 250 / 500 / 1,000 exports a day by edition (Free to Ultimate)
Pipedrive	Export data page, list view “Export filter results”, deal detail export, API	XLSX or CSV; notes as HTML or plain text	Export data page: global admins. List export: regular users with the right permission, visible records only	Row cap and daily cap not stated on the pages we read; export files kept 28 days
monday CRM	Board export to Excel, group or item export, account export, Rewind backup app	XLSX; account export is a zip	Account export: account admin. Board export: Enterprise admins can block non-admins	100,000 items per board export; account export once every 24 hours
Airtable	Download CSV from a grid view; base snapshots	CSV	Not stated beyond this: the view creator can limit other collaborators from copying base data, which disables CSV download	One table per CSV, and view filters apply; row cap not stated on the pages we read
GoHighLevel	Contacts export from Smart Lists, Companies CSV export, API	CSV	Contacts: admin users only (Agency and Location Admins download the file). Companies: depends on the user’s role permission	Row and daily limits not stated on the pages we read

Source, checked Oct 21, 2026: Salesforce Trailhead and Salesforce Help articles; HubSpot Knowledge Base and developer docs; Microsoft Learn; Zoho CRM Help; Pipedrive Knowledge Base; monday.com Support; Airtable Support; HighLevel Support. Full links are in the sources.

Two things in that table are easy to misread. HubSpot’s own pages give 300 exports a day for the app and 30 for the API, so they are different limits, not a typo. And “limits not stated” on Pipedrive and HighLevel does not mean unlimited. It means the article we read gave no number, so test a full export early instead of assuming one.

Where is the export button in each CRM?

You start from a different place in each product, and for several of them the whole-account export is in an admin menu that ordinary users never see.

CRM	Path to a record export	Path to the whole account
Salesforce	Report export, or Data Loader’s Export	Setup, Data Export
HubSpot	Object records, then Export (top right of the table)	Back up CRM data (Super Admin)
Dynamics 365	Left nav, pick a table, Export to Excel on the command bar	No downloadable backup; link to a data lake
Zoho CRM	Setup, Data Administration, Export	Data Backup (administrative profile)
Pipedrive	List view, “…” menu, Export filter results	Tools and apps, Export data
monday CRM	Board three-dot menu, More actions, Export board to Excel	Administration, General, Account, Export account data
Airtable	Down arrow beside the view name, download CSV	Not supported; each table separately
GoHighLevel	Contacts, Smart Lists, select contacts, More, Export	Not stated on the pages we read; per sub-account

Source, checked Oct 21, 2026: the same vendor pages as the table above. The Zoho Setup path is from Zoho’s help-center search listing for its export article.

For the longer walkthroughs on three of these, we have written up Zoho CRM exports, monday.com to Excel and HighLevel contact exports.

What does a CRM export leave out?

Most record exports leave out notes, attachments or activity history unless you pick them separately, and a few leave them out with no way to add them. This is where migrations lose the most.

CRM	Notes	Attachments and files	Activity history (emails, calls, tasks)	Left out, as the vendor states it
Salesforce	Not stated on the pages we read	Included in Data Export if you select images, documents and attachments; Data Loader gives CSV metadata, not the files	Not stated on the pages we read	Recycle Bin data, formula fields and roll-up summary fields; archived records are included
HubSpot	Not in a record export; a single contact’s export can include notes	Not mentioned on the export pages we read	Record export excludes calls and notes; backup includes calls, conversations and tasks as objects but not activity data	Associations, in backups; at most 1,000 associated IDs per column in record exports
Dynamics 365	Not stated on the pages we read	Not stated on the pages we read	Not stated on the pages we read	Virtual tables; some system views only go to a static worksheet; no downloadable database backup
Zoho CRM	Exported through a Notes selection, up to 3,000 notes at a time	Included in a Data Backup, including file and image upload fields	Not stated on the pages we read	Backup excludes email content, Documents, integration data and IMAP emails
Pipedrive	Exported separately, as HTML or plain text	Exported separately by date added; Google Drive files are not exported	Activities exported separately; emails not stated on the pages we read	Item export omits activities, notes and files
monday CRM	Updates can go in a second tab of a board export	Account export includes uploaded files unless you untick them	Emails and Activities timeline is not supported in the account export	Archived boards, workdocs, dashboards, subitem updates, Auto Number column
Airtable	Not stated on the pages we read	Links only, as a filename and URL that expires after a few hours	Revision history cannot be exported through snapshots	Record comments, field descriptions, base guide content
GoHighLevel	Latest note only, up to 255 characters	Not stated on the pages we read	Automation history such as past emails and SMS logs is not included	Columns not visible in the Contacts table; no scheduled exports
Verdict	Zoho and monday let you choose notes; HighLevel truncates them	Salesforce, Zoho, Pipedrive and monday give you the files themselves; Airtable gives links	No standard list export states that it carries full activity history	Plan a separate export for history on every platform

Source, checked Oct 21, 2026: the vendor pages listed in the sources. The verdict row is our reading of the cells above it.

A few of these cells deserve a sentence. Salesforce’s Data Loader writes CSV files that describe your files, and Salesforce’s own article says it does not fetch the physical files. For those, use Data Export. Without the “Query All Files” permission, which an administrator has to enable in a profile or permission set, Data Loader returns only files the user owns or that are shared with them.

HubSpot is the one most likely to surprise a team that lives in email and notes. The record export is built for lists of records. The one-contact export is the route that includes emails and notes, and the page says values may be redacted if they are sensitive.

How long do export download links last?

From one day to 30 days, depending on the vendor, and one day is the shortest: monday’s whole-account export link works for 24 hours. If your connection or your storage drops partway, you start over.

The Airtable catch is inside the file. Attachment links in a CSV expire after a few hours, so a CSV is not a safe copy of your attachments. HubSpot’s API download URL expires five minutes after the request completes, which matters only if you script it.

Can I export my data before cancelling, and how long do they keep it?

Yes, and you should, because several of these vendors’ own documents say access ends when the account closes. The stated retention clocks run from 30 to 180 days, and two vendors promise no access at all.

Source, checked Oct 21, 2026: HighLevel Support, Microsoft Trust Center, Salesforce MSA, HubSpot Product Specific Terms, Pipedrive Terms of Service.

The table below puts the backup features and the retention wording side by side.

CRM	Scheduled or built-in backup	Retention after cancellation or downgrade, as stated
Salesforce	Weekly Data Export in Enterprise, Performance and Unlimited; monthly in every edition except Database.com	Master Services Agreement: if you ask within 30 days after termination, Salesforce makes Customer Data available for export; after that it has no obligation to keep it
HubSpot	Back up CRM data: weekly on Starter and Professional, every 24 hours on Enterprise; recurring scheduled backups need Enterprise; download for 14 days	Terms: no access to Customer Data after termination for Smart CRM, free tools and other Hubs; Marketing Hub Professional and Enterprise marketing contacts can request a copy within 30 days
Dynamics 365	System backups run continuously and are kept 7 days (up to 28 for production managed environments); they restore into a sandbox and cannot be downloaded	Microsoft Trust Center: 90 days in a limited-function account after a cloud subscription ends, then deletion; we found no Dynamics 365 Sales-specific page
Zoho CRM	Data Backup set to twice a month, monthly, weekly or immediately; 2 free backups on paid editions, 4 on Ultimate, none on Free; link lasts 7 days	Not stated on the Zoho CRM pages we read; Zoho’s privacy FAQ says data is removed from active databases in a clean-up once in six months and from backups after three months
Pipedrive	Built-in scheduled export not stated on the pages we read; the help page points to the API for automated exports	Help center: deletion typically within 180 days of closing, trials within 60 days; Terms: within 180 days, with earlier deletion on request
monday CRM	Rewind app for automated daily backups; its plan and price are not stated on the pages we read	Closed accounts move to a 7-day free trial, then become inactive; data is kept by default but monday says it can delete it at any time; an admin’s deletion request is completed within 90 days
Airtable	No scheduled export; snapshots kept 2 weeks (Free) to 3 years (Enterprise Scale), for restoring inside Airtable	Downgrading to Free “doesn’t delete your data”; cancellation retention is not stated on the pages we read
GoHighLevel	Scheduled exports are not available	90 days after cancellation, then agency account, sub-accounts and data are permanently deleted; purged data cannot be recovered

Source, checked Oct 21, 2026: vendor pages listed in the sources. Retention wording is from terms and help articles that vendors can change.

Read the Salesforce row twice. In the Master Services Agreement the 30 days is a request window, so if you wait for the last week to think about it, you are already on the clock. And monday’s cancellation article adds a billing rule: existing customers must give 30 days’ notice before the end date or the plan may auto-renew.

Which CRM is hardest to leave?

Going by the pages we read, Dynamics 365 and Airtable take the most work, and HubSpot takes the most care. This is our opinion from the tables, not a ranking the vendors gave.

Dynamics 365 has a 100,000-row Excel export, and Microsoft’s backup page says you cannot get a copy of your database backup. A large move means a data migration tool or an Azure Synapse Link into a data lake, and that route needs an Azure storage account, change tracking on each table and the Dataverse system administrator role. Airtable has no full-base export, and its CSVs carry expiring attachment links. HubSpot’s backup and record exports are straightforward, but the history sits in a different tool. HighLevel’s export is simple with one sub-account, but with forty you repeat it forty times, because each is exported on its own.

The easiest are the ones with an admin button that returns everything at once. Zoho’s Data Backup and Salesforce’s Data Export both do that, with files and attachments, and both have scheduled options.

If you are moving between two of these, the import side has its own ceilings, covered in CRM import limits, and a bulk move usually runs through the API, whose limits are in CRM API rate limits compared.

What should you export before you migrate or cancel?

Export in this order, and check each file before you move on.

1. Find the date. Check your renewal date and notice period. monday needs 30 days’ notice for existing customers, HighLevel deletes phone numbers 14 days after cancellation, and Salesforce’s export request window is 30 days.
2. Run the whole-account export first, while your admin login still works. That means Salesforce Data Export with attachments ticked, HubSpot’s backup, Zoho’s Data Backup, Pipedrive’s Export data page and monday’s account export. Download it the same day, because the links above last from 24 hours to 30 days.
3. Export each object separately from the list views, and compare record counts against the CRM. For HighLevel, Airtable and Dynamics 365, this is the main route.
4. Export what the whole-account files skip: notes, emails, call logs, tasks and files. Use HubSpot’s one-contact export or the engagements API, Zoho’s Notes export, Pipedrive’s separate activities, notes and files exports, and monday’s “include updates” option.
5. Export the setup. Pipedrive can export its field setup from Personal preferences, Data fields. For custom fields, pipelines and automations elsewhere, the export pages we read do not say they are included, so record them by hand.
6. Keep two copies and store them securely. HubSpot’s backup includes properties that hold sensitive data, and its single-contact export is flagged as personal data.
7. Open the files. Check row counts, check that dates and phone numbers survived, and open a few attachments to confirm the files are there, because a list of filenames proves nothing.
8. Cancel last. If you are not ready, a downgrade or a pause may be safer than a cancellation: Airtable says downgrading to Free does not delete your data, and monday schedules downgrades for the next renewal.

The broader plan, including cutover and rollback, is in our CRM migration guide, and the data-handling side is in the CRM data migration security checklist. If you are leaving Salesforce or Zoho and want engineers to run the export, the checks and the import, see aibrevo’s Salesforce and Zoho services, or book a short call and bring the export you already have.

What did we check, and what could we not open?

We read each vendor’s own export, backup and cancellation pages on October 21, 2026, and we record a number only when a page states it. These are the gaps and conflicts.

• Salesforce Help’s “Export Backup Data from Salesforce” article is rendered by JavaScript and did not load as text. We used Salesforce’s Trailhead data export module, the Data Export FAQ knowledge article, a Salesforce knowledge article on user permissions, and the Master Services Agreement instead. Salesforce does not state a row cap for Data Loader exports on the pages we read.
• monday.com’s help pages returned 403 to a normal fetch, so we read the same articles through the help center’s article API. The “updated” dates in the sources are the help center’s own record.
• We found no Dynamics 365 Sales page about cancellation. The 90-day figure is Microsoft’s general policy for cloud subscriptions, and the export pages we used are for model-driven apps, which is how Dynamics 365 Sales runs. The Dynamics 365 exports are described in Microsoft’s Power Apps documentation, not a Sales-only article.
• Zoho’s CRM help pages do not state a cancellation retention period, so the only figures we give are from Zoho’s privacy FAQ. Per-edition backup counts are on the data backup article; the Bulk Read API page gives no jobs-per-day figure.
• HubSpot’s own pages disagree on exports per day: 300 in the app article and 30 in the API article. We show both. Airtable’s plans page says self-serve Business keeps 1 year of snapshots, while its snapshots page says 2 years, so we gave the snapshots page range only for Free and Enterprise Scale.
• HighLevel’s contacts export article was last modified December 24, 2025, and its companies article March 27, 2026. Neither states row limits.
• We did not run any export ourselves and we did not test anything against a live account. Vendors change these numbers, so confirm in the product before you size a project.

Sources

All checked October 21, 2026.

• Salesforce Trailhead, Learn data export methods and steps: Data Export Service, 7 and 29 day manual limits, weekly edition list, CSV zip, 48 hours, Data Loader. Salesforce Help, Data Export FAQ: 48 hours, about 512 MB per zip, archived records, Recycle Bin, formula and roll-up fields. Salesforce Help, User Profile permission descriptions: Weekly Data Export, Export Reports. Salesforce Help, Export Content Documents with Data Loader: Query All Files, CSV metadata only. Salesforce, Main Services Agreement (last updated October 15, 2026): 30-day export request window.
• HubSpot Knowledge Base, Export your records, Back up CRM data, Export contact data and Set up export notifications and view a log of exports. HubSpot developers, Exports API guide. HubSpot Legal Center, Product Specific Terms (last modified September 16, 2026).
• Microsoft Learn, Export data to Excel in Power Apps, Export to an Excel dynamic worksheet, Export to an Excel static worksheet, Privacy-related privileges, Security roles and privileges for Dataverse (privacy-related privileges cover exporting to Excel), Back up and restore environments (dated October 6, 2026) and Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse with Azure Data Lake (dated September 29, 2026). Microsoft Trust Center, Data management: 90-day retention after a subscription ends.
• Zoho CRM Help, Export CRM data, Requesting a data backup and FAQs: Exporting data from Zoho CRM. Zoho developer docs, Bulk Read API limitations and Backup API overview. Zoho, Privacy FAQ.
• Pipedrive Knowledge Base, Exporting data from Pipedrive, How can I cancel my paid Pipedrive account? and Can I delete my account?. Pipedrive, Terms of Service (current as of September 16, 2026).
• monday.com Support, How to export your entire account’s data (updated October 13, 2026), Export from monday to Excel (updated October 8, 2026), Back up and restore your data with Rewind backups, How to cancel and close your account (updated October 12, 2026) and Security and privacy on monday.com: FAQs.
• Airtable Support, Getting started with Airtable views (CSV download), Taking and restoring snapshots, Upgrading and downgrading your workspace plan and Airtable plans.
• HighLevel Support, Contacts: export as CSV upgrade, Export companies (CSV download) and What happens to your data when you cancel your HighLevel subscription (modified August 18, 2026).