# How to Export Salesforce Data: Every Method, Step by Step

> Export Salesforce data with the Data Export Service, Data Loader or the API: edition limits, the 48-hour download window and keeping field history.

Canonical: https://origindatapartners.com/guides/export-salesforce-data
By: Origin Data Partners
Status: Published
Published: 2026-11-10
Updated: 2026-11-14
Sources checked: 2026-11-10

## Quick answer

To export Salesforce data, go to Setup, search Data Export, choose Export Now or Schedule Export, tick the file options and Include all data, then download the zip of CSV files within 48 hours. Enterprise, Performance and Unlimited editions can export weekly; Professional only every 29 days. Use Data Loader or the API for scripted or repeated exports, and save field history separately.

## Key points

- The Data Export Service is the complete, no-install route: every object as CSV files in a zip, with attachments if you tick them.
- Download fast: Salesforce deletes the zip files 48 hours after the email.
- Standard field history is kept 18 months in the app and up to 24 months through the API, so older stage changes may already be gone unless Field Audit Trail is on.
- Keep record IDs, created and modified dates and owner IDs in every file, or the export loses the links that make it useful.

## How to export Salesforce data: which method to use

Salesforce gives admins two built-in routes. In Salesforce's own words, "Salesforce offers two main methods for exporting data": the Data Export Service, an in-browser service in Setup, and Data Loader, a client application that you must install separately ([Salesforce Trailhead](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/lex_implementation_data_management/lex_implementation_data_export)). Both produce CSV files. The API sits behind Data Loader and every third-party backup tool, and it is the only way to reach some history that the other routes miss.

This guide is for owners, operations leads and Salesforce admins who need a complete copy: for a backup, before a migration, before cancelling, or before deciding whether the history is worth licensing. If that last question is why you are here, you do not need an export to find out: [get a free estimate](https://origindatapartners.com/check-fit) from six company-level questions first.

| Export method | What it includes | Limits | Edition or plan |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Data Export Service (Setup > Data Export) | Every object you select, or Include all data, as CSV files in a zip; images, documents and attachments if you tick them | Manual export once every 7 days (weekly) or 29 days (monthly); zip files deleted 48 hours after the email | Weekly in Enterprise, Performance and Unlimited; every 29 days in Professional and Developer |
| Data Loader | Any object and field your user can read, chosen by query, through the interface or the command line | You install and run it yourself; good for scripted, repeated or very large exports | Depends on edition and API access |
| API (directly or through a backup tool) | Records, files and history objects, including field history up to 24 months old | You write or buy the tooling and manage rate limits | Depends on edition and API access |
| Field Audit Trail | Field history kept beyond 18 months, on up to 200 fields per object, under retention policies you set | Keeps history from when it is set up; it cannot bring back history that has already aged out | Check your edition and contract |

Source: [Salesforce Trailhead: Export data (Data Export Service and Data Loader)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/lex_implementation_data_management/lex_implementation_data_export)

## Export Salesforce data with the Data Export Service, step by step

The Data Export Service is the right first export for most companies, because it covers every object at once and needs nothing installed. "The data is exported as a set of comma-separated values (CSV) files" ([Salesforce Trailhead](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/lex_implementation_data_management/lex_implementation_data_export)).

- From Setup, enter Data Export in the Quick Find box, then select Data Export and choose Export Now or Schedule Export. Export Now is only available if enough time has passed since your last export.
- Choose the encoding. If you want images, documents and attachments included, select the matching options; leave them off and you get the records without the files.
- Tick Replace carriage returns with spaces only if you plan to re-import the files. For an archive, keep the line breaks: they are part of notes, emails and descriptions.
- Under Exported Data, select Include all data. Salesforce recommends it if you are not familiar with the terminology used for some of the types of data, and for a complete archive it is the safe choice.
- Click Start Export. Salesforce creates a zip archive of CSV files and emails you when it is ready. It does not guarantee when the export will complete, and large exports are broken up into multiple files.
- Download every file from the link in the email or the Data Export page straight away. Zip files are deleted 48 hours after the email is sent.
- Schedule a recurring export (weekly or monthly, depending on edition) if you want a rolling copy while you decide what to do with the data.

Source: [Salesforce Trailhead: Export data (Data Export Service and Data Loader)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/lex_implementation_data_management/lex_implementation_data_export)

## When to use Data Loader or the API instead

Data Loader can be operated through its user interface or the command line, and the command line "is useful if you want to automate the export process, or use APIs to integrate with another system" ([Salesforce Trailhead](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/lex_implementation_data_management/lex_implementation_data_export)). Use it when you need exports more often than the Data Export Service allows, when you want one object with specific fields and filters, or when an export is too large to handle comfortably as one zip.

Data Loader and the API work object by object, so plan the list first: accounts, contacts, leads, opportunities, cases, tasks and events, notes, files, and each custom object. Then add the history objects for each tracked object (for opportunities, the field history and the stage history), which hold the dated changes that show how deals moved.

- Run exports as a user that can see everything, usually a system administrator. An export only contains what its user can read.
- Export deleted and archived records too if your tool offers it. Closed and lost deals are part of the history, not noise.
- Keep the raw IDs. Salesforce links records by ID (an opportunity points to its account, a task to its contact), so a file without IDs cannot be joined back together.


## What a Salesforce export leaves out: field history, files and audit trails

The biggest gap is time. Field History Tracking records the who, what and when of changes, but "20 fields per object can be tracked. Field history data is retained for 18 months in the Salesforce UI. Data is available for up to 24 months via the API." ([Salesforce Trailhead](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/field-audit-trail-basics/get-started-with-field-audit-trail)) An export made today therefore holds stage changes for roughly the last two years at most, and only for the fields someone chose to track.

The second gap is files. Attachments and documents are only in the Data Export Service zip if you tick those options, and files can be large enough to split the export into many parts. Check that every part arrived.

The third gap is everything outside the data model: setup changes, login history, reports and dashboards, and automation. These are not records of the business and rarely matter for an archive, but note them if you are migrating.

Source: [Salesforce Trailhead: Field History Tracking and Field Audit Trail](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/field-audit-trail-basics/get-started-with-field-audit-trail)

## Salesforce archive: keeping history longer than 18 months

If you are still using Salesforce, two moves protect the history from here on. First, check which fields are tracked on opportunities, cases and accounts, and track the ones that carry outcomes: stage, amount, close date, owner, status. Second, if you need history longer than 18 months inside Salesforce, Field Audit Trail lets you track up to 200 fields per object, and "with FAT, field history data can be stored indefinitely" under retention policies you set ([Salesforce Trailhead](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/field-audit-trail-basics/get-started-with-field-audit-trail)).

Neither move recovers history that has already aged out. The cheapest Salesforce archive is the one you already have the right to make: a scheduled export, kept somewhere the company controls, every week or month. Each snapshot preserves the field history that existed on the day it ran, so a year of monthly exports holds more history than any single export.

Source: [Salesforce Trailhead: Field History Tracking and Field Audit Trail](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/field-audit-trail-basics/get-started-with-field-audit-trail)

## Keep the export complete and linked

A Salesforce archive is only as useful as the links between its files. Before you file it away, open it and check these points.

- Every file has the record ID, and every child file has its parent ID (AccountId, OpportunityId, WhoId and WhatId on tasks).
- Created and last-modified dates are present, with their time zone noted.
- History files cover the tracked fields you expect, with old and new values and the date of each change.
- Attachment and file counts match what users see in Salesforce for a sample of records.
- Closed, lost and deleted records are included, not only open ones.
- A short note records the edition, the export date, the options ticked and the user who ran it. The [data inventory template](https://origindatapartners.com/blog/company-data-inventory-template) has the columns.


## Before you cancel or downgrade Salesforce

Export while you still have admin access. After a contract ends, getting data back depends on a request window in Salesforce's contract documentation, and the window is short; the [checklist for exporting company records before closing](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/export-company-records-before-closing) quotes the vendor's figures, alongside Google Workspace, Slack, Microsoft 365, Zendesk and Jira.

Keep one admin account and the downloaded exports until your record-keeping duties end and you know what the history is worth. If the company is winding down, the [guide to keeping company data sellable](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/keep-company-data-sellable) covers which records to keep and in what form.


## Why years of CRM history matter to AI developers

AI developers building sales and customer agents need to see how real deals move: who was contacted, what was said, which stage changed when, and whether the deal closed. A CRM that kept opportunities, activities and stage history for several years holds exactly that sequence, with the outcome attached. In Origin's experience as an independent data partner, the linked history (opportunity to account to activity to outcome) matters more than the number of contacts.

In a Salesforce export the outcome signal sits in a few objects: each opportunity's stage, amount and close date, with the field history that shows how they changed; the Closed Won or Closed Lost result; the tasks and events linked to the opportunity; and cases with their status and resolution. Joined by record ID, those files show a sequence and its result. Public prices for archives like this are scarce. [MIT Technology Review](https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/10/13/1145755/ai-labs-buying-data-from-dead-startups-to-train-models/) reported that one firm handling wind-down data sales values an archive by "head count, years in operation, volume of data, and how the team used its tools". In a CRM, how the team used its tools shows up as whether reps logged their calls and kept stages current.

See [what company data is worth](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/company-data-value), [which records AI companies license](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/what-company-data-can-you-sell-to-ai) and [how workflow records are licensed for AI agents](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/license-workflow-data-for-ai-agents). The [deals tracker](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/ai-data-licensing-deals) lists the public prices.

Source: [MIT Technology Review: AI labs are buying data from dead startups (Oct 2026)](https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/10/13/1145755/ai-labs-buying-data-from-dead-startups-to-train-models/)

## Personal data, customer contracts and who owns CRM data

A CRM is mostly information about people. California's privacy law defines personal information as information that "identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household," and lists purchase records among the examples: "records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies" ([Cal. Civ. Code 1798.140](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1798.140)). Names, emails and phone numbers of contacts, and the notes reps wrote about them, all fall in scope.

In Salesforce, personal data is not only in the Contact and Lead objects. It sits in task and event descriptions, logged email bodies, case comments, the free-text Description fields on accounts and opportunities, and attached files such as signed contracts. Replace contact and lead names, emails and phone numbers with stable tokens so activities still join to their opportunity, then scan the free-text fields, where reps write down what customers told them. California's privacy law treats information as deidentified only if it "cannot reasonably be used to infer information about, or otherwise be linked to, a particular consumer", and the business must contractually bind every recipient to the same rules ([Cal. Civ. Code 1798.140](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1798.140)).

- Your company, not the CRM vendor, is normally the owner of the records it puts in; read your own order form and master agreement to confirm.
- Customer contracts may make account details, pricing and correspondence confidential. Check the largest accounts first.
- Leave out or tokenize names, emails, phone numbers and free-text notes about individuals before any copy leaves the company. The [de-identification guide](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/de-identify-company-data-before-licensing) covers the method, and [GDPR and CCPA for data licensing](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/data-licensing-gdpr-ccpa) covers the legal side.

Source: [California Civil Code 1798.140 (CCPA definitions)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1798.140)

## Next step

Run one full Data Export Service export with Include all data and the file options ticked, download it within 48 hours, and check it against the list above. Then note the years covered, the objects and the approximate volume. That description is enough to [get an estimate](https://origindatapartners.com/check-fit); no files leave the company.

This page maps the vendor documentation and public rules as of November 2026. Plans and menus change, so confirm each step in your own admin console, and take contract and privacy questions to your lawyer.

Not sure whether a buyer or an offer is sound? Origin checks who the buyer is, what the license allows and how the price compares with published deals before anything is signed. [Get a free estimate and a second opinion](https://origindatapartners.com/check-fit).


## Questions and answers

### How do I export all data from Salesforce?

Use the Data Export Service: Setup, Quick Find "Data Export", Export Now, tick the file options and Include all data, then Start Export. Salesforce emails a link to a zip of CSV files, which is deleted 48 hours after the email, so download it at once.

### How often can I export data from Salesforce?

Once every 7 days in Enterprise, Performance and Unlimited editions, and once every 29 days in Professional and Developer editions, either manually or on a schedule. Data Loader and the API are separate routes that run whenever you start them.

### What is the difference between Data Export Service and Data Loader?

The Data Export Service runs in the browser from Setup and exports every selected object as CSV files on a weekly or monthly cycle. Data Loader is a separate application that exports one object at a time by query, through its interface or the command line, and can be automated.

### Does a Salesforce export include attachments and files?

Only if you tick the options for images, documents and attachments when you start the Data Export Service export. Without them you get the records but not the files, and with them the export is larger and may be split into several zip files.

### How far back does Salesforce field history go?

Standard Field History Tracking keeps data for 18 months in the Salesforce interface and up to 24 months through the API, on up to 20 fields per object. Field Audit Trail can keep field history indefinitely on up to 200 fields per object.

### How do I archive Salesforce data before cancelling?

Run a full Data Export Service export with file options and Include all data, download every zip within 48 hours, and export field history through Data Loader or the API. Keep an admin account until you have checked the files, then store them somewhere the company controls.

### Can I sell or license my Salesforce data to AI companies?

Often, if the company owns the records and removes or de-identifies the personal data first. Customer contracts and privacy law decide what can be shared, and linked multi-year histories of deals and activities are what AI developers look for.

### Who owns the data in Salesforce?

Normally the customer company owns the data it puts into Salesforce, and Salesforce processes it under the subscription agreement. Your own order form and agreement are the documents to check, along with any customer contracts that restrict how account information can be used.

### Is the Salesforce Data Export Service enough as a backup?

It can serve as a basic backup: in Salesforce's Trailhead lesson an admin automates weekly backups with it, and weekly exports are available in Enterprise, Performance and Unlimited editions. It has gaps, though: zip files are deleted 48 hours after the email is sent, and this guide recommends exporting field history separately through Data Loader or the API. For a company that may close or sell, keep the downloaded files outside Salesforce.

### Can I open a Salesforce data export in Excel?

Yes. The Data Export Service delivers a zip of CSV files, one for each object you selected, and Excel opens them directly. Keep the raw ID columns when you sort or filter a sheet, because they are what join an opportunity back to its account.

## Sources

- [Salesforce Trailhead: Export data (Data Export Service and Data Loader)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/lex_implementation_data_management/lex_implementation_data_export)
- [Salesforce Trailhead: Field History Tracking and Field Audit Trail](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/field-audit-trail-basics/get-started-with-field-audit-trail)
- [California Civil Code 1798.140 (CCPA definitions)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1798.140)
- [MIT Technology Review: AI labs are buying data from dead startups (Oct 2026)](https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/10/13/1145755/ai-labs-buying-data-from-dead-startups-to-train-models/)

## Related reading

- [Cancel Google Workspace or delete Slack? Export data first](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/export-company-records-before-closing)
- [Stop deleting it: which business records to keep so you can license them later](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/keep-company-data-sellable)
- [What company data can you sell to AI companies? Compared by type](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/what-company-data-can-you-sell-to-ai)
- [How much do AI companies pay for company data?](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/company-data-value)
- [How to Export HubSpot Data: Records, Backups and History](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/export-hubspot-data)