Checkmk vs ServiceNow Discovery comparison

Checkmk and ServiceNow are both solutions in the Server Monitoring category. Checkmk is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4, while ServiceNow is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.4. Checkmk holds a 10.9% mindshare in SM, compared to ServiceNow’s 4.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Checkmk users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of ServiceNow users who would recommend it.

Checkmk

Read 9 Checkmk reviews

2,613 Views
2,322 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

ServiceNow Discovery

Read 41 ServiceNow Discovery reviews

2,622 Views
1,285 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Checkmk

ServiceNow Discovery

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

ServiceNow Discovery and Checkmk are robust IT operations management tools. ServiceNow Discovery offers extensive automation and integration features, while Checkmk shines in flexibility and customization options, making it superior in certain use cases.

Features: ServiceNow Discovery is known for its automated asset discovery, service mapping, and integration capabilities. Checkmk is recognized for its flexibility, customizable alerting, and detailed monitoring insights.

Room for Improvement: ServiceNow Discovery needs improvement in its initial setup complexity and reporting tools. Checkmk could benefit from enhancements in dashboard customization and scalability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ServiceNow Discovery requires a more involved setup and professional services, but its customer support is highly rated. Checkmk has an easier deployment process, though it offers limited support options.

Pricing and ROI: ServiceNow Discovery is high-cost but offers extensive features and support, leading to positive ROI. Checkmk has lower setup costs and quicker ROI due to its efficient monitoring capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Checkmk vs. ServiceNow Discovery Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Checkmk vs. ServiceNow Discovery

April 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Checkmk

Ranking in Server Monitoring

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (11th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (13th), Cloud Monitoring Software (12th)

ServiceNow Discovery

Ranking in Server Monitoring

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Asset Management (4th), Cloud Resource Discovery Services (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of Checkmk is 10.9%, up from 7.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Discovery is 4.3%, down from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Server Monitoring

Featured Reviews

Paolo Sala

Application performance and System monitoring at Agos

A reasonably priced tool for system and application monitoring

The main room for improvement is in the solution's presentation and the integration area. In our company, we use the integration capabilities from ServiceNow. We also have another big monitoring solution in place in our company, which is Dynatrace. At the moment, there doesn't exist an out-of-the-box integration for Dynatrace. I think that the integration and the exporting of the data collected are areas where Checkmk lacks but should try to improve the most. The only implementation of Checkmk that allows high availability is the virtual appliance that has the option for the availability of a different box. Otherwise, you have to find a way to implement it manually with some custom solution, which could be an improvement.

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Kaustubh Partha

Technical Support Analyst at CLSA

Scans servers and network devices through SNMP and reduces manual maintenance for our infrastructure team

I like how ServiceNow Discovery scans servers and network devices through SNMP. Most fields on our forms are auto-filled, reducing manual maintenance for our infrastructure team. Post Discovery implementation there is hardly any maintenance. There are three to four fields that are customized. Otherwise, 90% of the data is auto-filled. Discovery can also run in bulk, which is helpful for organizations that cannot run it during weekdays. With identification rules, if a configuration item (CI) isn't in the CMDB, you can simply add the IP address, and it will be automatically added based on criteria like name or serial number, making CMDB maintenance easier.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Checkmk was built on a platform that was user-friendly, and I could build my charts easily."

"The initial setup of Checkmk was easy...It is a very stable solution."

"It's versatile, scalable, and easier to use compared to other solutions like Nagios and OMD."

"I really like the auto-discovery feature."

"The alerting system in Checkmk really works properly."

"Checkmk helps me compare data and foresee issues."

"The most valuable features of Checkmk are its resource monitoring, infra monitoring, and log factor configuration."

"We can monitor multiple sites using the product."

More Checkmk pros

"One of the most valuable features of ServiceNow Discovery is the automated discovery that helps identify dependencies and generates reports."

"The most valuable asset is relationship building because the solution discovers and builds auto relationships in a way that makes cleanup very easy."

"ServiceNow Discovery has played a vital role in improving service visibility through automated IT service management processes, including change and problem management."

"The solution can prioritize the discovery of IP ranges. The product automatically places all Discovery CIs into the correct class within the CMDB."

"I find that the Discovery and scripting features are the most useful."

"It has given us an understanding of each layer from a server application."

"We can find servers or services we were unaware of and stumble on vulnerabilities from those devices."

"The best part about ServiceNow Discovery is that it is included in the ServiceNow suite."

More ServiceNow Discovery pros

Cons

"I think that the integration and the exporting of the data collected are areas where Checkmk lacks but should try to improve the most."

"The initial setup is a bit complex."

"If an alert is generated for a specific pattern in the log, and if Checkmk catches that log, it will stay there even after the alert is resolved."

"Checkmk does not work too easily with the PowerStore. I use a PowerShell script as Checkmk runs on Linux and a Windows system, connecting with the Checkmk agent."

"It is easy for tech-savvy people, but newcomers might find it intimidating."

"Checkmk does not allow running scripts at varying intervals."

"In Checkmk, the documentation can probably be improved a bit more."

"The main challenge for us is that we're moving from Nagios to Checkmk, and we're still getting used to the new way of working."

More Checkmk cons

"The product could improve some of the visualization and architecture setups."

"I find it valuable to enhance IP address management. I've been in this field since around 2011, and my experience since then has revolved around automation, deployment, distribution, and comprehensive inventory management, all crucial for deploying various components, including patches. When we talk about patch management or vulnerability management, it's more complex than just applying patches; sometimes, you need to undergo significant upgrades or phase out old components for new ones, and this can turn into a substantial project, explaining why vulnerabilities persist. Now, the role of ServiceNow Discovery and security operations, or at one point, looking at vulnerability management in ServiceNow Discovery, is crucial. It allows you to identify vulnerabilities on assets and, with the addition of discovery, service mapping, and event management, you gain a business context for these vulnerabilities. It's not merely about knowing they exist on a server; it's about understanding which services are responsible for critical business processes or transactions, like payroll. This knowledge changes the approach and execution of vulnerability remediation."

"Without improvement in the patters, applications can't be discovered"

"In a few instances, ServiceNow has failed to discover some basic things. Some other tools are better at network discovery than ServiceNow. I'm not talking about database servers or any other infrastructure—only networking. Cloud discovery could also be better."

"We would like more flexibility with the licensing. Discovery is bundled with ServiceNow's ITOM license. It was more affordable when it was sold separately, but we bought a package license to get more functionality out of the CMDB. We'd prefer to buy only the pieces we need instead of taking things we don't want or solutions that aren't yet mature enough to use."

"On the Software Asset Management part of it, I expect additional reconciliation and Discovery features there."

"It's an expensive platform."

"I believe there is room for improvement in ServiceNow Discovery, particularly in providing more detailed information about network usage and communication between ServiceNow and the infrastructure."

More ServiceNow Discovery cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Checkmk is a fairly reasonably priced solution."

"The price of Checkmk is cheaper compared to other enterprise products."

"The product is affordable."

"It costs a lot. It is probably close to over a hundred thousand. It's an expensive platform, but you can't compare ServiceNow's Discovery functionality to other discovery tools. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison of ServiceNow to a configuration management tool to an asset management tool because it does those things, but it's not those things."

"The product pricing is fair and reasonable for the value it provides."

"As per a general discussion I had with the stakeholders, I figured out that it is a costly tool. There is a need to make additional payments apart from the licensing fees for better support services from ServiceNow."

"ROI (Return on Investment) is good. ServiceNow don't disclose the price publicly. They'll assess your organization's needs and then come up with a price."

"There is a need to make payments every quarter of a year towards the licensing costs of the solution. ServiceNow Discovery is an expensive tool."

"You need a subscription to ServiceNow Discovery, so you can use its features. You can also use specific plugins with the tool, and some of the plugins are free. I don't have information on how much my company pays for the subscription to ServiceNow Discovery."

"It's a bit expensive compared to other products in the market, but it's worth the money you pay because it's far advanced in terms of features, automation, and capabilities compared to other products."

"ServiceNow Discovery is expensive, but the company has a monopoly and we need to use the solution. We use it because we do not have a choice."

More ServiceNow Discovery pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Checkmk?

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it has a lot of different pieces, and they all work together...It is a very scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

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What needs improvement with Checkmk?

I will get more information about Checkmk when the proof of concept is done. It's going to be before the summer. There will be a report about the tool and a recommendation to use it. So far, it loo...

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What is your primary use case for Checkmk?

Checkmk ( /products/checkmk-reviews ) is a monitoring tool, so that's what I will use it for. Right now, it's not in production, but it's in a proof of concept phase. It looks good, so probably, du...

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What do you like most about ServiceNow Discovery?

The solution can prioritize the discovery of IP ranges. The product automatically places all Discovery CIs into the correct class within the CMDB.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow Discovery?

ServiceNow is considered more expensive compared to other products. If I were to rate the pricing on a scale from one to ten in terms of expense, I would rate it quite high.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ServiceNow Discovery?

Improvements could include implementing chatbots to simplify ticket creation. Currently, each new product must be manually created if it is not already available in ServiceNow, which can be cumbers...

See all answers

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BMC Helix Discovery vs ServiceNow Discovery

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs ServiceNow Discovery

Compared 7% of the time

Zabbix vs ServiceNow Discovery

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Checkmk

April 2025

Download Checkmk product report

Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow Discovery

March 2025

Download ServiceNow Discovery product report

Overview

Checkmk is a powerful tool for monitoring IT infrastructure, providing vital insights on servers, databases, network devices, and custom applications.

Primarily used for supervising IT infrastructure, Checkmk helps organizations ensure service availability by monitoring hosts, processes, load, storage, and network appliances. With support for both Linux and Windows environments across multiple data centers, Checkmk performs compliance checks and preserves historical data for core network devices.

What are the key features of Checkmk?

Auto-discovery: Automatically identifies new hosts and applies monitoring rules.
Custom monitoring: Enhances MySQL performance tracking.
Slack integration: Provides immediate downtime alerts.
Graphical trend analysis: Offers 400 days of trend data.
Multiple site monitoring: Ensures seamless data synchronization through task automation.
Resource and infrastructure monitoring: Configures log factors to fit budget constraints.
System metric imports: Includes servers, SQL, file systems, and application monitoring.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Time-saving: Auto-discovery and task automation streamline processes.
Proactive alerts: Immediate downtime notifications optimize response times.
Historical insights: Long-term graphical trend analysis aids strategic planning.
Cost efficiency: Resource monitoring aligned with budget constraints.

Checkmk is deployed extensively in large enterprise environments for monitoring critical infrastructure. It proves particularly useful under conditions of frequent power outages or network issues, helping maintain smooth operations. While the alert acknowledgment process and interface require improvements, and the lack of an agent-less platform complicates server management, the strengths in auto-discovery, integration, and comprehensive monitoring make Checkmk a strong contender for IT infrastructure monitoring.

Checkmk

ServiceNow Discovery finds applications and devices on your network, and then updates the CMDB with the information it finds. Discovery is available as a separate subscription from the rest of the Now Platform.

ServiceNow

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

York, National Grid, DXC Technology, experian, BEACHBODY

Buyer's Guide

Checkmk vs. ServiceNow Discovery

April 2025

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