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Freshdesk vs ServiceNow comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
8.2
Freshdesk improves efficiency and customer management, offering significant ROI and costing only $10 per user monthly.
Sentiment score
6.9
Using ServiceNow boosts efficiency and ROI, overcoming challenges; quick integration and diverse modules enhance productivity and cost savings.
The return on investment is good when implementing for ourselves and for other clients.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Freshdesk offers responsive support with timely resolutions, although email integrations can be complex and involve multiple contact layers.
Sentiment score
7.1
ServiceNow's customer service is efficient, though technical support varies; knowledgeable staff and community resources are valuable.
We have not needed to contact technical support, as Freshdesk has met our needs efficiently.
The support is exemplary and deserves a perfect rating.
I have contacted them four to five times over the past two years, and they have been quite helpful.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Freshdesk efficiently scales for varying user numbers, integrates seamlessly, and adapts to evolving needs, aiding growing businesses.
Sentiment score
7.4
ServiceNow is scalable, cloud-based, supports large enterprises, with easy expansion and integration, despite potential rapid scaling challenges.
Additional features like email, WhatsApp, and SMS ticketing, along with Slack integration, can be enabled as required.
It is capable of vertical scaling with no issues.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Freshdesk offers reliable performance with minimal downtime, though minor issues like email blockages occur but are quickly resolved.
Sentiment score
7.7
ServiceNow is generally stable and responsive, with occasional issues resolved efficiently by the support team.
ServiceNow is stable enough.
ServiceNow is already a stable tool.
 

Room For Improvement

Users desire improved Freshdesk customization, support, integrations, interface intuitiveness, reporting, documentation, localization, and social media handling.
ServiceNow needs enhanced UX, simpler interfaces, better licensing, improved documentation, integration, and expanded mobile and offline functionality.
Currently, some features like SMS or WhatsApp integration are only available to larger user groups, but even smaller teams should have access based on their specific needs.
There is a need for bug or error tracking in ServiceNow.
There are sometimes challenges with the portal being a bit confusing for new users.
 

Setup Cost

Freshdesk offers competitive pricing with flexible plans, though costs can increase with additional features and as needs grow.
ServiceNow's high pricing and complex licensing favor larger enterprises with scalability and functionality, despite deterring smaller businesses.
Our organization pays about 200,000 Indian rupees per year for the license.
ServiceNow's pricing can be justified if more functionality is required.
 

Valuable Features

Freshdesk features ticket automation, omnichannel support, and customizable workflows, enhancing efficiency and adaptability for customer interaction management.
ServiceNow offers flexible customization, cloud-based integration, real-time analytics, and automation for efficient business process management across various departments.
The auto-assignment feature is particularly valuable as it alleviates the administrative task of manually checking for available engineers to assign tickets.
ServiceNow provides a wide range of functionality, covering all the necessary modules, unlike Jira which is primarily for IT.
The most valuable features of ServiceNow for me are its ticketing and reporting capabilities.
 

Categories and Ranking

Freshdesk
Ranking in Help Desk Software
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Customer Experience Management (6th), Field Service Management (3rd), Knowledge Management Software (5th)
ServiceNow
Ranking in Help Desk Software
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
216
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (1st), IT Service Management (ITSM) (1st), Rapid Application Development Software (2nd), No-Code Development Platforms (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of Freshdesk is 3.5%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 24.5%, down from 26.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

Alexey Timchenko - PeerSpot reviewer
Incredibly user-friendly, flexible, and affordable
Automation and ticket routing rules in Freshdesk save us daily by streamlining routine tasks. We use reports to identify issues, allocate resources, and continuously improve our processes. It is a vital part of our daily operations, helping us stay proactive and efficient in handling various types of tickets. The reporting and analytics tools in Freshdesk are effective for measuring customer service performance. While our current subscription level has some limitations in terms of reporting, the next level provides more options. Budget constraints currently prevent us from upgrading, but the available reporting features still meet our basic needs. I highly recommend Freshdesk, especially for companies in their early stages. It is user-friendly, easy to configure, and great for those with a moderate volume of customer requests. The cost is reasonable, making it a quick and efficient solution to implement. Overall, I would rate Freshdesk as an eight out of ten.
Somnath Kand - PeerSpot reviewer
Custom integration and reporting lead to efficient ticket management
There is a need for bug or error tracking in ServiceNow. Although there are child incidents or tickets, tracking primary issues or bugs within enhancements is not present. The reporting features in the new portal could be more user-friendly. While it provides options to minimize chart and image sizes, actual implementation doesn't always reflect these changes.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Help Desk Software solutions are best for your needs.
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
28%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Freshdesk?
Freshdesk significantly improved our customer issue resolution process. We can now easily record and track all customer requests, ensuring that no tickets are lost.
What needs improvement with Freshdesk?
Freshdesk's major drawback is its limitation in integrating tools for App Store and Play Store reviews, and social channels like Twitter, which come with additional costs. Despite having third-part...
What is your primary use case for Freshdesk?
The customer's primary use case for Freshdesk is handling emails and social media queries. It is mostly used for managing transactional queries such as deposits and withdrawals. Our support team is...
Which solution is better for developing non-ITSM applications: OutSystems or Service Now?
The short answer is that OutSystems is far better for 2 main reasons. Firstly, with Service Now you are locked into that platform for good. The business model is to lock in and then keep pumping th...
Would you choose ServiceNow over Microsoft PowerApps?
Hi Netanya, I will choose ServiceNow because ServiceNow is a very good tool compared to Microsoft PowerApp. Because ServiceNow has a very strong module (Performance Analysis) reporting which will ...
What do you like most about ServiceNow?
The solution has a user-friendly interface.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Honda, 3M, Hugo Boss, Petronas, Sony Pictures, The Atlantic, goodreads, Clear Channel Radio, Penn University of Pennsylvania, unicef, Kuoni, Movember
AAA, AstraZeneca, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Broadcom, Christus Health, Epicor, Equinix, GE Capital, Intuit, KPMG, Loyola Marymount University, OshKosh, Quantas, RedHat, Royal Bank of Scotland, Swiss Re, U.S. Department of Energy, Safeway, Yale University, and Zillow    
Find out what your peers are saying about Freshdesk vs. ServiceNow and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.