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ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs ServiceNow vs Spiceworks comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
7.3
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus offers cost-effectiveness, asset tracking benefits, reduced costs, but mixed outcomes in financial tracking among organizations.
Sentiment score
6.9
ServiceNow enhances efficiency, reduces costs, and improves ROI with automation and streamlined processes, providing long-term organizational value.
Sentiment score
7.8
Spiceworks provides high ROI as a free tool, benefiting efficiency, issue resolution, and stability despite setup time investment.
ManageEngine has been particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses in terms of value for money since they receive similar service at a lower cost compared to ServiceNow.
The return on investment is good when implementing for ourselves and for other clients.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus support is rated mixed, noting delays and improvement areas, but praised for responsiveness and thoroughness.
Sentiment score
7.0
ServiceNow's customer service is generally praised, but technical support experiences vary and rely on community resources.
Sentiment score
7.4
Spiceworks offers excellent, free email-based support, with strong community assistance and some criticisms for lacking direct phone support.
Their response time could be quicker.
The customer support for ManageEngine could be improved, especially for coverage during the Asia Pacific shift.
The support is exemplary and deserves a perfect rating.
Most of the support comes from partners, and customers heavily rely on them.
I have contacted them four to five times over the past two years, and they have been quite helpful.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is scalable and efficient, though performance may vary with large-scale on-premises deployments and integrations.
Sentiment score
7.4
ServiceNow is highly scalable, integrates well with systems, and offers flexibility, making it ideal for diverse organizations.
Sentiment score
7.4
Spiceworks is scalable for small to large setups, though larger organizations may face challenges; newer versions improve scalability.
It is trickier to expand across endpoints with Help Desk.
Scaling ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is easy, and I would rate its scalability as nine out of ten.
The tool is suitable for medium to large-scale operations and can be used effectively by mid-size companies.
It is capable of vertical scaling with no issues.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is stable and reliable, with minimal issues, and receives high satisfaction ratings from users.
Sentiment score
7.7
ServiceNow is highly stable with minimal disruptions, often due to external factors, offering reliable SaaS performance and support.
Sentiment score
6.6
Spiceworks is stable but may slow down or crash with large setups; proper configuration enhances performance and stability.
We have not experienced any significant issues.
We have not faced any stability issues or challenges with this tool.
ServiceNow is already a stable tool.
ServiceNow is stable enough.
 

Room For Improvement

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus needs improved customization, automation, integration, support services, and enhanced performance and reporting analytics.
ServiceNow users seek improvements in interface, navigation, pricing, documentation, mobile functionality, support, updates, and third-party integrations.
Spiceworks users desire enhanced monitoring, scalability, reporting, integration, and user-friendly features with faster performance and lower resource consumption.
There could be improvements in licensing flexibility, like the ability to use a single license for multiple users simultaneously.
It would be beneficial to have an option to assign approvals to a user group or a variable.
I recommend integrating it with CrowdStrike, so incidents can directly result in a ticket being created.
There is a need for bug or error tracking in ServiceNow.
Their customer support could make it a great solution, not just product support but also their relationship with partners and training initiatives in different regions.
There are sometimes challenges with the portal being a bit confusing for new users.
 

Setup Cost

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus offers cost-effective, flexible licensing, appealing to budget-conscious enterprises, compared to competitors like ServiceNow.
ServiceNow's pricing is higher than competitors, suited for large enterprises but challenging for smaller companies due to cost complexity.
Spiceworks provides a customizable, free help desk solution with optional costs for premium features, suitable for small to medium businesses.
The cost of ManageEngine is more affordable, making it viable for small to medium-sized businesses.
The costing for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is very flexible and is considered low-priced.
It is not as expensive as ServiceNow, which has a very high cost.
ServiceNow's pricing can be justified if more functionality is required.
ServiceNow is expensive for all regions.
 

Valuable Features

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus enhances IT productivity with user-friendly features, seamless integration, and extensive customization for efficient management.
ServiceNow excels in customization, integration, and user-friendliness, offering versatile workflows, ITIL processes, and strong community support.
Spiceworks offers SMBs a free help desk, inventory management, user-friendly interface, and strong community support for IT needs.
Additionally, its ability to interpret issues and offer solutions based on its knowledge base makes problem-solving faster.
The incident reporting part is especially valuable.
The automation features help resolve issues automatically.
ServiceNow provides a wide range of functionality, covering all the necessary modules, unlike Jira which is primarily for IT.
Automation capabilities are impressive, bolstered by a vast repository of out-of-the-box connectors and plugins that facilitate integration with various applications worldwide.
The most valuable features of ServiceNow for me are its ticketing and reporting capabilities.
Additionally, it is free software.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is 7.3%, down from 7.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 24.1%, down from 26.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Spiceworks is 1.9%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

Anil  Rao - PeerSpot reviewer
Improved problem-solving and has a user-friendly knowledge base
The primary benefit of ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is its ease of use. It provides a simpler and more intuitive interface for creating semi-automated use cases and managing problem solutions. This simplicity makes it particularly suitable for less technical staff to use effectively. Additionally, its ability to interpret issues and offer solutions based on its knowledge base makes problem-solving faster. The deployment and use of all policies and user cases are seamless.
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.
Jeetendar Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Customizable, easy to use, easy to manage, and provides multiple features
I have used many software, but Spiceworks is the best. The tool provides multiple features. It is a valuable product for inventory. It is also useful as a ticketing system. The solution is easy to use and easy to manage. Many people can use it very easily. The features are not complicated. It is very easy to run, install, and understand. That is why my organization decided to use it. The solution’s asset management capabilities have benefitted us in many ways. We are able to manage all the inventory. We have a complete database. We have a record of everything. It is very valuable. I rate the usability of the user interface and dashboard a nine out of ten. The tool is easy to learn compared to other software.
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
59%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Government
3%
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
University
9%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?
The platform's most beneficial features are incident management, change management, request management, and asset man...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?
The costing for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus ( /products/manageengine-servicedesk-plus-reviews ) is very flexible an...
What needs improvement with ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?
The GUI can be improved. In terms of functionality, the change management part could be improved significantly due to...
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 t...
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 ...
What do you like most about ServiceNow?
The solution has a user-friendly interface.
What do you like most about Spiceworks?
The solution is easy to use and easy to manage.
What needs improvement with Spiceworks?
I am unable to provide suggestions for improvement at this moment, however, I can provide feedback later. Currently, ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tranter IT Infrastructure Services Limited, Sterlite Technologies, averda, Radiology Associates
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    
Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Symantec, Webroot, EMC, Pertino
Find out what your peers are saying about ServiceNow, Atlassian, ManageEngine and others in Help Desk Software. Updated: April 2025.
849,335 professionals have used our research since 2012.