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Salesforce Service Cloud vs ServiceNow Customer Service Management 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Salesforce Service Cloud
Ranking in CRM Customer Engagement Centers
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (5th), Knowledge Management Software (2nd), IT Alerting and Incident Management (6th)
ServiceNow Customer Service...
Ranking in CRM Customer Engagement Centers
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Customer Experience Management (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the CRM Customer Engagement Centers category, the mindshare of Salesforce Service Cloud is 19.6%, up from 16.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Customer Service Management is 10.4%, up from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM Customer Engagement Centers
 

Featured Reviews

ChanchalSaxena - PeerSpot reviewer
High scalability with good plugins and excellent customer visibility
The solution should improve: 1. Reports & dashboard - The product should be capable of delivering complex reports as per company requirements without the need for a Tableau license. 2. Einstein has limited capabilities, and it suggests the analysis by predefined algorithms - but in a practical scenario, businesses need to ask real-time questions, and AI products should be capable of delivering the exact answers. Generic answers may not be effective.
Rupesh Jethwa - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable tool to help manage infrastructures, deployments, and different products from different vendors
The product lacks customization capabilities. In the future, the product should include more options for customization to be able to meet the demands of the customers. Though our company prefers to implement the solution directly out of the box, we need better customization capabilities if there are some complex requirements from the customers.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I don't have the specific details, but I'm aware that Salesforce is used for campaigns, decision-making processes, and order submissions. I'm currently in the learning phase and not familiar with all the details."
"Salesforce Service Cloud improved our organization with its mobile capabilities."
"We use Salesforce Service Cloud for lead management and opportunity management."
"The plug-ins that work with other standard systems have made the product industry-ready."
"With Salesforce Service Cloud, customers can have end-to-end visibility from inquiry to delivery."
"The main benefit of Salesforce Service Cloud is that everything is in the cloud. We can track the entire customer journey from lead to account or opportunity. The CRM is in the cloud, while the financial transactions are in NetSuite. By integrating these applications, we get a complete view of the business. Some integrations are event-driven, while others are batch integrations that run at scheduled times. We also build reports using our in-house analytics tool to help leadership make decisions."
"The complexity of the solution is very less."
"Salesforce accelerates time to market and streamlines workflows through automation. Integrating with other software systems, such as HR or ERP platforms, allows for seamless data exchange and enhances efficiency."
"What I like best about ServiceNow Customer Service Management is that it's a good tool. I like how fast it is and that it's cloud-based. I also like that it's very easy to use. ServiceNow Customer Service Management has minimum options, for example, column options and tab options when compared to other solutions, which makes it easier to use over others."
"Our organization has received excellent tech support for ServiceNow Customer Service Management."
"The product provides flexibility in managing and categorizing the incidents."
"ServiceNow Customer Service Management is highly stable, which is critical because it operates as a live system 24/7."
"One of the solution's most valuable features is its integration with the ITSM suite. When you acquire it, you also get access to incident and problem management from ITSM. This allows you to register a ticket in the product to work with the end user while using ITSM to handle the internal resolution process."
"The tool's most valuable feature is the service portal."
"Overall, I like the workflow capabilities, orchestration, and integration with existing business apps. The product is awesome in terms of capabilities."
"The integration capabilities of ServiceNow are wonderful."
 

Cons

"The documentation could be improved."
"The pricing for what Salesforce Service Cloud offers is not great."
"I'm not deeply engaged with this team, so I don't have extensive experience with it. As you mentioned, I haven't used it much yet, so my experience is limited."
"We've started using a couple of AI engines. I believe there's room for improvement there. For instance, when an agent receives a message like "My order is stuck midway, and the delivery guy isn't responding," there should be a pre-populated recommended response on the agent's screen. Instead of crafting a custom reply or searching through knowledge articles to find the delivery guy's contact, this should be the process."
"Reporting could be improved."
"The governor limits are a troubling feature of Salesforce"
"The solution's integration with the main ERP is a little cumbersome."
"The integrations with other solutions can be improved."
"One area for improvement would be integrating IVR systems. Many customers need the ticketing solution and a native IVR system within the same platform. ServiceNow Customer Service Management doesn't offer an IVR solution that works natively or comes in the same package. Customers often have to integrate their IVR with third-party solutions like Twilio. However, the agreement between ServiceNow and Twilio ended some months ago, making it more challenging to integrate IVR functionalities."
"ServiceNow Customer Service Management is expensive, with costs around half a million US dollars per year. While suitable for enterprises and medium-sized clients, it may be cost-prohibitive for smaller businesses."
"The price could be better. ServiceNow should price products more reasonably."
"The pricing must be more flexible."
"The solution seems to be moving towards low-code/no-code technology. It is a negative aspect of my experience with the product. It also needs to introduce a clearer pricing structure."
"The product's AI feature should be improved."
"The product does not cater to businesses of every scale and budget."
"ServiceNow Customer Service Management works fine for me, for now, so there isn't any room for improvement I see in it. In the next release of the tool, I'd like users to be able to download all reports because as a user, I can only download a limited number of reports from ServiceNow Customer Service Management, but my management team can do so. I'm unsure if it's a feature that's included in the tool or not."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe that in our country, Colombia, we utilize this platform for the Latin American region. In terms of expenses, it's somewhat higher compared to other products. I would rate it as expensive and nine out of ten."
"Only enterprise businesses can afford the solution, and small companies cannot afford it."
"The product is expensive. There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."
"Salesforce is not a cheap product. It can be expensive."
"Salesforce is very cost-effective."
"The price is too expensive."
"Salesforce Service Cloud is a highly expensive solution"
"The licensing is flexible. Companies pay for what they use. However, a company with very small needs might find it difficult to justify the cost. Overall, it's in the medium price range."
"I rate the product's pricing a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive. The solution is neither cheap nor expensive."
"I rate the tool's pricing a six out of ten."
"The product has a premium price"
"ServiceNow Customer Service Management is expensive. It's one of the most costly CSM options in the marketplace."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
14%
Educational Organization
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Service Cloud?
The approximate licensing costs for Salesforce Service Cloud are around three hundred dollars a year per user.
What needs improvement with Salesforce Service Cloud?
The pricing of Salesforce Service Cloud is expensive compared to other solutions like our current SAP CRM ( /products/sap-crm-reviews ), which is much cheaper.
What is your primary use case for Salesforce Service Cloud?
I used Salesforce Service Cloud ( /products/salesforce-service-cloud-reviews ) for our sales agents to track visits, gather feedback from customers, and capture orders.
What do you like most about ServiceNow Customer Service Management?
We can integrate different technologies in ServiceNow Customer Service Management. An organization would like to offer a digital transformative experience to its employees and customers, which the ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow Customer Service Management?
The pricing is around a seven, making it rather expensive. However, even with the cost, it is justified because it significantly aids business operations.
What needs improvement with ServiceNow Customer Service Management?
Sometimes ServiceNow Customer Service Management ( /products/servicenow-customer-service-management-reviews ) lags, meaning the speed is low or there is a delay in operations. These are the areas n...
 

Also Known As

Service Cloud
ServiceNow CSM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Stanley Black & Decker, Coca-Cola, Activision, Wells Fargo, Spotify, Aldo, Philips, The Red Cross, Blue Shield of California, Sprouts Farmers Market, Direct Energy Solar, Inspirato, Kiva
Siemens Healthineers, SAP SuccessFactors, Asurion
Find out what your peers are saying about Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,253 professionals have used our research since 2012.