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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
6.5
Freshdesk boosts ROI by automating ticket analysis, improving productivity, and integrating with tools like Salesforce for efficient support management.
Sentiment score
6.5
ServiceNow users experience varied ROI, with benefits in efficiency, process improvements, and scalability, despite high initial costs.
Our team is able to handle more tickets without increasing headcount, improving overall efficiency.
Senior Quality Automation Engineer at BMC Software, Inc.
People who initially find ServiceNow to be on the higher side, but when you do the value gain comparison in the next few years, you see that it does give you the returns, with the AI capabilities and everything it brings.
Director, Portfolio Projects at Microland Limited
Automation of assigning tickets helps in reducing overall operational costs for the company, which frees up agents to do other complex and much-needed tasks.
Project Manager at Yohanna
They have removed the costs associated with on-prem infrastructure, including data center costs, power costs, and physical server costs.
General Manager at sPerception IT
The return on investment is good when implementing for ourselves and for other clients.
Service Now Developer at Bangmetric services pvt ltd
Manually, there are huge numbers that come up because these integrated tools help organizations make the right decisions with all the information in one place, while manual methods lack visibility.
Associate Vice President at Wissen infotech
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.3
Freshdesk offers prompt support with helpful documentation, though complex issues face delays and integration setup can be challenging.
Sentiment score
7.0
ServiceNow's customer service is praised for responsiveness but faces criticism for inconsistency, with mixed reviews on support speed.
We have not needed to contact technical support, as Freshdesk has met our needs efficiently.
VP - Technology and Solutions at Ninth Dimension IT Solutions (P) Ltd
From my experience, once it is set up, we have never had problems.
Customer Success Manager at Mimshackworks Endeavors
The first-time response should be within 30 seconds.
NOC SOC ANALYST at SAVIC Inc.
The support is exemplary and deserves a perfect rating.
Team Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Obtaining support for maintenance is the current challenge because they don't have a presence in the local market.
General Manager at sPerception IT
Whenever we have had issues, they have provided good support, and those issues have never recurred.
Vice President Delivery & Operations at Rezilyens
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Freshdesk's scalability and adaptability make it ideal for small to mid-sized organizations, though larger enterprises may face integration challenges.
Sentiment score
7.4
ServiceNow scales efficiently for diverse organizations, accommodating extensive users and operational needs, with cloud deployment enhancing flexibility.
Additional features like email, WhatsApp, and SMS ticketing, along with Slack integration, can be enabled as required.
VP - Technology and Solutions at Ninth Dimension IT Solutions (P) Ltd
With automation and efficient workflows, our team can manage a large number of tickets without proportionally increasing headcount, which helps maintain efficiency as the organization grows.
Senior Quality Automation Engineer at BMC Software, Inc.
For small to medium-sized businesses, you can look at Freshdesk, but for larger enterprise levels, you look at ServiceNow.
Director, Portfolio Projects at Microland Limited
There are no limitations or performance issues with ServiceNow; it is cloud-based, so it is highly scalable and performs well.
General Manager at sPerception IT
It is capable of vertical scaling with no issues.
Team Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
ServiceNow's scalability is very good as it can be deployed in each environment.
Consultant at National Australian Bank
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Freshdesk is reliable with minimal downtime, though occasional lags and integration challenges may occur during high traffic.
Sentiment score
7.7
ServiceNow is praised for its stability, reliability, and scalability, with performance issues mostly due to user-side factors.
The goal is always to respond to customer tickets in a timely fashion, ensuring that customers feel seen and heard while also providing solutions.
Customer Success Manager at Mimshackworks Endeavors
After installation and continuous operation, I have encountered no problems.
Head Advisor Infrastructure Cloud Architect at Adrienutech
Freshdesk has been quite stable in the market.
Director, Portfolio Projects at Microland Limited
It is cloud-based, so it is highly scalable and performs well.
General Manager at sPerception IT
I haven't faced any issues with stability; I've rarely seen any downtime.
Solution Engineer - Digital Platform | Mobile at British American Tobacco
ServiceNow is stable enough.
Service Now Developer at Bangmetric services pvt ltd
 

Room For Improvement

Freshdesk needs improvements in customization, integration, support, scalability, and transparency to enhance user experience and cater to enterprises.
ServiceNow needs to improve pricing, user interface, reporting, customization, support, mobile app, third-party integration, and automation features.
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.
VP - Technology and Solutions at Ninth Dimension IT Solutions (P) Ltd
The current integration is more complicated and doesn’t work as well.
Development Manager at Horizon Software
More automation would be beneficial, as it could greatly improve our efficiency and reduce manual tasks.
Call Centre Manager at a retailer with 51-200 employees
It makes no sense in my opinion, and they should offer the team at the front to help customize the product to fit each company's needs, as every company has different demands and forms of submitting a request that need adjustment over time.
Manager of Security Engineering & Architecture at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
My priority points for improvement are the UI glitches and modern AI technology integrations for faster incident management.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
There is a need for bug or error tracking in ServiceNow.
Team Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Freshdesk offers competitive pricing with scalable costs, benefiting from a per-agent model, but advanced features may increase expenses.
ServiceNow pricing is high and complex, but many justify it due to comprehensive features and negotiation flexibility.
Our organization pays about 200,000 Indian rupees per year for the license.
VP - Technology and Solutions at Ninth Dimension IT Solutions (P) Ltd
The pricing is reasonable compared to similar tools, especially for mid-sized teams, though costs can increase as you move to higher tiers for additional advanced features.
Senior Quality Automation Engineer at BMC Software, Inc.
The pricing experience is relatively competitive, so it is cost-effective.
Project Manager at Yohanna
ServiceNow's pricing can be justified if more functionality is required.
Service Now Developer at Bangmetric services pvt ltd
ServiceNow does come with a price.
Associate Vice President at Wissen infotech
ServiceNow is expensive for all regions.
Security Architect at وزارة الثقافة Ministry of Culture
 

Valuable Features

Freshdesk streamlines communication and boosts efficiency with automation, analytics, integration, and user-friendly features for improved collaboration.
ServiceNow offers adaptable, customizable cloud-based ITSM solutions with seamless integration, intuitive interface, and robust analytics enhancing productivity.
These features drastically impact my day-to-day work and my team's efficiency by reducing the resolution time significantly, as issues that once took days to resolve are now handled in hours and even minutes.
Works at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Freshdesk has positively impacted my organization as it has saved a considerable amount of time and has enabled us to focus better on customers, which resulted in lesser churn.
Project Manager at Yohanna
Now, with Freshdesk, tickets can be easily assigned to any engineer, who will provide the cause, explain why it happened, and give us the answer on how they resolved the issue.
Project Engineer at IT Solution
ServiceNow provides a wide range of functionality, covering all the necessary modules, unlike Jira which is primarily for IT.
Service Now Developer at Bangmetric services pvt ltd
Automation capabilities are impressive, bolstered by a vast repository of out-of-the-box connectors and plugins that facilitate integration with various applications worldwide.
Security Architect at وزارة الثقافة Ministry of Culture
The features of ServiceNow that I find most valuable include its ability to easily access ticket details if you know the ticket number, monitor the timeline of when the ticket was created, and see the current status.
IT infra Admin at synu
 

Categories and Ranking

Freshdesk
Ranking in Help Desk Software
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Customer Experience Management (5th), Field Service Management (3rd), Knowledge Management Software (5th)
ServiceNow
Ranking in Help Desk Software
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
225
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (1st), IT Service Management (ITSM) (1st), Rapid Application Development Software (2nd), No-Code Development Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of Freshdesk is 3.1%, down from 3.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 12.6%, down from 23.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ServiceNow12.6%
Freshdesk3.1%
Other84.3%
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

AK
Senior Quality Automation Engineer at BMC Software, Inc.
Streamlined ticket workflows have improved response times and collaboration across teams
Although Freshdesk has many advantages and is a strong tool overall, there are a few areas where it can be improved. One is customization limitations; dashboards and workflows could be more flexible. The other is reporting capabilities; advanced analytics and deeper insights could be enhanced. Performance with large volumes can occasionally be impacted, especially when handling high ticket volumes or multiple integrations. API limitations, such as rate limits, can be restrictive for organizations, and the pricing structure means that some advanced features are only available in higher tier plans, which can increase costs. In Freshdesk, improving user interface responsiveness in certain modules and providing more flexibility in automation workflows would further enhance the overall experience. More out-of-the-box integrations and easier configurations for complex use cases would also be beneficial, especially for larger teams.
MT
Manager of Security Engineering & Architecture at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Seamless data integration and advanced automation improve service delivery efficiency
I think that nothing needs to be improved with the product; you just need the user to commit and spend appropriate time to overcome that learning curve. Once that is done, the product itself is pretty wonderful. I've seen a very nicely built interface with ServiceNow, and I've also seen the ugliest version that feels outdated. ServiceNow does allow that team to exist. They should modernize their fonts and their layout, the UI friendliness. They did introduce AI, chatbots, and AI on the back end, so that's wonderful and extremely useful if you train it. If you don't train it, it's pretty useless. Assessing the impact of ServiceNow's automation on service delivery times is complicated. The engineers who operate on ServiceNow find it isn't straightforward because the data set is accessible by everybody. The problem is that understanding how to manage that data set requires an enormous amount of engineering skill set to run the product. I would not hand the key to the customer; I would highly recommend that ServiceNow take control of that. Instead of offering support for the software, they should offer administrative support for the software. They should provide professional service or some kind of support system that allows us to use their product at a faster pace. I'm sure they offer something, but it's often outrageously expensive, or they rely on another company to resell their product and offer professional service. It makes no sense in my opinion, and they should offer the team at the front to help customize the product to fit each company's needs, as every company has different demands and forms of submitting a request that need adjustment over time.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Marketing Services Firm
5%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business55
Midsize Enterprise35
Large Enterprise168
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Freshdesk?
Freshdesk can be improved by addressing the lack of a custom dashboard, which would help design it to the client's requirement, and the API rate limit, which would be best if they provided an optio...
What is your primary use case for Freshdesk?
Our main use case of Freshdesk includes using it as a ticketing platform with live chat and support email for customers to send us tickets. We have agents on Freshdesk monitoring traffic and respon...
What advice do you have for others considering Freshdesk?
My advice to others looking into using Freshdesk is that when customers themselves want to contact a company for an issue, Freshdesk is best at helping them create tickets and reach out to the comp...
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 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.