Retool vs ServiceNow Now Platform comparison

Retool and ServiceNow are both solutions in the Rapid Application Development Software category. Retool is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.4, while ServiceNow is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.0. Retool holds a 0.9% mindshare in RADS, compared to ServiceNow’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Retool users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of ServiceNow users who would recommend it.

Retool

Read 8 Retool reviews

506 Views
506 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

ServiceNow Now Platform

Read 48 ServiceNow Now Platform reviews

1,747 Views
1,380 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Retool

ServiceNow Now Platform

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

ServiceNow Now Platform and Retool compete in the enterprise software solutions category. ServiceNow has an upper hand due to its advantage in pricing and support, while Retool is considered superior in terms of features.

Features: ServiceNow Now Platform is notable for workflow automation, IT service management, and robust IT operations management. Retool stands out with its flexibility to create custom internal tools quickly, extensive API integrations, and ease of use for developers.

Room for Improvement: ServiceNow could improve in user interface customization, integration complexity, and deployment simplicity. Retool might enhance scalability for larger teams, improve real-time support options, and expand its built-in components for diverse use cases.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Retool offers a straightforward deployment process, emphasizing quick implementation and efficient customer service. ServiceNow's deployment is more complex, fitting larger enterprises with sophisticated IT setups, and it has a robust customer service framework.

Pricing and ROI: ServiceNow requires a higher initial setup cost which aligns with its comprehensive solutions, offering a strong long-term ROI for large enterprises. Retool presents a more cost-effective initial investment with quick returns due to its rapid deployment capabilities and flexibility in building custom solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Retool vs. ServiceNow Now Platform Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Retool vs. ServiceNow Now Platform

September 2025

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Helped 868,787 peers since 2012

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

Retool

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

16th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

ServiceNow Now Platform

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

14th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Low-Code Development Platforms (9th), No-Code Development Platforms (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Retool is 0.9%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Now Platform is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rapid Application Development Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
ServiceNow Now Platform	1.9%
Retool	0.9%
Other	97.2%

Rapid Application Development Software

Featured Reviews

Anees Shoukat

Full Stack PHP/Python AWS Developer at Binary Port

Built-in features streamline data processing and integration

Retool provides built-in features with all processing happening within the platform, which is a significant advantage. The platform is easy to use without requiring the installation of different libraries. Various features are available through drag and drop and UI-based interactions. The tool allows data retrieval through queries and displays information directly. It offers data tools that grab information based on specified queries and draws everything on screen. If a table is needed, it efficiently lists down the table data. Data manipulation happens through queries. We simply specify the table and required query, and the results are displayed immediately. Permissions are required for access. When we grant access from AWS, Retool can access the data. Without proper permissions, access is restricted. We can provide view-only access in Retool while maintaining view, edit, and delete capabilities in the main system. This allows us to control access for sales personnel and external data viewing. The platform provides an extensive range of graphs and visualization options.

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SiddharthZunjarrao

Associate Director at KPMG India

Enables us to have significant improvements in operational efficiency

ServiceNow is highly scalable from a customization point of view, allowing for the building of portals, adding and configuring widgets, and designing workflows as preferred. The text-to-code feature is particularly useful for turning natural language instructions into recognizable code on the ServiceNow platform, aiding both implementation teams and customers. The case summarization feature is also great, as it summarizes user comments and agent notes into a resolution code without needing to review the entire activity history.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Retool provides built-in features with all processing happening within the platform, which is a significant advantage."

"The stability is okay."

"We can create the dashboards quickly."

"Retool provides us with the opportunity to save time and be more efficient."

"Retool can be used with many applications as it is language independent; anyone can use it easily and create various visualizations regardless of their programming knowledge—this is the main reason I recommend it."

"There are several key aspects to Retool that make it stand out. Firstly, its extensive range of components makes integration straightforward. Secondly, its support for SQL and JavaScript allows for the implementation of complex logic, which is particularly beneficial for developers like yourself with experience in .NET development."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is connectivity with APIs and other databases."

"Retool's most valuable features are its drag-and-drop components and the ability to customize them extensively."

More Retool pros

"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."

"The main reason that people use ServiceNow is that performance is very good."

"Scalability-wise, it is a very good solution."

"The solution has more products than being an ITSM tool. Big customers such as those from Telcom tend to like it. Some of our customers use AI-based chatbots."

"It is a very stable solution."

"Now Platform's best features are collaboration, configurability, and customizability."

"The solution is fast enough for our workflow automations and has integration capability. It aligns with many use cases in our organization and for others we have planned."

"The integration with other tools is pretty good."

More ServiceNow Now Platform pros

Cons

"The solution lacks inbuilt customization to customize bar charts."

"There are restrictions on the front-end side."

"AI tools, features, and machine learning capabilities should be added as they would be helpful in the future."

"The components are changed frequently, which is very irritating."

"Retool could enhance support, including efforts to establish support centers in Europe, which was lacking previously. However, the community is still in the growth phase, leading to potential delays in receiving responses to queries."

"AI tools, features, and machine learning capabilities should be added as they would be helpful in the future."

"One area for improvement in Retool is expanding its library support to include a broader range of third-party JavaScript libraries."

"The part where we can add some custom logic or custom plugins could be better."

More Retool cons

"The reporting capabilities need to be improved, otherwise we need to pay for performance analytics."

"The analytics should be more readily available on the base product."

"The integration towards other ERP systems could be improved."

"The programming language is currently limited to JavaScript. So I would like to see more programming languages available, especially since they have come up with the machine-learning features. Some more languages would be an additional improvement."

"The cost has room for improvement. It is currently expensive."

"The pricing model is complex and needs to be both lowered and simplified."

"If AI were better integrated into ServiceNow, it would lower the RPA costs and make the platform more accessible."

"The product's UI is ugly, making it an area where improvements are required."

More ServiceNow Now Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't know Retool's current pricing, but it cost around $12 per month earlier."

"The pricing is very expensive. It costs for each user, for automated users, open-end users, et cetera."

"For new users, evaluate the scale of their administrative needs as Retool provides excellent free services for smaller setups, but larger deployments might require transitioning to a paid plan."

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

"For me, I'm in India right now, and we have Retool's subscription for one team member for $10 per month."

"People seem to be buying the tool a lot. I think its licensing is okay."

"In my opinion, it is expensive. However, they do offer favorable licensing for charities, for example."

"I don't have much exposure to the costs attached to the solution. I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is the lowest price, and ten is the highest price since it is a costly tool."

"Most of the features are included in the licensing cost. However, if we need extra plugins that are not available at the ServiceNow Hub or store, then we have to pay extra for those."

"The solution is expensive."

"The product is very expensive."

"From what I heard, the license for the ServiceNow Now Platform is paid monthly, and on a scale of one to five, I'm rating it a three in terms of pricing, so it's on the cheaper side. I don't know of any additional costs associated with the ServiceNow Now Platform, apart from the standard licensing fees."

"There are extra expenses for maintaining the product apart from the licenses."

More ServiceNow Now Platform pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

14%

Outsourcing Company

10%

University

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

10%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	2

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	34

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Retool?

For new users, evaluate the scale of their administrative needs as Retool provides excellent free services for smaller setups, but larger deployments might require transitioning to a paid plan.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Retool?

The platform already provides many features, and additional features aren't necessary for medium-level usage. Only very high-level requirements might necessitate more features. AI tools, features, ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Retool?

In Retool, I have designed graphs and data tools to implement rules-based functionality. Instead of implementing these features in our platform, we created them through Retool because we only provi...

See all answers

What do you like most about ServiceNow Now Platform?

The integration with other tools is pretty good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow Now Platform?

From what I have heard only from our sales team, ServiceNow Now Platform falls within the more expensive tier of a product, but I can't really judge it.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ServiceNow Now Platform?

What could be improved in ServiceNow Now Platform is the availability of skill sets. For some reason, we don't get too many people who know this technology easily. Regarding their pricing, I would ...

See all answers

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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Retool

September 2025

Download Retool product report

Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow Now Platform

September 2025

Download ServiceNow Now Platform product report

Overview

Retool enables rapid construction of internal tools with minimal coding, streamlining workflows across HR, customer support, and compliance. Praised for its drag-and-drop interface, extensive component library, and SQL support, it boosts organizational efficiency by automating tasks and enhancing data management.

Retool

ServiceNow Now Platform enhances IT service management with request cataloging, incident handling, and knowledge management. Its low-code environment, integration capability, and flexible workflow automation offer a smooth user experience and scalable solutions for enterprises.

ServiceNow Now Platform is designed for seamless integration across IT service management, including incident, problem, and change management. Known for stable performance and a user-friendly interface, it supports flexible workflow automation, efficient report generation, and comprehensive data management. The platform's scalability and low-code customization create opportunities for innovative process automation, enriching user experience. While its licensing and pricing models could be more user-friendly, enhancements in mobile capabilities, AI integration, and modern UI are on demand. Additional improvements in ERP integration and technical support are also needed. The platform serves multiple sectors with configurations for enhanced process automation and service orchestration.

Which features stand out?

Request Cataloging: Streamlines service requests efficiently.
Knowledge Management: Enhances information sharing and resource access.
Incident Handling: Smooth and effective incident resolution.
Workflow Automation: Supports flexible and adaptive process flows.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with existing systems.
IT Service Management: Comprehensive management features for IT services.
Low-Code Environment: Allows for simple and rapid application development.
Custom Scripting: Offers tailored scripting for specific needs.

What benefits can be achieved?

Efficiency: Boosts operational efficiency with integrated workflows.
Scalability: Supports growth with scalable solutions.
User Experience: Provides a smooth and intuitive user experience.
Automation: Increases productivity with automation capabilities.
Data Management: Enhances data handling and report generation.

In diverse industries, ServiceNow Now Platform supports a variety of functions such as IT service management, customer support, workflow automation, and service delivery. Organizations employ it for HR processes, analytics, asset management, and compliance. Its strong integration capabilities allow it to be paired with existing tools, offering flexible configurations and end-user support on a global scale, making it suitable for companies across sectors.

ServiceNow

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

experian, beachbody, health partners

Buyer's Guide

Retool vs. ServiceNow Now Platform

September 2025

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