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Salesforce Service Cloud vs ServiceNow Customer Service Management comparison

Salesforce and ServiceNow are both solutions in the CRM Customer Engagement Centers category. Salesforce is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.4, while ServiceNow is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3. Salesforce holds a 16.6% mindshare in CCEC, compared to ServiceNow’s 11.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Salesforce users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of ServiceNow users who would recommend it.
Salesforce Service Cloud
Read 55 Salesforce Service Cloud reviews
  • 1,624 Views
  • 568 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
ServiceNow Customer Service...
Read 14 ServiceNow Customer Service Management reviews
  • 1,220 Views
  • 598 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 2025

Salesforce Service Cloud and ServiceNow Customer Service Management compete in the customer service software industry. Salesforce seems to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive features and strong integration with its CRM suite.

Features: Salesforce Service Cloud includes automation, customizable consoles, and comprehensive case management. It allows seamless integration with Salesforce data and offers pre-built packages for adaptability. ServiceNow Customer Service Management excels in workflow management and digital transformation through technology integration. It provides seamless workflow beneficial for incident tracking.

Room for Improvement: Salesforce Service Cloud is criticized for its high pricing, Outlook email issues, and complex UI. Users seek better mobile functionality and enhanced analytics tools. ServiceNow lacks advanced customization, has a premium price, and needs better integration with IVR systems and AI features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Salesforce Service Cloud is mainly deployed in the cloud, known for community support but mixed customer service experiences. ServiceNow offers multiple deployment models with knowledgeable support but desires faster response times in critical cases.

Pricing and ROI: Both Salesforce Service Cloud and ServiceNow are premium-priced, favoring larger organizations. Salesforce users stress negotiation for maximizing value, with ROI tied to efficiency. ServiceNow is known for streamlining operations despite high costs, necessitating careful cost-benefit evaluations.

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To learn more, read our detailed Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management Report (Updated: July 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management
July 2025
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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
Salesforce Service Cloud achieves 135% ROI by enhancing efficiency, productivity, and service business, despite implementation costs.
Sentiment score
6.7
Organizations achieve ROI with ServiceNow CSM by streamlining processes, reducing costs, and aligning with business goals for improved efficiency.
Salesforce Service Cloud requires significant maintenance effort to see ROI.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
Without such tools, the business would be affected by five to ten percent in annual revenue.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.6
Salesforce Service Cloud is praised for helpful support and community, despite some critiques on initial response and proactiveness.
Sentiment score
6.5
ServiceNow's customer service is praised for responsiveness and multilingual support, with some delays in lower packages.
Salesforce directly does not give you the support, and it is through the partner that you have to go, leading to some time delays.
Unless you have premium support, assistance is restricted.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
It is better because partners have a deep understanding of the code and configuration challenges.
The technical support is good, but there are very few people who understand the technicalities and background configurations.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
Kishor Namburu - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2688993 - PeerSpot reviewerArvind Mehrotra - PeerSpot reviewer
AG
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Salesforce Service Cloud offers exceptional scalability for enterprise growth, handling increased users and transactions seamlessly across industries.
Sentiment score
8.5
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is praised for scalability, customization, and efficient self-service, enhancing business operations without extra costs.
Salesforce Service Cloud is the most advanced in scalability, rating around nine to ten.
Nobody can compete with Salesforce Service Cloud's scalability.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
If challenges are resolved efficiently with tools like ServiceNow Customer Service Management, it significantly impacts business operations.
The solution is scalable and offers high scalability as new features are added regularly.
Scalability can lead to performance issues.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
Kishor Namburu - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2688993 - PeerSpot reviewer
AG
MS
Arvind Mehrotra - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Salesforce Service Cloud is highly stable, reliable, quickly resolves issues, and is positively rated across industries for dependability.
Sentiment score
8.3
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is stable, efficiently handles high traffic, yet customization limitations and portal issues can occasionally arise.
We rarely encounter stability issues with Salesforce Service Cloud, although when they occur, they cause significant disruption.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is highly stable, which is critical because it operates as a live system 24/7.
Overall, it is very stable aside from these issues.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
reviewer2688993 - PeerSpot reviewer
MS
AG
 

Room For Improvement

Salesforce Service Cloud requires improvements in email integration, UI/UX, reporting, analytics, and cost efficiency for better user experience.
ServiceNow Customer Service needs improved customization, integration, AI features, pricing flexibility, and easier report downloading and upgrades.
Salesforce Service Cloud should focus on simplification.
Configuring Flows in Salesforce Service Cloud is very difficult.
The pricing of Salesforce Service Cloud is expensive compared to other solutions like our current SAP CRM, which is much cheaper.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
It is important to follow practical rules and best practices to avoid misconfigurations caused by different developers doing things their own way.
Managing this platform requires sophisticated handling.
If our organization wants to customize features that are not initially available in the system, these customizations might cause issues during upgrades.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
reviewer2688993 - PeerSpot reviewerMARIA PILAR CANDA - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2677440 - PeerSpot reviewer
MS
Arvind Mehrotra - PeerSpot reviewer
AP
 

Setup Cost

Salesforce Service Cloud is seen as costly but negotiable, with user-based pricing offering potential ROI through strategic use.
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is costly but valued for efficiency, with premium pricing potentially unsuitable for smaller businesses.
The approximate licensing costs for Salesforce Service Cloud are around three hundred dollars a year per user.
Salesforce Service Cloud is expensive.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is expensive, with costs around half a million US dollars per year.
The pricing is around a seven, making it rather expensive.
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is expensive, although there is value for money considering the time and administrative efficiencies it brings.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
reviewer2677440 - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2688993 - PeerSpot reviewer
MS
AG
AP
 

Valuable Features

Salesforce Service Cloud is praised for customization, integration, automation, user-friendliness, scalability, and features enhancing productivity and visibility.
ServiceNow CSM offers powerful workflow and integration, enhancing service delivery with automation and AI on a flexible platform.
Salesforce Service Cloud improved our organization with its mobile capabilities.
Salesforce Service Cloud offers pre-built packages that are best in class.
Clients gain productivity and save time with Salesforce Service Cloud.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
ServiceNow Customer Service Management offers valuable features such as workflow management, an approval cycle, and integration with a payment gateway, which allows for payments to be made using the system.
It integrates all different queues into one dashboard and consolidates various departments, ensuring visibility across the organization is transparent.
Change requests are vital if there is a business requirement change; they are used for tracking and reporting purposes, showcasing how change requests have been used to keep businesses running smoothly.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
reviewer2677440 - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2688993 - PeerSpot reviewerMARIA PILAR CANDA - PeerSpot reviewer
MS
Arvind Mehrotra - PeerSpot reviewer
AG
 

Categories and Ranking

Salesforce Service Cloud
Ranking in CRM Customer Engagement Centers
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (4th), Knowledge Management Software (3rd), IT Alerting and Incident Management (6th)
ServiceNow Customer Service...
Ranking in CRM Customer Engagement Centers
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Customer Experience Management (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the CRM Customer Engagement Centers category, the mindshare of Salesforce Service Cloud is 16.6%, down from 17.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Customer Service Management is 11.1%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM Customer Engagement Centers
 

Featured Reviews

MARIA PILAR CANDA - PeerSpot reviewer
Improved customer service and post-sales support saves time
The solution could be more affordable as it's quite expensive for some organizations, particularly middle-sized companies. Additionally, finding technical talent for improving the solution is challenging. Configuring Flows in Salesforce Service Cloud is very difficult. There are very few technical people in the market capable of implementing all the flows that clients need at this moment. It's primarily a matter of talent limitation, and flow is the technical mechanism of Salesforce Service Cloud for process automation. In general, while they have the knowledge and help solve problems, finding the right person to address specific issues is very challenging.
Read full review
Arvind Mehrotra - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrating departments for unified service while managing complexity and learning curve
ServiceNow Customer Service Management integrates the admin, finance, HR, and service departments, enabling an employee of an organization to get service from a single window. It integrates all different queues into one dashboard and consolidates various departments, ensuring visibility across the organization is transparent. It helps to create a shared services organization, reducing the operational complexity and facilitating a more unified service delivery. It consolidates all service desks under one umbrella, enhancing efficiency.
Read full review
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Performing Arts
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software 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.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Salesforce Service Cloud?
The solution could be more affordable as it's quite expensive for some organizations, particularly middle-sized companies. Additionally, finding technical talent for improving the solution is chall...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for Salesforce Service Cloud?
We have many clients with Salesforce Service Cloud and numerous use cases. The main use is in the sales area rather than the marketing area. We utilize it for customer service and customer post-sal...
See all answers
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 ...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow Customer Service Management?
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is expensive, although there is value for money considering the time and administrative efficiencies it brings.
See all answers
What needs improvement with ServiceNow Customer Service Management?
The integration cost and learning curve are very high, and managing this platform requires sophisticated handling, which is more complex compared to other solutions.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 15% of the time
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JIRA Service Management vs Salesforce Service Cloud
Compared 7% of the time
Pega CRM vs Salesforce Service Cloud Logo
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Compared 7% of the time
Zendesk vs Salesforce Service Cloud Logo
Zendesk vs Salesforce Service Cloud
Compared 3% of the time
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Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs ServiceNow Customer Service Management
Compared 52% of the time
Genesys Cloud CX vs ServiceNow Customer Service Management Logo
Genesys Cloud CX vs ServiceNow Customer Service Management
Compared 18% of the time
SAP Service Cloud vs ServiceNow Customer Service Management Logo
SAP Service Cloud vs ServiceNow Customer Service Management
Compared 16% of the time
Oracle Fusion Service vs ServiceNow Customer Service Management Logo
Oracle Fusion Service vs ServiceNow Customer Service Management
Compared 7% of the time
More ServiceNow Customer Service Management Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Salesforce Service Cloud
July 2025
Salesforce Service Cloud reportDownload Salesforce Service Cloud product report
Buyer's Guide
ServiceNow Customer Service Management
July 2025
ServiceNow Customer Service Management reportDownload ServiceNow Customer Service Management product report
 

Also Known As

Service Cloud
ServiceNow CSM
 

Overview

Service Cloud is fully customizable support and help desk that provide faster, smarter service that will increase loyalty, retention, and satisfaction. From call-center software to self-service portals, our service solutions enhance your customer service with more responsive, more intuitive, more flexible support that anticipates customer needs.

Salesforce

Customer Service Management groups key applications and capabilities into scalable packages that can grow with you as your needs change.

ServiceNow
 

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
Buyer's Guide
Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management
July 2025
Free Report: Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management
Find out what your peers are saying about Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
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See our Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management report.
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