ServiceNow vs SolarWinds Service Desk comparison

ServiceNow and SolarWinds are both solutions in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category. ServiceNow is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6, while SolarWinds is ranked #16 with an average rating of 9.0. ServiceNow holds a 14.2% mindshare in ISM, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of ServiceNow users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

ServiceNow

Read 228 ServiceNow reviews

30,705 Views
11,975 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Service Desk

Read 3 SolarWinds Service Desk reviews

864 Views
855 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

ServiceNow

SolarWinds Service Desk

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between ServiceNow and SolarWinds Service Desk based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed ServiceNow vs. SolarWinds Service Desk Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow vs. SolarWinds Service Desk

April 2026

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Helped 893,244 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

ServiceNow

Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

228

Ranking in other categories

Help Desk Software (1st), IT Asset Management (1st), Rapid Application Development Software (2nd), No-Code Development Platforms (1st)

SolarWinds Service Desk

Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)

16th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of ServiceNow is 14.2%, down from 23.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Service Desk is 0.9%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IT Service Management (ITSM) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
ServiceNow	14.2%
SolarWinds Service Desk	0.9%
Other	84.9%

IT Service Management (ITSM)

Featured Reviews

Hemanthreddy Vakiti

Data engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Structured workflows have improved SLA compliance and now support prioritized incident handling

I think the licensing and pricing of ServiceNow is quite expensive compared to other tools. For large organizations, it is acceptable, but specifically for small and medium organizations to track incidents or change requests, ServiceNow is quite expensive. Sometimes performance can be slow when workflows and integrations are configured for complex tasks. For advanced customizations or advanced features which we rarely use, the documentation is not up to standard. The documentation needs to be improved for advanced customization features. However, the platform is stable overall and the features are quite good. The user experience and performance concerns I mentioned are areas I want to be improved. When many workflows and interactions are configured, performance is slow. For the features it is providing, it is quite expensive. If these performance features are improved, we can easily pay that price and get the return on investment.

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Vaibhav Patkar

CISO at Orient Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Improved service requests and network monitoring have increased efficiency but integration needs work

SolarWinds Service Desk is a recognized product across the world and a dependable product. Kaseya is somewhat dated, and SolarWinds Service Desk has better connectivity in terms of superior integration facilities compared to Kaseya. Additionally, SolarWinds Service Desk offers multiple options within the same tool, including ITSM as well as NOC and network monitoring capabilities. SolarWinds Service Desk has much greater acceptability in the market and a wide range of implementations and integrations with various tools and applications. Life becomes simpler when choosing a standard product, whereas Kaseya may not be as highly regarded in the market. SolarWinds Service Desk may have some flaws, but work is being done to address them. SolarWinds Service Desk is an affordable product. SolarWinds Service Desk is suitable for all customers ranging from small to enterprise. There are some small customers, and the primary usage is within the company itself, and then as customers require it, access can be provided to them.

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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

"It is a very promising product, they have a new release every six months, they're investing quite a lot, and you can do many creative things with the product."

"For the nuts and bolts running of an IT organization, I can't really say there's anything lacking feature-wise."

"Great that it's knowledge-based and you can use the flows in ServiceNow."

"I like ServiceNow's Workspace feature. With Jira, we had to edit a ticket by going into it. We couldn't perform edits from within the project plan. ServiceNow allows you to edit everything from one screen. It's like an Excel spreadsheet, but Jira requires you to drill down into the ticket. ServiceNow is more convenient if you are working on multiple projects and workflows."

"We have found the service easy to use, although, we have ended up customising a lot of parameters."

"The solution is stable and the performance is good, there aren't bugs or glitches, it doesn't crash, and it's reliable."

"I have found the workflows and integration the most valuable in this solution."

"We consider the integration capabilities of the solution with other tools to be a valuable feature."

More ServiceNow pros

"The solution is very stable."

"SolarWinds Service Desk is a recognized product across the world and a dependable product."

"What I appreciate the most about the product is that, as per the name given, it brings better visibility to the client in terms of their infrastructure, application, and performance."

Cons

"When it comes to reference fields, there are some limitations where you aren't able to use them, like in relationship queries. In Remedy, when you click a menu, you get options directly, whereas here, if you use a reference field, it points you to a different form. So the UI experience totally changes for the end user."

"It became kind of complex to set it up without a general lack of knowledge of the particular feature-function capabilities."

"Licensing costs are very high."

"It's not very secure, it's web-based, and I prefer Remedy. Both the security and the web interface could be improved."

"The usability and user experience is a really big issue and needs to be improved."

"Very expensive."

"They can maybe improve the area of agile project management. They do have user storyboards and other things, but we kind of lean on Jira for that work. This is perhaps an area that could be looked at a little more."

"I would like the reporting aspect to be better, including the graphs. It could have some way for us to easily to export to a csv or spreadsheet so that if a graph cannot be provided by ServiceNow itself, we would be able to use other applications to create them. Also, if there was a feature that enabled us to interact with end users directly from ServiceNow, like an instant-messaging type of feature, that would be great."

More ServiceNow cons

"The integration with other applications can use improvement because, for example, it was nearly impossible to integrate SolarWinds Service Desk with monday.com because we had to get an add-on from Zapier."

"The primary concern so far is the integration part because of the APIs; this is the main area of concern."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In Tunisia, the companies find the licensing costs to be expensive."

"Some time ago it was expensive, but large companies have special contracts. It's enterprise prices, and we're talking about millions per year."

"I would say it is moderately expensive, ranging from six to seven on a scale of ten."

"The product cost is higher than that of other vendors."

"It is very expensive because it is a big organization. You have to pay for additional things."

"ServiceNow tends to be a little bit more expensive as compared to BMC Helix ITSM."

"The mandatory minimum is US$ 20,000 for licensing."

"For the modules we use, we found it competitive. I can't think of any costs in addition to the licensing fees."

More ServiceNow pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	56
Midsize Enterprise	35
Large Enterprise	175

No data available

Questions from the Community

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...

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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 ...

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What do you like most about ServiceNow?

The solution has a user-friendly interface.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Service Desk?

The primary concern so far is the integration part because of the APIs; this is the main area of concern. Currently, the installation of SolarWinds Service Desk is simple, but the integration may b...

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What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Service Desk?

SolarWinds Service Desk is used for ITSM and network monitoring purposes. The major use cases being utilized are from Kaseya itself; the same use cases that were previously implemented are being re...

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What advice do you have for others considering SolarWinds Service Desk?

I think the pricing of SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability is now comparative and suited to our business model, which is the reason we have moved to that. It has actually helped my customers' tec...

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Comparisons

IBM Maximo vs ServiceNow

Compared 5% of the time

BMC Helix ITSM vs ServiceNow

Compared 5% of the time

Zendesk vs ServiceNow

Compared 4% of the time

JIRA Service Management vs ServiceNow

Compared 4% of the time

Freshservice vs ServiceNow

Compared 3% of the time

More ServiceNow Competitors

Atera vs SolarWinds Service Desk

Compared 23% of the time

JIRA Service Management vs SolarWinds Service Desk

Compared 18% of the time

Samanage vs SolarWinds Service Desk

Compared 16% of the time

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs SolarWinds Service Desk

Compared 12% of the time

BMC Helix ITSM vs SolarWinds Service Desk

Compared 9% of the time

More SolarWinds Service Desk Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow

April 2026

Download ServiceNow product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Service Desk

April 2026

Download SolarWinds Service Desk product report

Overview

ServiceNow offers customizability and cloud-based integration that sustains operational efficiency. Enabling change and incident management, it accelerates workflow automation and project management without downtime issues, serving deployment needs for IT service and productivity enhancements.

ServiceNow stands out with its adaptable workflows and cloud-native infrastructure, boosting IT service, project, and asset management. Known for its robust incident and change management, the platform addresses business needs through its user-centric design and extensive integration options. By facilitating seamless IT operations and automation, ServiceNow empowers businesses to enhance productivity and efficiency. Regular updates ensure users benefit from the latest features without service interruptions, although pricing and licensing complexities demand attention. Users seek improved reporting tools and a more intuitive design while expressing interest in refined mobile functionality and better documentation.

What are the key features of ServiceNow?

Customizability: Enables tailored workflows to align with business processes.
Cloud-Based Integration: Allows seamless updates and operational sustainability.
Incident and Change Management: Supports efficient handling of IT-related issues.
Automation Capabilities: Automates repetitive tasks, enhancing productivity.
User-Friendly Design: Simplifies navigation and improves user interaction.
Comprehensive Reporting: Provides detailed insights for better decision-making.

What benefits and ROI should users anticipate from ServiceNow?

Improved Efficiency: Streamlines processes and reduces manual efforts.
Enhanced Productivity: Automates tasks, enabling focus on strategic initiatives.
Seamless Operations: Integrates across departments for unified management.
Effective IT Management: Smooth incident, change, and problem resolution.
Cost and Time Savings: Reduces operational costs through efficient workflow management.

ServiceNow finds implementation across industries like IT, HR, asset management, and help desks, addressing ticketing and configuration needs. Businesses use its dashboard for tracking performance metrics, enhancing decision-making in departments like HR service delivery. Its adaptability also makes it suitable for industries requiring robust operational management and process automation, driving efficiency and growth.

ServiceNow

SolarWinds Service Desk provides IT service management capabilities designed to streamline service delivery and enhance the efficiency of IT operations, catering to a knowledgeable audience looking for effective IT solutions.

It offers comprehensive functionality for IT service management. Utilizing automation and advanced analytics, it improves workflow management and incident resolution times. With cloud-based architecture, it ensures easy access and scalability. Features enable effective tracking, reporting, and management, making it a sought-after choice for IT teams seeking efficient service management.

What are the most important features of SolarWinds Service Desk?

Incident Management: Streamlines the resolution process to manage incidents efficiently.
Service Catalog: Allows customization of service offerings to meet specific requirements.
Automation: Automates routine tasks to boost operational productivity.
Change Management: Facilitates controlled change processes with risk assessment capabilities.
Asset Management: Provides detailed tracking and management of IT assets.

What benefits and ROI can users expect from SolarWinds Service Desk?

Reduced Downtime: Minimizes service interruptions, improving operational continuity.
Cost Efficiency: Lowers operational costs through optimized workflows and automation.
Scalability: Grows with business needs, supporting evolving requirements.
Enhanced Productivity: Increases team efficiency with a streamlined service management framework.
Improved Satisfaction: Boosts end-user satisfaction with prompt service delivery and resolution.

In industries such as healthcare and education, SolarWinds Service Desk is implemented to improve compliance and service quality. IT departments benefit from its flexible workflows that adhere to specific sector regulations. Customizable features cater to specific requirements, ensuring effective service management across different sectors.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow vs. SolarWinds Service Desk

April 2026

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