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Is ServiceNow meeting all your business needs, or could you do more with a different solution? If you’re here, it’s probably the former, and you’re curious about ServiceNow alternatives.
While ServiceNow offers comprehensive IT service management software and customer service workflows, it might not fit every business perfectly. Its broad range of features can sometimes be overwhelming, and so can its price tag.
Whether you’re a growing company needing a more agile platform or a large enterprise looking to streamline your operations, you’re sure to find something to suite your needs in our list of ServiceNow alternatives.
Key Takeaway on Each ServiceNow Alternative
- Nextiva – Best for all-in-one communication
- Zendesk – Best for customer service use cases
- Help Scout – Best for shared inbox for streamlined communication
- Jira Service Management – Best for IT service management processes
- BMC Helix – Best for enterprise service management
- Ivanti – Best for IT and security management
- SysAid – Best for IT service management for small to medium-sized businesses
- SolarWinds Service Desk – Best for AI-powered IT service management for growing IT teams
Why You’re Looking for a ServiceNow Alternative
ServiceNow is a popular ITSM solution, and while you can use it for other things, like customer service management, it comes with challenges that lead some businesses to explore a suitable ServiceNow competitor.
Here are a few reasons why companies look for other options:
- Complexity & implementation challenges: Setting up ServiceNow takes significant time and resources, often requiring external consultants and a skilled IT team. The extensive configuration and integration process can make implementation overwhelming for smaller teams.
- High costs: Many businesses turn to a ServiceNow competitor due to its high price tag (they don’t disclose their pricing, but a base subscription is estimated at around $100 per user per month). Customization, maintenance, and scaling costs can quickly add up, making it difficult for smaller organizations to justify the investment.
- Customization difficulties: While ServiceNow offers deep customization, it requires technical expertise and a time commitment. Some businesses prefer a simpler, more intuitive solution that doesn’t require extensive configuration.
- Performance issues: Many users note that ServiceNow can experience slow load times and performance lags as data volume increases, impacting team productivity. This can be frustrating for teams that rely on fast access to information to meet service-level agreements.
- Support & training gaps: Some users find that ServiceNow’s support and training resources don’t fully address their needs. Limited assistance during onboarding and troubleshooting can lead businesses to look for platforms with more responsive customer support.
ServiceNow Strengths
Before we dig into the ServiceNow alternatives, it’s important to recognize why some businesses choose this platform.
ServiceNow streamlines IT operations and customer service with several standout features:
- Comprehensive service management: ServiceNow centralizes incident, problem, change, knowledge, configuration, and asset management into one platform. This reduces the need for multiple tools, helping IT teams prioritize and resolve issues efficiently while minimizing recurring problems.
- Automated workflow & optimization: With AI-powered workflow automation, ServiceNow streamlines service request management, follow-ups, and customer record updates. Predictive analytics help identify potential issues early, allowing teams to address them before they disrupt operations.
- Scalability & flexibility: ServiceNow adapts to businesses of all sizes, offering extensive customization options to support evolving processes. Its versatility makes it a fit for various industries, growing alongside an organization’s needs.
- User-friendly interface: ServiceNow’s intuitive design makes user adoption easier and minimizes the steep learning curve. Employees can navigate features quickly, enabling teams to get up to speed without delays.
Top 8 ServiceNow Alternatives
Ready to check out ServiceNow ITSM alternatives? Our curated list breaks down top competitors, providing an overview, features, pricing, and why they make great alternatives.
1. Nextiva
Best for: All-in-one communication
Nextiva is a cloud-based communication platform that integrates voice, video, messaging, and customer experience management into one seamless solution. Its AI automation and analytics help businesses streamline each customer interaction and improve service and operational efficiency. Unlike ServiceNow, which focuses more on IT service management, Nextiva excels in providing unified communications with a customer-centric approach.
Pricing
- Core: $15 per user per month, billed annually
- Engage: $25 per user per month, billed annually
- Power Suite CX: $75 per user per month, billed annually
Enterprises can also opt for monthly contact center plans that start at $75 per user, with optional usage-based plans available.
Key features
- Uses a cloud-based contact center that is easy to deploy and scale as your business grows.
- Uses AI to route customer queries to the best agent, depending intelligently on their skill set.
- Monitors and records calls for quality assurance and to help agents provide a better experience for their customers.
Why it’s a strong ServiceNow alternative
Nextiva is a strong alternative for businesses prioritizing customer experience over traditional IT service management tools. Its advanced communication tools and automation provide frictionless interactions, making it an excellent choice for service-driven organizations.
Plus, Nextiva’s built-in omnichannel capabilities make it a top choice for enterprises needing voice, text, and social media interactions to be accessible to authorized team members.
📚 Read Nextiva reviews on G2 (4.5 stars)
2. Zendesk
Best for: Customer service use cases
Zendesk is a widely used customer experience software and help desk solution that offers scalable tools for businesses of all sizes. It provides automation, AI chatbots, and a marketplace full of integrations with third-party applications.
This platform stands out for its focus on customer experience. If you need a ServiceNow alternative with strong customer support capabilities, Zendesk is worth considering.
Pricing
- Support Team (AI not included): $15 per agent per month, billed annually
- Suite Team: $55 per agent per month, billed annually
- Suite Professional: $115 per agent per month, billed annually
- Suite Enterprise: $169 per agent per month, billed annually
Key features
- Offers live chat to support customers on a website in real time.
- Lets users engage customers on different social media platforms.
- Delivers self-service options and an extensive knowledge base to empower customers.
Why it’s a strong ServiceNow alternative
Zendesk is a more suitable solution for small businesses than ServiceNow, particularly regarding pricing, and it scales as your business grows.
📚 Read Zendesk reviews on G2 (4.3 stars)
3. Help Scout
Best for: Shared inbox for streamlined communication
Help Scout provides a streamlined approach to customer service, focusing on shared inbox collaboration for support teams. It enables businesses to manage customer inquiries efficiently while keeping internal teams aligned. Compared to ServiceNow, Help Scout is a more lightweight alternative focused on email-based support and team collaboration.
Pricing
- Standard: $25 per month per user, billed annually
- Plus: $45 per month per user, billed annually
- Pro: $75 per month per user, billed annually
Key features
- Centralizes communication across different channels through a shared inbox.
- Uses conversation history to provide context for each customer interaction.
- Enables agents to collaborate seamlessly to resolve customer issues.
Why it’s a strong ServiceNow alternative
Help Scout is perfect for small- to mid-sized businesses prioritizing email-based support and team collaboration. Its simplicity and affordability make it a great alternative for companies that don’t require ServiceNow’s ITSM complexity.
📚 Read Help Scout reviews on G2 (4.4 stars)
4. Jira Service Management
Best for: IT service management processes
Jira Software, from Atlassian, provides a robust platform for IT service management (ITSM). While it can handle customer service inquiries, its ability to streamline IT processes, such as incident, problem, change, and asset management, sets it apart. This focus on ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) best practices makes it a powerful tool for IT teams to resolve issues efficiently and maintain service level agreements (SLAs).
Pricing (based on 10 agents)
- Free: (up to 3 agents)
- Standard: 25 per agent per month
- Premium: 57.30 per agent per month
- Enterprise: Contact sales for a quote
Key features
- Incident management enables you to track, prioritize, and resolve incidents with automated workflows and real-time collaboration.
- Problem management helps identify the root causes of recurring incidents and implement preventative measures.
- Change management allows you to plan, track, and implement changes with built-in approval workflows to minimize risk.
Why it’s a strong ServiceNow alternative
For businesses prioritizing IT service management and those already invested in the Atlassian tech stack, Jira Service Desk would make a great ServiceNow alternative.
📚 Read Jira Service Management reviews on G2 (4.3 stars)
5. BMC Helix
Best for: Enterprise service management
BMC Helix provides a suite of solutions designed to streamline operations, automate workflows, and enhance service delivery. In addition to IT, BMC Helix dips into HR, facilities, and other departments, offering a unified platform for enterprise service management.
With its AI and machine learning capabilities, BMC Helix proactively identifies and resolves issues, automates repetitive tasks, and provides valuable insights into service performance. It’s built for complex environments, offering scalability and flexibility to adapt to evolving business needs.
Pricing
- Contact sales for a custom quote.
Key features
- Multi-cloud support lets you deploy on your preferred cloud platform or take advantage of a hybrid approach.
- AI automation helps streamline workflows and proactively resolve issues using intelligent automation.
- Cognitive service management provides predictive insights and optimizes service delivery through AI and machine learning.
Why it’s a strong ServiceNow alternative
BMC Helix is a ServiceNow alternative for large companies looking for a comprehensive solution for enterprise service management. Its advanced features and focus on automation make it ideal for complex environments.
📚 Read BMC Helix reviews on G2 (3.7 stars)
6. Ivanti Service Manager
Best for: IT and security management
Ivanti unifies IT and security management with its service management platform. Its IT service desk integrates security features like vulnerability management and endpoint security, helping businesses manage IT assets and mitigate risks. The software can help businesses simplify IT operations and provides a range of solutions to automate routine tasks, manage devices, and secure the IT environment.
Pricing
- Contact sales for a custom quote.
Key features
- Unified endpoint management allows you to manage and secure all devices from a single platform.
- IT asset management helps you track and manage IT assets throughout their entire lifecycle.
- Security operations integrate security into IT service management with advanced vulnerability and threat management capabilities.
Why it’s a strong ServiceNow alternative
Ivanti Service Manager unifies IT and security management, simplifying operations and enhancing security.
📚 Read Ivanti reviews on G2 (3.9 stars)
7. SysAid
Best for: IT service management for small- to medium-sized businesses
SysAid caters specifically to the needs of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) who might be looking for a user-friendly and affordable IT service management solution. It provides a platform for managing IT support, automating repetitive tasks, and improving customer service without the complexity and cost of enterprise-grade solutions.
SysAid is easy to implement and use, even for smaller IT teams. It offers a range of features to help SMBs manage incidents, problems, changes, and assets effectively.
Pricing
- Contact sales for a custom quote.
Key features
- Self service portal that empower end-users to find solutions and submit requests independently.
- Automation streamlines workflows and reduces manual effort with automated tasks.
- Remote control provides quick and efficient remote support to end-users.
Why it’s a strong ServiceNow alternative
SysAid is a strong ServiceNow alternative for SMBs who want a user-friendly and cost-effective IT service management solution tailored to their specific needs.
📚 Read SysAid reviews on G2 (4.5 stars)
8. SolarWinds Service Desk
Best for: AI-powered IT service management for growing to mature IT teams
SolarWinds Service Desk is a cloud-based ITSM platform that helps organizations simplify support operations, reduce manual work, and maintain clear oversight of their IT assets with AI automation.
It suits growing businesses and IT organizations that need a flexible, scalable, and feature-rich service desk solution with asset management, change management, and a customizable service catalog. Its efficient workflows and modern interface help teams resolve issues faster.
Pricing
- Essentials: $39 per user per month
- Advanced: $79 per user per month
- Premier: $99 per user per month
Key features
- AI-powered ticketing, virtual agents, and workflow automation to accelerate resolution
- Visual CMDB with automatic dependency mapping (Premier plan)
- Role-based permissions, SLA management, contract and license compliance
Why it’s a strong ServiceNow alternative
SolarWinds Service Desk offers many core and advanced ITSM capabilities in a cleaner, more accessible package. It’s an excellent choice for teams that need robust features—like automation, asset tracking, and structured service delivery—without the steep learning curve or high cost associated with ServiceNow.
📚 Read SolarWinds reviews on G2 (4.3 stars)
Why Nextiva Is the Best ServiceNow Alternative
When it comes to an all-in-one, customizable solution that can adapt to your growing business, Nextiva leads the way. Unlike ServiceNow, this contact center platform integrates seamlessly across channels — like voice, live chat, and email — so your teams can work smarter, not harder.
With features like AI automation, real-time reporting, and the flexibility to scale with your business, Nextiva delivers exceptional value at a price that doesn’t break the bank.
It’s the perfect ServiceNow alternative for businesses looking to elevate their customer experience while simplifying operations.
Build amazing customer experiences.
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FAQs
There’s no single platform predicted to “replace” ServiceNow, but many an ITSM tool and enterprise workflow compete with it. Popular alternatives include Freshservice, Jira Service Management, BMC Helix, Zendesk, and Salesforce Service Cloud. The “replacement” depends on use case, scale, and automation tool needs.
ServiceNow is neither an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) nor a CRM (Customer Relationship Management), though it overlaps with both in some functions.
It’s primarily a cloud-based platform for IT Service Management (ITSM) and enterprise workflow automation. But it does offer modules that touch ERP-like areas (asset management, HR workflows) and CRM-adjacent areas (case management, customer service).
SAP and ServiceNow excel in different categories, so “best” depends on the use case:
– SAP is strongest for ERP, finance, supply chain, procurement, and enterprise resource planning.
– ServiceNow is best for ITSM, digital workflows, automation, customer service workflows, and cross-department service delivery.
Use SAP for enterprise service management and ServiceNow for IT service processes and operational workflows. Many businesses use both together.
Yes. SAP Service Cloud is part of SAP’s Customer Experience (CX) suite, which functions as a CRM platform. Although it exists within the broader SAP ecosystem, SAP Service Cloud is designed to work as a dedicated CRM solution for service-focused teams.
None match ServiceNow’s full enterprise workflow ecosystem, but a few well-known open source platforms do offer ITSM capability or workflow automation similar to ServiceNow, including:
– GLPI – Full ITSM suite with asset management
– iTop – CMDB-focused IT service management platform
– Zammad – Open source helpdesk/ticketing platform
– osTicket – Simple support ticketing system
