HEAD TO HEAD · RATED SEPTEMBER 2026
Last reviewed 27 September 2026 · Service Desk Compare reviewers
ServiceDesk Plus wins on the business-teams weights; ServiceNow is the stronger pick where automation and AI assistance and integrations matter most [ServiceNow AI agents page] [ServiceNow CMDB page].
Totals and ranks on this page use the business-teams weights (five criteria at 20% each; ITIL and CMDB shown for information only). For ITIL and CMDB weighted scores, see the full ITSM ranking.
ServiceDesk Plus
7.1 / 10
Rank 6= of 9 on the business-teams ranking
Full ITSM ranking: rank 4 at 7.4
Free for 2 technicians; Standard from $13 per technician per month
Read the ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus reviewServiceNow
6.2 / 10
Rank 8 of 9 on the business-teams ranking
Full ITSM ranking: rank 5 at 7.2
Not published
Read the ServiceNow ITSM reviewScroll for more
| Criterion | Weight | ServiceDesk Plus | ServiceNow | Higher score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ITIL practice coverageWhy these scoresServiceDesk Plus: 14 ITIL-certified and 14 PinkVERIFY-certified practices; full change, release and problem management need Enterprise or paid add-ons. ServiceNow: Incident, problem, change and request management on one platform with a single CMDB, the broadest practice coverage in this set. | Info only | 9 | 10 | ServiceNow |
Automation and AI assistanceWhy these scoresServiceDesk Plus: Zia, predictive triage and routing, and ChatGPT and Copilot integrations, with fewer autonomous resolution claims than peers. ServiceNow: Autonomous AI specialists for routine requests, Now Assist recommendations and an AI Agent Orchestrator are documented. | 20% | 6.5 | 9 | ServiceNow |
Time to valueWhy these scoresServiceDesk Plus: A free edition for two technicians, but edition, add-on and cloud or on-premises choices add planning time. ServiceNow: No self-serve trial or public price, and G2 reviewers most often cite a steep learning curve and configuration complexity. | 20% | 6.5 | 4 | ServiceDesk Plus |
Configuration management (CMDB)Why these scoresServiceDesk Plus: CMDB is included in Enterprise and sold as a $1,195 annual add-on on Professional. ServiceNow: Discovery across on-premises and cloud, Service Mapping, certified Service Graph Connectors and continuous data-accuracy checks. | Info only | 8 | 10 | ServiceNow |
Usability for non-IT requestersWhy these scoresServiceDesk Plus: A service catalog out of the box and the Zia virtual agent, with fewer requester channels documented than peers. ServiceNow: Self-service across EmployeeWorks, portal, chat, voice, email, mobile, Teams and Slack; quality depends on how the instance is built. | 20% | 6.5 | 7 | ServiceNow |
IntegrationsWhy these scoresServiceDesk Plus: Deep native integration with the wider ManageEngine product range. ServiceNow: Certified Service Graph Connectors and AI agents that act across departments give the widest integration surface here. | 20% | 7 | 9 | ServiceNow |
Pricing transparencyWhy these scoresServiceDesk Plus: Edition prices and add-on prices are published for both cloud and on-premises. ServiceNow: No public ITSM price list; every buyer needs a quote. | 20% | 9 | 2 | ServiceDesk Plus |
ServiceDesk Plus scores higher on 2 criteria, ServiceNow on 3, and 0 are tied among the five scored criteria [ServiceNow ITSM page] [G2 compare page].
| Plan | Price | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 2 technicians, 250 IT assets, Standard edition. |
| Standard | From $13 per technician/month | Help desk, service catalog. Problem, project and change/release management are add-ons at $1,195 a year each. |
| Professional | From $27 per technician/month | Adds IT asset management. CMDB add-on $1,195 a year. |
| Enterprise | From $67 per technician/month | Help desk, asset, change, release, problem, projects and CMDB included. No limit on the number of end users. |
| Plan | Price | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| All plans | Not published | ServiceNow does not list ITSM prices publicly; buyers request a quote. A G2 compare page states 'No pricing publicly available'. |
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| Stage | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Logged | Partial | Zia virtual support agent; intake channels not detailed on the page read Source |
| 02 Categorised | Documented | Predictive intelligence for ticket triage Source |
| 03 Routed | Documented | Predictive routing and assignment Source |
| 04 Resolved | Partial | Zia virtual agent and generated replies; no autonomous resolution claim Source |
| 05 Closed | Not documented | |
| 06 Reviewed | Documented | Problem management (Enterprise or add-on) Source |
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| Stage | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Logged | Documented | Omnichannel self-service across portal, chat, voice, email, mobile, Teams, Slack Source |
| 02 Categorised | Partial | Now Assist AI-guided recommendations Source |
| 03 Routed | Partial | AI agents streamline incident management and request fulfillment Source |
| 04 Resolved | Documented | Autonomous AI specialists for password resets, access and VPN issues Source |
| 05 Closed | Not documented | |
| 06 Reviewed | Documented | Problem management on the same platform and CMDB Source |
What each vendor's public pages document for each stage, as read on 27 Sep 2026. 'Not documented' means we did not find it on the pages we read, not that the product cannot do it.
Choose ServiceDesk Plus if pricing transparency and time to value matter most to your team. It scores 9 and 6.5 there, against ServiceNow's 2 and 4 [G2 compare page] [G2 ServiceNow reviews]. Edition prices and add-on prices are published for both cloud and on-premises. We list it as best for: teams that need on-premises or cloud with the same edition pricing. Read the ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus review
Choose ServiceNow if automation and AI assistance and integrations matter most to your team. It scores 9 and 9 there, against ServiceDesk Plus's 6.5 and 7 [ServiceNow AI agents page] [ServiceNow CMDB page]. Autonomous AI specialists for routine requests, Now Assist recommendations and an AI Agent Orchestrator are documented. We list it as best for: large or fast-growing IT organisations that need a deep CMDB and will fund implementation. Read the ServiceNow ITSM review
On the business-teams weights, ServiceDesk Plus scores 7.1 and ServiceNow 6.2 out of 10, ranking 6= and 8 of 9 on the business-teams ranking. ServiceDesk Plus leads on 2 criteria and ServiceNow on 3 [ServiceNow ITSM page] [G2 compare page].
ServiceDesk Plus lists Free for 2 technicians; Standard from $13 per technician per month; ServiceNow lists Not published. ServiceNow does not publish prices, so a direct comparison needs a quote [G2 compare page]. Pricing units differ (per agent, per seat or per technician), so compare the plan that includes the practices you need. On pricing transparency ServiceDesk Plus scores 9 and ServiceNow 2 [G2 compare page]. The calculator prices both for your agent count.
On ITIL practice coverage ServiceDesk Plus scores 9 and ServiceNow 10; on configuration management (CMDB) ServiceDesk Plus scores 8 and ServiceNow 10 [ServiceNow ITSM page] [ServiceNow CMDB page]. Discovery across on-premises and cloud, Service Mapping, certified Service Graph Connectors and continuous data-accuracy checks.
ServiceNow evidence: [ServiceNow ITSM page] [ServiceNow CMDB page] [ServiceNow AI agents page] [G2 ServiceNow reviews] [G2 compare page]