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HEAD TO HEAD · RATED SEPTEMBER 2026

Freshservice vs ServiceNow: which ITSM platform is right for a mid-size IT team in 2026?

Last reviewed 27 September 2026 · Service Desk Compare reviewers

Freshservice gets a mid-size team to full ITIL faster; ServiceNow goes further once you are there.

Totals and ranks on this page use the full ITSM weights, including ITIL and CMDB. For teams without ITIL processes or a CMDB, see the business-teams ranking.

How do Freshservice and ServiceNow compare on each criterion?

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CriterionWeightFreshserviceServiceNowHigher score
ITIL practice coverage
Why these scores

Freshservice: Certified across 14 ITIL practices and PinkVERIFY-certified across six processes, but problem, change and release management need the Pro plan.

ServiceNow: Incident, problem, change and request management on one platform with a single CMDB, the broadest practice coverage in this set.

15%8.510ServiceNow
Automation and AI assistance
Why these scores

Freshservice: Freddy AI Copilot, Agent Studio and Insights are documented; Copilot is a $29 per agent add-on rather than standard on lower plans.

ServiceNow: Autonomous AI specialists for routine requests, Now Assist recommendations and an AI Agent Orchestrator are documented.

18%89ServiceNow
Time to value
Why these scores

Freshservice: Four plans with public prices and ITIL-shaped defaults mean a mid-size team can trial the real product before talking to sales.

ServiceNow: No self-serve trial or public price, and G2 reviewers most often cite a steep learning curve and configuration complexity.

18%8.54Freshservice
Configuration management (CMDB)
Why these scores

Freshservice: Agentless discovery and dependency mapping feed a CMDB; service mapping on the scale of ServiceNow is not documented [ServiceNow CMDB page].

ServiceNow: Discovery across on-premises and cloud, Service Mapping, certified Service Graph Connectors and continuous data-accuracy checks.

12%810ServiceNow
Usability for non-IT requesters
Why these scores

Freshservice: Service catalog and SLAs from Growth, and a Freddy AI agent for routine requests; G2 reviewers rate ease of use highly.

ServiceNow: Self-service across EmployeeWorks, portal, chat, voice, email, mobile, Teams and Slack; quality depends on how the instance is built.

14%8.57Freshservice
Integrations
Why these scores

Freshservice: A marketplace and MCP support are mentioned, but no integration count is published.

ServiceNow: Certified Service Graph Connectors and AI agents that act across departments give the widest integration surface here.

10%7.59ServiceNow
Pricing transparency
Why these scores

Freshservice: Starter, Growth and Pro are priced publicly; Enterprise and some AI capacity are quoted.

ServiceNow: No public ITSM price list; every buyer needs a quote.

13%8.52Freshservice

Freshservice scores higher on 3 criteria, ServiceNow on 4, and 0 are tied [ServiceNow ITSM page] [G2 compare page].

How much do Freshservice and ServiceNow cost?

Freshservice

PlanPriceWhat changes
Starter$19 per agent/monthBilled annually. Incident management; no service catalog or SLA management.
Growth$49 per agent/monthAdds service catalog and SLA management.
Pro$99 per agent/monthAdds problem, change and release management.
EnterpriseNot published (custom)
Add-on: Freddy AI Copilot$29 per agent/month

Source: Freshservice pricing

ServiceNow ITSM

PlanPriceWhat changes
All plansNot publishedServiceNow does not list ITSM prices publicly; buyers request a quote. A G2 compare page states 'No pricing publicly available'.

Source: G2 comparison page: 'No pricing publicly available'

Which ticket stages does each one automate?

Lifecycle Automation Census: documented automation by ticket stageFreshservice documents automation at 3 of six stages, with 1 partial.01Logged◐PartialFreddy AI collects andverifies requesterdetails (generalservice page)02CategorisedNot documented03Routed✓DocumentedFreddy AI routes theissue to the rightagent04Resolved✓Documented'Domain-specific AIresolves issuesinstantly' (vendorwording)05ClosedNot documented06Reviewed✓DocumentedProblem management onPro; Freddy AIInsights surfacesemerging issues
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.

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Lifecycle Automation Census for Freshservice, as a table
StageStatusNote
01 LoggedPartialFreddy AI collects and verifies requester details (general service page) Source
02 CategorisedNot documented
03 RoutedDocumentedFreddy AI routes the issue to the right agent Source
04 ResolvedDocumented'Domain-specific AI resolves issues instantly' (vendor wording) Source
05 ClosedNot documented
06 ReviewedDocumentedProblem management on Pro; Freddy AI Insights surfaces emerging issues Source
Lifecycle Automation Census: documented automation by ticket stageServiceNow ITSM documents automation at 3 of six stages, with 2 partial.01Logged✓DocumentedOmnichannelself-service acrossportal, chat, voice,email, mobile, Teams,02Categorised◐PartialNow Assist AI-guidedrecommendations03Routed◐PartialAI agents streamlineincident managementand requestfulfillment04Resolved✓DocumentedAutonomous AIspecialists forpassword resets,access and VPN issues05ClosedNot documented06Reviewed✓DocumentedProblem management onthe same platform andCMDB
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.

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Lifecycle Automation Census for ServiceNow ITSM, as a table
StageStatusNote
01 LoggedDocumentedOmnichannel self-service across portal, chat, voice, email, mobile, Teams, Slack Source
02 CategorisedPartialNow Assist AI-guided recommendations Source
03 RoutedPartialAI agents streamline incident management and request fulfillment Source
04 ResolvedDocumentedAutonomous AI specialists for password resets, access and VPN issues Source
05 ClosedNot documented
06 ReviewedDocumentedProblem 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.

What do G2 reviewers' scores show?

When should you choose Freshservice?

Choose Freshservice if you want problem, change and release management with a CMDB fed by agentless discovery, at a published $99 per agent on Pro, and you want to be live without a partner project. On G2, reviewers rate Freshservice higher than ServiceNow on Ease of Setup (8.8 vs 8.2) and Ease of Admin (9.0 vs 8.6) [G2 compare page].

When should you choose ServiceNow?

Choose ServiceNow ITSM if Service Mapping, certified Service Graph Connectors and an AI Agent Orchestrator are requirements, or your estate is large enough that CMDB depth outweighs time to value. Expect a quote-based purchase [G2 compare page].

What do buyers ask about Freshservice and ServiceNow?

Is Freshservice cheaper than ServiceNow?

Freshservice publishes Starter $19, Growth $49 and Pro $99 per agent per month; ServiceNow does not publish ITSM prices [G2]. A like-for-like comparison needs a ServiceNow quote.

Does Freshservice have a CMDB like ServiceNow?

Freshservice builds a CMDB with agentless discovery and dependency mapping. ServiceNow documents more: Discovery, Service Mapping and certified Service Graph Connectors [ServiceNow CMDB]. We score them 8 and 10.

Which is better for ITIL?

ServiceNow scores 10 and Freshservice 8.5. Freshservice states certification across 14 ITIL practices, but gates problem, change and release to Pro.

Where next?