Honest ServiceNow Review 2025: Pros, Cons, Features & Pricing

ServiceNow is an enterprise-grade platform that integrates IT, HR, customer service, and risk management into a single workflow system. However, it comes with trade-offs, such as high licensing costs and complex implementations. It also has a steep learning curve that smaller teams find hard to navigate.

A quick ServiceNow Overview

Key features

• ServiceNow follows a modular structure so that you can scale with the platform.
• Its (ITSM) tools help your team handle incidents, problems, service requests, and ticket routing in one place.
• The IT operations management (ITOM) suite maps infrastructure and applications automatically, helping you identify dependencies and eliminate them before they spread.
• It comes with AI agents you can use to automate repetitive tasks like ticket/request routing and system alert analysis.
• The platform’s Workflow Data Fabric connects data across apps and systems so your teams can make decisions based on one data source instead of different silos.
• The App Engine is a low-code environment that helps you build custom applications directly on the Now platform. This means you can create custom tools for your specific workflows instead of going for third-party ones.
• The platform also includes AI generative tools, like Now Assist, that help you create user responses and summarize incident histories within minutes.

Pros

• An intuitive interface that makes it easy for your employees to get around and manage services in one place (after they’ve gone through a learning curve).
• Incident management makes it easy to log, categorize, troubleshoot, and resolve tickets while having complete visibility into metrics and histories.
• Provides a self-service portal and knowledge base so employees can resolve common issues without IT intervention.
• Can be deployed on-premise, self-hosted, or in the cloud to meet PCI hosting compliance and security requirements.
• Includes real-time reporting to get visibility into SLAs, performance metrics, and bottlenecks.
• Integrates seamlessly with external tools, either through pre-built or custom integrations.

Cons

• A steep learning curve that requires a lot of training before teams can use the platforms as they want to.
• The High licensing and ownership cost makes it less accessible for small and mid-sized organizations.
• Limited out-of-the-box customization options mean you can’t modify as you go.
• Complex customizations often require technical expertise, despite ServiceNow being marketed as “low-code.”
• Overall platform complexity can overwhelm new users and slow down adoption.

Verdict: 7.5/10

ServiceNow gets a 7.5/10 for its IT service management (ITSM) features, automation depth, and ability to act as a hub for IT and business workflows. However, it loses points on cost, customization ability, and training requirements.

ServiceNow pricing

ServiceNow doesn’t publish official pricing because costs depend on the modules you buy, the number of users you have, and whether you host it in the cloud or on-premises. Instead, everything is handled through custom quotes.

That said, there are standard models and ballpark figures that can help you understand what to expect. Here’s how ServiceNow pricing generally works:

1. Subscription model

Charged per user per month, with prices ranging from $60 to $65 per ITIL user, depending on company size. Larger companies often negotiate lower rates because of volume discounts.

2. Module-based pricing

You pay only for the modules you need, like ITSM, ITOM, HR Service Delivery, or SecOps. Advanced modules like ITOM or AI-powered features cost more, often $150-$200 per user/month.

3. License types

You can get a license to run ServiceNow, where you pay a one-time fee plus annual maintenance, but this can get prohibitively expensive fast. License types include Requesters (free), Fulfillers (paid), Business Stakeholders (paid), and Unrestricted users (full access).

4. Deployment options

You can host on both the cloud and on-premises, but the latter costs more due to more complex infrastructure and maintenance requirements.

5. Enterprise deals

If your company is large enough, you’ll get custom bundles that range from $50,000 annually for smaller rollouts to $50 million plus for global deployments.

These are just the purchase costs. You’ll also have to spend:

• Between $20,000 and $500,000 on implementation and setup (depends on scope)
• $150-$300 per consultant hour for customizations and integrations
• $500 to over $15,000 for training
• 20% to 25% of the license cost for maintenance and support

ServiceNow’s pricing is undeniably high, and the total cost of ownership adds up fast once you factor in modules, consulting, and training. However, if you’re a large company with complex IT requirements, you may get the functionality you need at a price you can afford.

Verdict: 5/10

ServiceNow usability and interface

ServiceNow is designed for scale, making it feature-rich but very complex to use. Large organizations with dedicated IT teams usually find the interface manageable, but smaller teams can quickly get buried in the menus and settings.

Here’s where it stands out:

1. Contextual navigation

You can right-click almost any record, like a ticket, a user name, or an asset, to instantly find more information without having to dig through settings.

2. Global search

The Filter Navigator helps you quickly locate records, people, or tasks with a single query.

3. Unified workspace

You can use role-specific interfaces to get everything a user needs, like tickets, assets, knowledge articles, and collaboration tools, into one view.

4. Native virtual agents and AI automation

You can use the built-in chatbots and AI automation tools to automate and execute workflows without human supervision.

5. Customizable workflows

The platform is highly flexible and comprehensive, so companies can adopt features as they scale.

Here’s where it lags:

1. There is a steep learning curve

Even basic actions like setting up approvals require training. Without structured onboarding, it can be difficult for newcomers to navigate the platform. You can’t hit the ground running.

2. Overloaded interface

Core tasks can be several clicks deep, making your day-to-day use slower than it should be.

3. Customization complexity

Customization is a requirement because the standard OOB processes often don’t fit many companies’ internal processes. But this requires deep technical and coding expertise.

ServiceNow can integrate all your business operations into a single system. However, the payoff requires a level of IT oversight and process maturity that smaller organizations lack. It’s a tough sell for fast-moving or leaner teams looking to see value quickly.

Usability verdict: 6.5/10

ServiceNow core functionalities

Here’s a breakdown of ServiceNow’s main modules, what they can do for you, and where you might run into issues:

1. IT service management

ServiceNow’s ITSM manages the full lifecycle of your IT workflows, like incident, problem, change, and request management. This helps you automate repetitive processes, track SLAs, and create role-based dashboards for IT teams.

Powerful and feature-rich, but requires intensive training before use. It isn’t deployable out of the box.

Verdict: 8.5/10

2. IT operations management

The platform includes event management, service mapping, discovery, and operational intelligence tools. These can be used to find and resolve issues related to IT infrastructure, such as servers, networks, and cloud resources.

Comprehensive but requires ongoing configuration and deep technical expertise to manage.

Verdict: 7.5/10

3. IT asset management

ServiceNow helps you track and manage your software, hardware, and cloud assets from procurement through retirement. It also automates your full asset lifecycle using the ServiceNow AI platform for cost, compliance, and usage optimization.

It provides clear visibility and actionable control, but getting the full value requires actively monitoring assets across the company.

Verdict: 7/10

4. HR service delivery

The platform brings HR processes together on a single platform. This means employees, HR staff, and contingent workers only need one portal for service requests, onboarding, transitions, and knowledge access.

Employee-focused and reduces manual HR work. However, smaller and less structured teams will struggle to configure and maintain the system without dedicated HR or IT support.

Verdict: 7.5/10

5. Customer service management

ServiceNow connects people, data, and processes in a single action system to improve issue resolution and customer experience. It uses AI-powered agents, predictive intelligence, and self-service portals to help customers resolve common issues. This lets human agents focus on more complex cases.

Provides intelligent, end-to-end customer service, but smaller teams may need more training to use AI capabilities and integrated workflows.

Verdict: 7/10

6. Security operations

You get AI-driven compliance gap analysis, vulnerability response, threat intelligence, and security incident response tools. These allow you to detect, prioritize, and respond to security threats by linking incidents and vulnerabilities to business services and IT assets.

Comprehensive and scalable cybersecurity services may be too complex to implement without dedicated SecOps staff.

Verdict: 6.5/10

7. Governance, risk, and compliance

Using the ServiceNow AI platform, you can combine risk management, compliance, and third-party risk analysis in one place. It also uses no-code workflow automation (which requires deep technical expertise) to enable your team to make risk-informed decisions.

Powerful, but the complexity requires intensive training, and “no-code” optimizations can become very technical, very fast.

Verdict: 6.5/10

8. Integrations

ServiceNow gives you access to APIs and integration tools, such as REST and JavaScript APIs, ETL capabilities, MID Servers, and IntegrationHub templates. It also allows you to develop event-driven and custom APIs for complex workflows.

This is a highly flexible integration, but fully using these tools requires the help of an experienced developer or administrator.

Verdict: 8/10

9. Analytics and reporting

The platform provides real-time dashboards, performance analytics, on-demand charts, drilldowns, and customizable reports. These help you track progress and get insights into your organizational processes.

Requires the help of an administrator or analyst who can configure dashboards correctly.

Verdict: 7.5/10

What are the ServiceNow ratings from review sites?

Before you decide if ServiceNow is right for your team, it’s worth seeing how its capabilities work in real life for real companies. Here’s what people think about ServiceNow on major review sites:

G2: 4.4/5 based on 3,200+ reviews

Users like how the platform brings IT services, approvals, and workflows together in one place, though many mention it can be overwhelming for newcomers and has a steep learning curve.

Gartner Peer Insights: 4.3/5 based on 2,000+ reviews

Users love how ServiceNow ITSM gives service teams a single platform for service management. However, they caution about downsides like high implementation costs, heavy server requirements, and high complexity for smaller teams.

TrustRadius: 8.4/10 based on 529 reviews

Users praise ServiceNow ITSM’s comprehensive ITIL support, intuitive interface, automation, and easy integration. But some find it “overwhelming,” with occasional functional gaps, upgrade challenges (like system properties resetting after a version upgrade), and missing UI features.

Capterra: 4.5/5 based on 333 reviews

While users appreciate ServiceNow for its automation, integration, and management capabilities, many criticize its user experience. They mention that the software is not user-friendly out of the box and that the interface is “not up to the level” of other modern software.

Overall sentiment

ServiceNow is widely praised as a feature-rich, enterprise-grade platform that helps companies get all their workflows into one system. However, companies should be prepared for a steep learning curve, upgrade challenges, and missing UI features.

Sprinto: The best ServiceNow alternative

Instead of trying to be everything for everyone, Sprinto focuses on out-of-the-box compliance automation. You get an easy-to-use interface, quick onboarding, and no hidden requirements for an IT department.

With Sprinto, you can: 

• Automate 99% of routine compliance tasks using pre-built workflows and evidence collection 
• Cut onboarding and go-live time by 80%, all without complex setups or heavy IT support 
• Track controls 24/7 and receive alerts to nip risks in the bud before they escalate 
• Combine evidence, assessments, and collaboration with internal or external auditors in one system 
• Use integrated workflows and pre-assessed controls to evaluate and remediate vendor risks
• Integrate with cloud platforms, HR systems, and tools without needing to consult a technical expert
• Stay predictable on cost with transparent pricing and zero hidden fees for additional features