ServiceNow Review: Is It Worth It in 2025? [In-Depth]

And for good reason, as ServiceNow is one of the biggest names in the space. 

But in 2025, with rising costs, evolving business needs, and growing alternatives, is it still the right choice for your organization?

In this detailed ServiceNow review, I’ll break down exactly what the platform offers: from core features and usability to integrations, security, support, and pricing. 

I’ll also highlight real customer feedback to help you assess if it fits your team’s needs, or if a more flexible, cost-effective alternative like SmartSuite might be better.

Let’s begin!

TL;DR

• Range of features: 8/10. ServiceNow offers one of the most comprehensive enterprise platforms on the market, especially for ITSM, automation, and cross-department workflows, but it can feel overwhelming for smaller teams.
• User interface and usability: 7.5/10. Highly customizable with low-code options, but the interface can be cluttered and non-intuitive for new or casual users.
• Security measures: 9/10. Enterprise-grade security with strong encryption, advanced access controls, and broad compliance certifications.
• Integrations: 9/10. Powerful Integration Hub, Flow Designer, and extensive partner ecosystem for building both simple and complex integrations.
• Customer support: 7.5/10. 24/7 enterprise support is available, but some users report slower response times for lower-priority tickets or custom issues.
• Pricing model: 7/10. Pricing varies widely depending on modules and contracts, with costs often running into six figures annually for mid-to-large enterprises.

Average rating: 8/10.

ServiceNow Overview

ServiceNow is a cloud-native enterprise platform designed to automate and manage digital workflows across IT, HR, customer service, security, and more. 

At its core lies the “Now Platform”, recently rebranded as the “ServiceNow AI Platform” - a unified architecture combining a robust database, a suite of pre-built applications, and a developer environment for building custom workflows across your entire enterprise.

It originally gained prominence as an IT Service Management (ITSM) tool built on ITIL best practices, offering modules like incident, problem, change, request, and asset management. 

Over time, ServiceNow has evolved into a full-scale enterprise service management solution encompassing IT Operations (AIOps, cloud observability), HR Service Delivery, Customer Service Management, field service, and strategic portfolio functions. 

In 2025, ServiceNow continues to double down on AI-powered automation, incorporating agentic AI to automate repetitive tasks, predict issues, and drive more intelligent and sophisticated process workflows.

While ServiceNow’s flexibility, scale, and extensive industry modules make it a go-to choice for large enterprises, its complexity and implementation demands often require significant configuration or technical expertise, as we’ll see in the next several sections.

But first, let’s get a closer look at ServiceNow’s essential functionality.

ServiceNow’s core features

ServiceNow’s value rests on a set of powerful, integrated capabilities that span everyday workflows to advanced AI-powered automation. 

Here's a breakdown of the key elements:

1. AI & automation

At the heart of ServiceNow’s AI strategy is Now Assist - a built-in generative AI feature that helps users work faster by summarizing cases, drafting responses, writing code, suggesting workflow steps, and even improving search results by understanding the context behind your questions. 

Instead of manually searching for answers or writing complex instructions, users can simply describe what they need in plain language, and Now Assist helps generate the right output.

But ServiceNow doesn’t stop at just helping you write or search better. Their newer AI Agents take things a step further. 

These are automated digital workers that can act on their own to complete full tasks or multi-step processes. 

For example, an AI Agent can automatically handle IT incidents, approve routine HR requests, or process customer service tickets, all while following built-in rules that ensure they don’t take any risky actions without approval. 

Moreover, to keep everything running smoothly, ServiceNow offers an AI Control Tower - a simple, centralized dashboard where admins can monitor how AI Agents are performing, check their activity, and adjust their settings if needed. 

Admins can easily create or customize agents using natural language instructions and drag-and-drop tools, meaning there’s no complicated coding required.

2. ITSM

For many companies, ServiceNow’s ITSM is where it all starts. 

This is the core set of tools that helps IT teams keep systems running, fix issues quickly, and support employees across the organization, including:

• Incident & problem management - When something breaks, ServiceNow helps automatically route tickets to the right teams, suggest solutions, and even fix smaller issues on its own through AI-powered suggestions. 
• Change management - When IT teams need to make updates or changes to systems, ServiceNow helps plan these carefully to avoid downtime or errors. It also offers automated change plans, risk assessments, and approvals that speed up updates without sacrificing safety.
• Configuration management database (CMDB) - This feature maps out all the company’s hardware, software, and systems, showing how everything is connected. If a problem occurs, IT teams can instantly see which systems might be affected, helping them fix issues faster.
• Performance analytics - ServiceNow provides dashboards with real-time data to track key metrics like ticket resolution time, service levels, and trends over time. 
• Knowledge management - Employees can search for answers themselves using a built-in knowledge base, which reduces the number of tickets IT has to handle. The knowledge base is also used by AI Agents to provide better automated responses.

3. Cross-department workflows

While ITSM is the foundation, ServiceNow goes well beyond IT. 

The platform offers a wide range of modules for many different parts of the business, making it useful to various companies and departments.

Some of these modules include the following:

• HR service - Automates onboarding, policy requests, and HR cases to create smoother employee experiences.
• CRM - Helps customer support teams manage tickets, automate common requests, and resolve customer issues faster.
• Security operations - Supports risk assessment, security incident response, and vulnerability management.
• Finance, compliance & risk - Automates approvals, audits, and governance workflows.
• Project & portfolio management - Lets companies plan, prioritize, and track projects across teams.

What’s powerful is that these modules all sit on the same platform and can easily connect with each other. 

So, if an HR request touches IT or a customer service issue requires security input, ServiceNow keeps everyone aligned.

Rating: 8/10.

ServiceNow offers one of the most complete feature sets on the market, especially for enterprise IT service management and workflow automation. 

Its AI-powered capabilities are a major step forward in 2025. 

However, some G2 users mention that the platform can feel overwhelming due to its complexity, and setting up advanced features often requires technical expertise, external consultants, or additional costs.

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ServiceNow’s interface: Is it easy to use?

ServiceNow’s interface offers a lot of flexibility, but it’s not always the easiest platform for every user. 

On the positive side, many users appreciate how configurable the system is, allowing teams to customize dashboards, forms, and workflows to match their exact needs. 

However, because of how much functionality is packed into the platform, some users find the interface overwhelming, especially at first. 

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The amount of information displayed on certain screens can feel cluttered, and casual users sometimes struggle to navigate between different modules. 

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In some areas, the design also feels a bit outdated compared to newer platforms. 

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Additionally, there are occasional reports of slower performance when working with large datasets or during peak usage times.

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Rating: 7.5/10

ServiceNow delivers a functional and configurable interface, especially for users in technical or admin roles. 

Its low-code tools offer flexibility, and unified workspaces streamline workflows.

However, the UI can feel cluttered and dated, and casual or non-technical users may face a learning curve. 

ServiceNow’s security measures

Security is a top priority for ServiceNow, especially when handling sensitive workflow data across IT, HR, and customer operations. 

Here's an overview of its key protection layers:

1. Strong encryption everywhere - All data, whether in use or stored, uses secure encryption: TLS (minimum 1.2) for transit, and FIPS 140-2-certified AES 256-bit for data at rest via Cloud Encryption and Platform Encryption.
2. Field-level encryption - Highly sensitive information (like PII or financial data) can be obscured via column-level encryption and managed keys, ensuring only authorized users can decrypt it. 
3. Role-based access & MFA - Access is tightly controlled through role-based permissions and optional multi-factor authentication (including mobile apps and certificates).
4. IP restrictions & identity - You can lock down access to specific IP ranges and integrate with protocols like OAuth, certificate-based auth, and SCIM for identity management.
5. Detailed audit trails & SIEM integration - Logs every activity with the ability to forward data into SIEM systems for real-time threat detection and auditing.
6. Antivirus & malware scanning - File uploads are scanned and quarantined via built-in antivirus tools within a secure email and file-handling workflow.
7. Compliance & certifications - ServiceNow complies with leading global standards, including ISO 27001/17/18/27701, SOC 1/2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, FedRAMP, and regional frameworks like MTCS and C5. 

Rating: 9/10.

ServiceNow delivers enterprise-grade security with multi-layered encryption, granular controls, system hardening, and compliance coverage across regions and industries. 

While implementations require thoughtful policy configuration and ongoing patch management, most organizations will find their native security offerings more than adequate for serious risk-sensitive environments.

ServiceNow integrations

ServiceNow excels in connecting with other platforms through its robust integrations. 

This is all thanks to its Integration Hub and Flow Designer, which let you build low-code, drag-and-drop interfaces for designing bespoke integrations without writing heavy code. 

In addition to this, there’s a wide range of ready-made connectors, such as Active Directory, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and HR systems that automate common tasks like password resets or software deployments.

Finally, the ServiceNow marketplace includes hundreds of partner-built integration apps tailored for industries and systems like Micro Focus Operations Bridge, Snowflake, and others, making it easier to expand your platform without reinventing the wheel.

You can monitor and control all your integrations from the Integration Hub dashboard, which shows all your integrations, credentials, connections, and logs, so it's easy to manage and troubleshoot workflows in one place.

Rating: 9/10.

ServiceNow offers best-in-class integration capabilities within a unified platform. 

Its Integration Hub and Flow Designer provide broad out-of-the-box connections, support custom integrations as spokes, and offer powerful tools like Import Hub and Remote Tables. 

While advanced data sync or event-driven setups can require planning and technical skill, most enterprises will find the ecosystem robust, scalable, and worth the investment.

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ServiceNow’s customer support

ServiceNow offers enterprise-level support designed to serve large, mission-critical organizations, but it’s not without its trade-offs.

On the one hand, ServiceNow provides round-the-clock technical support for incident triage and urgent issues. 

High-severity cases generally receive first responses within 8 business hours (for P2 cases), while mid-to-low priority issues have a 2 business day target.

Moreover, the vendor’s extensive documentation, learning portal, Knowledge Base, and community forums enable users to solve many issues independently.

However, some users report that issues with custom apps or complex integrations can drag out - one Reddit account recounts waiting almost 10 days after promised updates in just 72 hours.

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Rating: 7.5/10

ServiceNow delivers dependable, 24/7 enterprise support backed by detailed self-help tools. 

However, the support experience can vary, with longer response times and potential slippage on custom or low-priority tickets. 

Larger organizations may find the support worth the investment, while smaller teams might miss the responsiveness of more support-focused vendors.

ServiceNow's pricing model: Does it provide good value for money?

ServiceNow doesn’t disclose prices for its products.

However, due to its modular structure, it’s fair to assume that its pricing model is also module-based, meaning that the costs can vary widely depending on which products, add-ons, and levels of service you choose. 

According to Vendr, based on 66 real purchases, the median buyer pays around $130,080 per year for ServiceNow. 

Contracts can range anywhere from roughly $45,000 on the low end to over $500,000+ on the high end, depending on how many modules and users are involved.

It’s best to contact ServiceNow’s sales team for a custom quote.

Or, you can check out our in-depth ServiceNow pricing guide for more details.

Rating: 7/10.

ServiceNow delivers robust value for large enterprises that fully leverage its wide range of modules, especially in complex IT environments. 

However, pricing can escalate quickly as organizations add more features and users. 

For smaller companies or those with simpler needs, the total cost of ownership, including implementation, support, and renewals, may feel steep compared to more flexible, all-in-one platforms.

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How does ServiceNow compare to alternatives on the market?

What are the customers saying about ServiceNow?

Although I’ve already shown you how some users feel about ServiceNow, let’s dive a bit deeper into the latest user sentiment.

On the one hand, users love:

• Its overall ticket management system.
• Robust integrations.
• Strong workflow automation features.

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On the other hand, common complaints include:

• The cost.
• Overall complexity and unintuitive interface.
• Limited customization options.

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Verdict: Is ServiceNow really worth it?

So far, this is how I’ve rated ServiceNow:

• Range of features: 8/10.
• User interface and usability: 7.5/10.
• Security measures: 9/10.
• Integrations: 9/10.
• Customer support: 7.5/10.
• Pricing model: 7/10.

This gives ServiceNow an average rating of 8/10.

So, to sum it up:

ServiceNow is ideal if you:

✅ Operate in a large enterprise with complex, cross-departmental workflows.

✅ Need deep ITSM, automation, and AI capabilities to scale service operations.

✅ Want a highly customizable platform that can handle everything from IT to HR, Customer Service, and Security Operations.

✅ Have internal resources or partners to handle the initial setup, configuration, and long-term management.

ServiceNow may not be the best fit if you:

❌ Are a small to mid-sized business looking for a more lightweight, out-of-the-box solution.

❌ Need something easy to deploy without technical expertise.

❌ Want predictable pricing without complex enterprise contracts.

❌ Prefer a more modern, beginner-friendly interface with a shallow learning curve.

Looking for a ServiceNow alternative?

While ServiceNow offers powerful automation and enterprise-grade IT workflows, many teams struggle with its complex setup, steep learning curve, and high long-term costs. 

For companies that need faster deployment, simpler customization, and more affordable pricing, SmartSuite (that’s us!) delivers an easier and more flexible alternative without sacrificing functionality.

Here’s how SmartSuite gives you a better way to manage your work:

#1: All-in-one project management platform

Unlike platforms that focus primarily on IT workflows or require heavy customization to adapt for broader use cases, SmartSuite was built from the ground up to handle virtually any type of work, all within one unified platform.

Whether you're managing simple tasks or complex, enterprise-wide programs, SmartSuite combines everything you need to plan, execute, and track projects in one place.

With it, you get:

• Fully flexible project management - SmartSuite supports every project style, from waterfall to agile to hybrid. You can organize tasks, sub-tasks, dependencies, and milestones, build timelines, manage resources, and easily shift priorities as projects evolve.

• Multiple views - Teams can instantly switch between Gantt, Timeline, Calendar, Kanban, Grid, Card, Chart, and Map views to get exactly the level of detail and perspective they need at every stage.

• Resource allocation & workload management - Track team availability, balance workloads, and avoid bottlenecks with real-time visibility into assignments and capacity.

• Portfolio management - Monitor multiple projects across departments or clients, roll up status reports, risks, and key metrics into customizable dashboards that provide leadership with a full-picture view.

• My Work view - Every team member has a centralized dashboard showing all of their assigned work across projects, tasks, and departments, keeping everyone focused and organized.

• Comprehensive reporting - Dynamic dashboards and interactive reports let you easily keep track of all the essential metrics in real-time.

And because everything lives on one no-code platform, teams can build or modify workflows visually, without needing technical expertise. 

This makes it fast and easy to adjust processes as your business grows or priorities shift.

The best part? Thanks to SmartSuite’s adaptability and broad range of features, you can use it across industries and departments with equal ease and success.

#2: Seamless team collaboration - right where work happens

In most platforms, collaboration feels like an afterthought. 

SmartSuite flips that by building collaboration directly into the work itself, so teams stay aligned without bouncing between emails, chats, and disconnected tools.

Here’s what the platform enables:

• Real-time collaboration - Multiple team members can work on the same record at the same time, with real-time updates ensuring everyone sees the latest changes instantly, so there’s no more "who edited this last?" confusion.
• In-context conversations - With threaded comments inside each work item, teams discuss projects, leave feedback, share files, and resolve questions, all where the work is happening.

• @Mentions & notifications - Easily bring the right people into conversations with @mentions. Every mention triggers a notification, keeping everyone in the loop without drowning inboxes.

• Member profiles & directory - SmartSuite helps build connections across distributed teams with personal profiles, availability indicators, and directories, making it simple to find the right teammate for any task.

• Activity history - Full audit trails capture every update, comment, and edit, giving managers instant visibility into progress without constantly chasing status updates.

• Built for hybrid & remote teams - With full mobile support for Android and iOS, SmartSuite lets teams collaborate from anywhere, making it perfect for remote workforces that need to stay aligned across time zones.

In short, instead of glueing together Slack, email, PM tools, and spreadsheets, SmartSuite lets your entire team plan, work, and collaborate all in one place.

#3: Workflow automation & no-code customization 

SmartSuite makes automation and customization accessible to everyone, not just developers or admins. 

Whether you want to streamline approvals, eliminate repetitive work, or build complex workflows, you can do it yourself, with absolutely no coding required.

Here are some of the features that enable this:

• Drag-and-drop automation builder - With SmartSuite’s visual automation engine, users create rules (“recipes”) that trigger actions like sending notifications, updating fields, assigning tasks, or escalating issues, all with just a few clicks.

• Real-time dynamic updates - Records update automatically based on business logic. For example, automatically escalate a support ticket if it sits unresolved for too long, or assign a reviewer once a task is marked complete.

• Email-triggered workflows - You can even create new work records directly from incoming emails and automatically route them to the right team members, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

• Lets you build workflows of varying complexity - You can start small by automating reminders or status updates, or go deeper with multi-step processes that handle complex business logic. You can even chain together multiple triggers and actions to fully automate your most tedious processes from top to bottom.

#4: 200+ pre-built templates for various workflows

SmartSuite takes the guesswork out of building your workflows by offering a huge library of 200+ pre-built templates across departments and industries. 

Whether you’re managing projects, running IT operations, or tracking HR processes, you can tackle it easily without building the entire system from scratch.

Here are some of the key perks of SmartSuite’s templates:

• Pre-configured, but fully customizable - Templates come with pre-built fields, workflows, automations, dashboards, and best-practice structures, but everything can be easily adapted to match your team's exact needs.
• Covers virtually every workflow type - SmartSuite’s template library includes solutions for everything from project management and task tracking to HR, ITSM, GRC, and beyond.
• No need to start from scratch - Instead of building every workflow from zero (like you often would with ServiceNow or Jira), teams can simply select a starting point, modify fields, tweak automations, and launch.
• Industry-specific templates - Templates are available for highly specialized teams like healthcare, education, construction, real estate, and even political campaigns, making SmartSuite a fit for both traditional businesses and niche industries.

This means that SmartSuite’s template library gets you 80% of the way there on day one, and gives you full control to adapt the final 20% to fit how your team actually works.

SmartSuite Pricing

Unlike ServiceNow, SmartSuite offers a free forever plan that provides access to its templates, dynamic dashboards, team collaboration features, 100 monthly automations, etc.

Moreover, each of SmartSuite’s paid plans includes unlimited users, making it ideal for growing teams.

There are four tiers to choose from:

1. Team: $12/user/mo, includes everything in Free, plus unlimited users, Gantt charts, 5,000 automation runs, etc.
2. Professional: $30/user/mo, includes everything in Team, plus two-factor authentication, Gmail & Outlook integrations, AI features, more automation runs, etc.
3. Enterprise: $45/user/mo, includes everything in Professional and adds audit logs, data loss prevention, 50,000 monthly API calls, etc.
4. Signature: A customized plan tailored to your organization’s needs and team size with no predefined limits.

The first three paid plans have a 14-day free trial - no credit card needed.

Final thoughts: Is SmartSuite the right fit for you?

There’s no question that ServiceNow remains a powerhouse for large enterprises that need deep ITSM capabilities, highly customized workflows, and enterprise-grade security. 

But as we’ve seen throughout this ServiceNow review, that level of complexity often comes with steep costs, long deployment timelines, and ongoing admin overhead.

That’s exactly where SmartSuite shines.

If you’re looking for an easier, faster, and more flexible way to run your projects, automate workflows, collaborate as a team, and manage ITSM, GRC, HR, or virtually any business process - all without the bloated enterprise price tag - SmartSuite offers a powerful all-in-one alternative, as it:

• Is easier to set up.
• Enables no-code customization.
• Provides 200+ ready-to-go templates.
• Offers seamless collaboration features.
• Has transparent, affordable pricing that scales with your business.

Ready to see how SmartSuite can simplify work for your entire organization?

Start your free trial today - no credit card required.

Or, schedule a demo instead if you prefer getting a personalized tour first.

Read more

• Top 10 ServiceNow Alternatives and Competitors in 2025 [Updated April] - Explore the best ServiceNow alternatives that offer more flexibility, faster setup, and better pricing for growing teams in 2025.
• ServiceNow Pricing: Is It Worth It in 2025? [Reviewed] - A full breakdown of ServiceNow’s pricing model, hidden costs, and whether the platform delivers enough value for its enterprise price tag.
• ProofHub Review: Is It Worth It in 2025? [In-Depth] - Get a detailed look at ProofHub’s features, pros, cons, and real user feedback to see if it's the right fit for your team.
• 10 Best GRC Tools & Software In 2025 [Reviewed] - Discover the top governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) platforms to help your organization stay compliant and manage risk more effectively.
• 10 Best Project Management Tools & Software In 2025 [Reviewed] - Compare the top project management platforms of 2025 to find the best solution for organizing projects, teams, and workflows.
• 10 Best IT Project Management Software [2025] - Review the leading IT project management tools designed to streamline complex technical projects and improve team collaboration

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