ServiceNow vs Jira Service Management: Which Is Best?
ServiceNow and Jira are two of the leading service management solutions for organizations and companies globally. Both applications are great for business management, project management, workflow automation, and customer ticket services.
Our ServiceNow vs Jira Service Management comparison examines how these two applications stack up against each other in areas such as pricing, ease of use, customer support, knowledgebase, etc.
Beyond picking a winner, this review will help you make the best choice for your business, organization, or department. Let's get into it!
What is the Difference Between ServiceNow and Atlassian's Jira Service Management?
The main difference between ServiceNow and Jira Service Management is that ServiceNow focuses more on IT Service Management (ITSM), while Jira is the more accessible option for Agile software teams. Jira can also accommodate small and medium-sized businesses, whereas ServiceNow is only suitable for enterprises with large IT departments.
In addition, ServiceNow has a very steep learning curve compared to Jira, which can be learned faster and easier. Check out our Jira Service Management review and ServiceNow review for more insight on the Atlassian vs ServiceNow comparison.
Jira Service Management vs ServiceNow Comparison Chart
Comparison | Jira Service Management | ServiceNow | Winner |
Pricing | $7.75/user/month | Custom (Available Upon Request) | |
Free Version | Yes | No | |
Customer Support | 4 | 5 | |
Knowledge base & learning | 4 | 5 | |
Community Support | 5 | 4 | |
Ease Of Use | 5 | 3 | |
Mobile Apps | 5 | 4 | |
App Building | 3 | 5 | |
Email Tracking | 4 | 5 | |
Integrations | 5 | 4 | |
Overall Winner | 35 | 35 | Tie |
Jira Service Management vs ServiceNow Pricing
Jira Service Management software has a free version that can host up to 10 users. It also offers three paid pricing plans ,including Standard, Premium, and Enterprise.
The Standard version costs $7.75 a month per user, while the Premium plan starts at $15.25 monthly per user. The Enterprise plan is only billed annually, and it starts at $134,500 for a minimum of 801 users.
ServiceNow, on the other hand, has no transparent pricing plans. Marketed as a flexible pricing system, users have to reach out to a representative for a custom quote.
Our research also shows that the cost of a ServiceNow subscription license goes as high as $100 per user per month.
Winner:
Jira easily wins this round because it offers multiple pricing options and relatively cheap prices. The absence of a transparent pricing plan hurt ServiceNow's chances in this contest. Not to mention the huge price they reportedly charge for subscription licenses per user.
ServiceNow vs Jira Service Management Free Versions
As we mentioned earlier, there’s a free version of Jira that can accommodate up to 10 users. It also grants access to some features, including 2 GB of storage, unlimited project boards, community support, reporting/insights, and backlog/timeline.
ServiceNow's users, unfortunately, don’t have access to a free version. That makes a ton of sense for enterprise-focused software with no transparent pricing plan. Users can, however, request a free trial version.
Winner:
Jira wins this round because it actually offers a free version capped at 10 users with a reasonable amount of features. Meanwhile, ServiceNow has no free plans to begin with, making it a flawless victory for its rival.
Customer Support
ServiceNow has a very efficient customer support system. Users are required to fill in their details, after which a customer representative will be assigned within two business days. Users may also get access to customer service phone numbers from the HI portal.
The phone number is only available for users who have paid for a ServiceNow instance. Alternatively, ServiceNow users may take advantage of the platform's vast knowledge base and product documentation to get answers to their queries.
Similarly, users can make inquiries about Jira using the Atlassian customer support. This will require you to fill in your details, and it may take a few days to get a response due to the large volume of calls and tickets.
In the meantime, users may take advantage of knowledgebase resources and articles covering a variety of topics.
Winner:
Both platforms struggle with huge volumes of requests, which means it usually takes days for users to get a response.
However, we do believe ServiceNow has the edge in this contest because it allows users with paid instances access to available phone numbers, which invariably means faster responses.
Knowledgebase And Learning
ServiceNow offers incredible product documentation for users who want to learn more about the system in general. This includes articles, tutorials, customer stories, PDF files, developer guides, ITSM best practices, and release notes. Users can also sign up for training courses and certification programs to boost their proficiency.
Atlassian also provides extensive product documentation for Jira users. The section comprises a slew of informative articles and guides covering agile projects, team management projects, and configurations.
It also allows users to search for issues and provides advanced search with the Jira Query Language.
Winner:
ServiceNow again wins this contest because it has a more robust knowledge base and allows access to training courses and certification programs.
ServiceNow vs Jira Service Management: Features and Functionality
In this section, we will be taking a look at the features and functionality that this duo has in common, while comparing their individual efficiencies.
Jira Service Management or ServiceNow for Ease of Use
The Jira Service Management software has a very simple interface that most users will find easy to use and navigate. It is pretty easy to set up, and installation takes less time than other known alternatives.
ServiceNow has a not-so-inviting interface and can be pretty confusing to first-time users. It usually takes a decent amount of training for users to get acquainted with the Now system.
Winner: Jira Service Management
Jira wins this category because of its simple and intuitive user interface. The learning curve isn't nearly as steep as ServiceNow's, and it is easier and faster to set up and install.
ServiceNow vs Jira Service Management Community Support
To boost user experience, ServiceNow offers community support options, including an active community portal. This allows users to ask questions and get answers from other users on the portal.
Jira also boasts a robust and active user community where you can find answers to any questions you might have.
The customer portal is filled with active developers who are mostly devoted to helping others out by providing information, answering questions, and sharing relevant experiences.
Winner: Jira
While both applications have robust developer portals, Jira is more popular because it caters to developers from different spheres. ServiceNow, on the other hand, caters to an elite enterprise audience.
Mobile Apps
The duo of ServiceNow and Jira offer mobile apps that enable users to monitor and keep up with their work on the go. These mobile apps are available on both Android and iOS systems.
The Jira Mobile app is characteristically simple and intuitive, and it allows users to track tasks, manage projects, and collaborate. ServiceNow mobile app also allows users to manage and monitor their tasks while providing access to virtual agents.
Winner: Jira
Jira gets the edge in this category because of how intuitive the app is compared to ServiceNow's. It also enjoys better reviews and ratings than its counterparts, which suggests a more refreshing user experience.
App Building
Jira service management provides a loaded app-building interface that will be of great help to IT teams as well as developers. However, users with little to no coding experience will find it very difficult to use.
ServiceNow, on the other hand, boasts a widget-based app builder that is typically simple to learn and use even for users with little or no coding experience.
Its product documentation is filled with resources and articles that can help users build an application or modify existing applications.
Winner: ServiceNow
When it comes to app building and development, ServiceNow is the clear winner. Its app-building infrastructure is user-friendly.
It can be used by both beginners and experts and allows users to create apps that suit their needs and preferences.
Email Tracking
ServiceNow has in-built email tracking tools that are designed primarily for workflow automation and IT service management(ITSM). These tools allow users to generate emails and send notifications based on pre-set events and workflows like approval requests or updates.
Jira has great email notification tools that allow users to get notified of any issues or updates relevant to their projects. It provides custom email templates that let users customize email notifications.
To boost its email tracking capabilities, the platform allows for integration with external plugins and add-ons.
Winner: ServiceNow
ServiceNow wins the email tracking category because its tools are more robust and don't need plugins and add-ons.
Integrations
Jira offers expansive integration with development tools like Confluence and BitBucket. It also provides a REST API for custom integrations, as well as a marketplace where users can find myriads of add-ons to widen its functionality.
In the same vein, ServiceNow also provides extensive integration options that can help streamline the work of ITSM teams. It supports REST and SOAP APIs, allowing teams to create custom integrations.
A note on Jira Service Management ServiceNow integration
For users who are wondering if a ServiceNow Jira Service Management integration exists, the answer is yes, it does! Both systems allow for seamless integration with each other.
ServiceNow allows for direct integration with Jira, while the Jira marketplace offers a ServiceNow plug-in. This allows users to leverage their individual strengths in areas like configuration management and issue tracking, among others.
Winner: Jira
The truth is, both systems have incredibly robust integration capabilities. However, we would give Jira the slight upper hand here because of its organized marketplace with more than 2,400 add-ons.
ServiceNow vs Jira Service Desk Limitations
A Jira Service Desk vs ServiceNow review would be incomplete without considering the limitations of both systems.
The limitations of ServiceNow include:
No free or freemium versions
Not cost-effective
Hostile and complex UI for newbies
No scalability
Lack of transparent pricing plans
The limitations of Jira include:
Lack of low-code visual environment for users
Limited reporting tools
Underwhelming amount of automation tools
Limited in-built features.
Winner: Jira
While both systems suffer limitations, Jira gets the edge because of its diverse range and suitability for businesses and organizations of all sizes.
Incident and Problem Management
ServiceNow offers a robust problem management module that is linked directly to its configuration management database(CMDB). This allows ITSM teams to create and manage problems from several incidents.
The system also provides for linkage of the incidents with pre-set rules and automates the assignment of instances to users. To further broaden its capabilities, it allows for integration with issue-tracking applications like Usersnap, TOPdesk, and Virima, among others.
In the same vein, Jira offers a robust issue-tracking tool that helps teams find, document, and track software bugs and other project issues. This system allows for a single view of all recorded issues and bugs, making it easy for teams to select and assign in order of priority.
Jira also allows developers to create a workflow for issues to help software teams resolve the issues effectively. Not to mention the automation tools that can automate new releases and automatically assign bugs.
Winner: ServiceNow
This was a very difficult choice to make because both systems offer top-tier problem management. However, ServiceNow has a more robust problem management module, which we believe gives it the edge.
Knowledgebase Creation
ServiceNow provides a knowledge management application that allows you to create informative articles for your clients. It comes with several features, including Microsoft Word integration, similar articles, article versioning, and contextual search, among others.
This is designed as a viable alternative for users who may have difficulty reaching the customer support team.
Jira also boasts an equally effective knowledgebase application with intuitive import and integration features. It allows you to interest your customers in a repository of information, thereby reducing the workload of your customer support team.
You also get features like template suggestions, smart search, knowledge reports and scoring, knowledge base insights and analytics, etc.
Winner: Jira Service Management
While these platforms offer nearly identical knowledgebase creation tools, we believe Jira offers better intuitiveness.
Is ServiceNow Better Than Jira Service Management? Key Takeaways
There’s no straightforward answer to whether ServiceNow is better than Jira. It all depends on your needs and preferences. While ServiceNow is better suited for IT departments in large enterprises, Jira is the more reliable option for Agile project teams and developers.
We believe this ticketing system comparison will help you make a more informed choice regarding the more suitable helpdesk software for your team. You may also consider other ITSM software applications to broaden your options further.
