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Icinga vs ServiceNow IT Operations Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Icinga
Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring
25th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (17th), Server Monitoring (12th), Cloud Monitoring Software (18th)
ServiceNow IT Operations Ma...
Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Event Monitoring (1st), Cloud Management (11th), AIOps (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category, the mindshare of Icinga is 4.0%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow IT Operations Management is 2.2%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Infrastructure Monitoring
 

Featured Reviews

Harrison Bulley - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable, scalable and cost-effective solution that helps with inbuilt scripts for easy modification
I think the software is quite good, but we have had problems with getting it to recognize certain areas and amend certain checks, where we needed so we would have to create backend scripts for those checks. Though, being open source, it has the support to create backend scripts, it would be better to have these scripts in-built.
PriyankaBachu - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides templates which reduces duplications in rule configuration
Currently, we are integrating LogicMonitor with ServiceNow IT Operations Management to manage IT event management and auto-ticketing for alerts from the monitoring tool to ServiceNow The solution is saving time by providing templates, reducing duplication in rule configuration, and offering…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Icinga has multiple automation and integration features. There is an API for everything and a web UI for configurations. The APIs enable you to automate tasks in Icinga. We can also use plugins to talk to the API. The Icinga Director talks to a database in the background, and you can import settings from the CMDB to all systems in Icinga."
"Icinga does the job and is fairly stable."
"It is really easy in Icinga to create your own plugin and integrate it without any fuss. And it works just perfectly fine."
"The drafts are easy but what I like about Icinga is that there are many add-ons that you can download."
"The value of Icinga is that it has hundreds of plugins, so it's really easy to monitor pretty much anything."
"We have found the solution to be stable."
"I like the ability to amend and adjust things really easily, which is useful in a case where you could make it auto-discover and then set a template to say all of these applications or servers under this template have an automatic threshold set that you’d set up manually."
"There's a module called Icinga Director, which helps us configure the product using an intuitive interface through clicks instead of creating a text configuration. It's very helpful for us."
"It provided out-of-the-box integrations, requiring only minimal effort, typically a couple of days, to massage those systems into a seamless operation."
"The way this solution has helped us is that it improved our communication."
"From my perspective as an asset manager, the most valuable feature of the solution is the configuration management portion, where I can actively add something to the database."
"It is a stable solution. I have not experienced any system outages during my time using the solution."
"The auto remediation feature has been most valuable. They have also introduced an AOP feature of ServiceNow that we are keen to explore."
"Has service mapping, impact management, metric intelligence and health of analytics."
"It includes a valuable feature called Discovery, that aids in application portfolio management, enabling visibility into IT infrastructure from top to bottom."
"I consider the stability to be very high, rating it ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"I think the software is quite good, but we have had problems with getting it to recognize certain areas and amend certain checks, where we needed so we would have to create backend scripts for those checks. Though, being open source, it has the support to create backend scripts, it would be better to have these scripts in-built."
"One of the areas that are frustrating is remote monitoring for more than one machine."
"Icinga is a complex solution that's hard to learn. It's a powerful product for monitoring, but new users will have a hard time figuring out what to do."
"There is room for improvement in multi-tenancy. It's not perfect, not even really good. It's average, but it should be improved."
"The solution lacks many features important to higher-level IT management and network support."
"The installation and configuration are very complex."
"We have found some problems with Nagios, and support isn't very responsive."
"The user interface should be improved."
"The initial setup phase was hard and could be made easier."
"Service mapping is pretty limited."
"The service discovery tool should include HR automations that automatically remove an employee who is leaving."
"It should have better integrations with other solutions."
"If you are new to using the solution, you will find the setup complex."
"Regarding ServiceNow, there is room for improvement in terms of customization, particularly in the area of self-customization."
"The pattern part can be improved. Patterns are used in the Discovery feature. Although it is easy to create new patterns and modify the existing ones, it would be better if this solution can have more out-of-the-box patterns. In terms of new features, they can include artificial intelligence, something like machine learning."
"ServiceNow's pricing is expensive. A more streamlined configuration process tailored to use cases and industry would be beneficial."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's an open-source solution."
"The solution is cheap."
"We're using the free version of Icinga."
"The solution is free to use."
"Even though Icinga's financial cost is low, it is an expensive product regarding the resources required to maintain and operate it."
"This is an open-source solution with paid support."
"The product is inexpensive compared to other DBM products."
"It is cost-effective, and the return on investment can be very interesting because the price is low."
"It is moderately expensive. The pricing itself and the licensing options are depending on the model and the customization."
"My customers pay for the ServiceNow IT Operations Management license annually. I'd rate the pricing based on value. ServiceNow IT Operations Management is a premium product as it has better features than competitors."
"It is expensive. It is around 10 Euros per server per month."
"The solution is costly compared to the products offered by its competitors."
"The solution offers yearly licenses and a subscription model for add-on features."
"While not entirely sure, I believe the solution costs at least a million dollars annually."
"There are additional costs, you have to pay more for everything."
"The pricing is high and may be excluding the small to medium-sized enterprise businesses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Icinga?
The best thing about the solution is how it highlights errors, the issues, and what needs my attention. The solution directs me to areas that I should look for first.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Icinga?
It is cost-effective, and the return on investment can be very interesting because the price is low. If you want to include this product in the services you offer to your customers, the return on i...
What needs improvement with Icinga?
There is room for improvement in multi-tenancy. It's not perfect, not even really good. It's average, but it should be improved. For instance, multi-tenancy for monitoring the virtual infrastructur...
What do you like most about ServiceNow IT Operations Management?
From my perspective as an asset manager, the most valuable feature of the solution is the configuration management portion, where I can actively add something to the database.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow IT Operations Management?
ServiceNow's pricing is expensive. We consider it a Tier 1 product, but it requires significant investment.
What needs improvement with ServiceNow IT Operations Management?
ServiceNow ( /products/servicenow-reviews )'s pricing is expensive. A more streamlined configuration process tailored to use cases and industry would be beneficial. We needed some external help to ...
 

Also Known As

Icinga Cloud Monitoring
ServiceNow ITOM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Puppet Labs, Audi, Spacex, Debian, Snapdeal, McGill, RIPE Network Coordination Centre
servicenow, TransAlta, NATS, Symantec
Find out what your peers are saying about Icinga vs. ServiceNow IT Operations Management and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
861,390 professionals have used our research since 2012.