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BMC Helix ITSM vs Freshservice vs ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.9
BMC Helix ITSM offers good value and time savings, with automation praised and high stability, despite costly licensing.
Sentiment score
6.4
Freshservice offers significant ROI benefits with improved efficiency, though costs and user management are concerns for some regions.
Sentiment score
6.8
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus delivers cost-effective IT solutions, improving efficiency and asset management, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
ManageEngine has been particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses in terms of value for money since they receive similar service at a lower cost compared to ServiceNow.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
BMC Helix ITSM customer service varies widely, with premium support praised, but lower tiers face delays and inconsistent quality.
Sentiment score
6.4
Freshservice support is responsive and professional, but users note occasional navigation issues and delays in problem resolution.
Sentiment score
7.2
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus support receives mixed feedback; while responsive for some, others criticize slow responses and inadequate coverage.
There are issues with misrouting and a preference for email rather than direct communication via phone calls.
However, they have improved over the period of two years.
We had a good experience with customer service, receiving a positive response from technical support.
Their response time could be quicker.
The ManageEngine technical support team deserves a rating of ten out of ten because we receive up-to-date support.
They respond to emails based on time zone considerations.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
BMC Helix ITSM is scalable and robust, suitable for diverse organizations, though customization can limit larger implementations.
Sentiment score
7.2
Freshservice offers scalable, cloud-based IT solutions with flexible licensing, though customization may be limited for larger enterprises.
Sentiment score
7.8
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus offers scalable solutions for medium to large organizations, though some face challenges with larger infrastructures.
The product's scalability is adequate for us, yet its complex customization sometimes restricts extensive adaptability.
Freshservice is easy to use for scalability.
It is trickier to expand across endpoints with Help Desk.
Scaling ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is easy, and I would rate its scalability as nine out of ten.
The tool is suitable for medium to large-scale operations and can be used effectively by mid-size companies.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
BMC Helix ITSM is generally stable; initial issues may occur, but proper architecture enhances reliability over time.
Sentiment score
8.1
Freshservice is stable and reliable, with minor glitches addressed efficiently, ensuring robust performance and high user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.8
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is stable and reliable, with minor issues usually resolved by updates or restarts, highly rated by users.
I find BMC Helix ITSM stable, and that is why we have been with the product for the past 15 years.
Over the past five years, we have experienced no major issues or downtime during upgrades.
Freshservice is quite stable as they host it on AWS.
Freshservice provides a stable environment for our needs.
We have not experienced any significant issues.
We have not faced any stability issues or challenges with this tool.
 

Room For Improvement

BMC Helix ITSM needs a more intuitive, customizable interface, enhanced reporting, better performance, support, documentation, and streamlined customization.
Freshservice faces issues with reporting, project management, customization, integration, asset management, support features, and performance for large users.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus struggles with integration, customization, and user interface, leading to poor user experience and performance issues.
BMC Helix ITSM is difficult for us to customize, and most customizations require vendor support, which leads to extra costs.
We lack access to a sandbox for in-house development, which was very helpful for hands-on work with new features.
There's limited experience with the CMDB or asset management features.
Asset management can definitely be improved because it doesn't pick up every single device on the network or every single piece of information.
There is a need for improvement in terms of automatic escalation to the next level if an issue is not resolved.
It would be beneficial to have an option to assign approvals to a user group or a variable.
There could be improvements in licensing flexibility, like the ability to use a single license for multiple users simultaneously.
They might consider creating a bundled ERP solution for all these tools where purchasing one license would enable access to all functionalities.
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise users find BMC Helix ITSM costly but cost-effective, requiring careful licensing analysis and negotiations to manage expenses.
Freshservice provides transparent, flexible pricing options praised for competitiveness, though considered expensive by some, ideal for various enterprise solutions.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus offers affordable, flexible licensing with free options, catering to small and medium enterprises, starting at $10/month.
The pricing of BMC Helix ITSM and its implementation costs are quite high, including subscription and maintenance costs per year.
The solution offers flat licensing and appears to be cost-effective.
We pay a certain amount annually for the number of users, and as users increase, the cost increases.
The cost of ManageEngine is more affordable, making it viable for small to medium-sized businesses.
It is not as expensive as ServiceNow, which has a very high cost.
The costing for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is very flexible and is considered low-priced.
 

Valuable Features

BMC Helix ITSM is scalable, integrates easily, enhances management, and aligns with ITIL, offering advanced features and customization.
Freshservice offers incident management, automation, asset management, customization, scalability, ITIL compliance, with user engagement via Freshchat and APIs.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus enhances IT service management with integration, customization, scalability, affordable pricing, and comprehensive support for various departments.
Resolution time has decreased significantly since implementing the self-service portal.
These features are crucial as we complete the implementation and maintain data accuracy in the CMDB.
The most valuable features include ticket routing, automation in triage, data control, and flat licensing.
Incident management is very helpful, and the system is straightforward, making it easy to use for our enterprise-level company.
It provides a simpler and more intuitive interface for creating semi-automated use cases and managing problem solutions.
The automation capabilities are good, with the workflow being an integral part of it.
All necessary features for these activities are included, such as incident management, change management, and problem management.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of BMC Helix ITSM is 7.1%, down from 12.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Freshservice is 4.2%, up from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is 5.1%, down from 7.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus5.1%
BMC Helix ITSM7.1%
Freshservice4.2%
Other83.6%
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

Ameet Darole - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for user ticket management, incident management, and event management
We had a manual event management process and a separate monitoring tool called Dynatrace. The alerts generated did not flow to the ITSM tool. With BMC Helix ITSM, the alerts flow and auto-route to respective technical support. If the alerts are resolved, the ticket will be automatically closed. So, the workload and automation are much better now. BMC Helix ITSM is a fast platform, so it is quite manageable. I would recommend BMC Helix ITSM to other users because it is a good solution. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Trilochana Gouda - PeerSpot reviewer
Smooth incident management and easy to use while needing better escalation management
We are using Freshservice for the IT ticketing system for business users We use the ticketing system primarily, which is very easy to use for all users. Freshservice is helpful, especially in incident management. Incident management is very helpful, and the system is straightforward, making it…
Prashanth Magadi - PeerSpot reviewer
Has reduced complications and supports smooth workflows through customizable features
From a user perspective, I am very satisfied with the current functionality. I don't see any improvements that are required. They might be working on integrating AI functionality. Additionally, they have multiple different tools for each service. They might consider creating a bundled ERP solution for all these tools where purchasing one license would enable access to all functionalities. I'm not certain if such an option exists currently.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
19%
University
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise54
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise19
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BMC Helix ITSM?
If we consider major players like Ford or BMW, their core focus is manufacturing products like cars. To ensure smooth...
What needs improvement with BMC Helix ITSM?
Currently, we are not utilizing the AI functionality in BMC Helix ITSM as we are still in the roadmap and development...
What is your primary use case for BMC Helix ITSM?
We use BMC Helix ITSM for the complete end-to-end ITSM suite, mainly for ticketing and service management. BMC Helix ...
What do you like most about Freshservice?
The solution has been very helpful engineering insights into the client's environment. We have been able to manage c...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Freshservice?
The solution offers flat licensing and appears to be cost-effective.
What needs improvement with Freshservice?
There is a need for improvement in terms of automatic escalation to the next level if an issue is not resolved. It sh...
What do you like most about ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?
The platform's most beneficial features are incident management, change management, request management, and asset man...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?
The costing for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus ( /products/manageengine-servicedesk-plus-reviews ) is very flexible an...
What needs improvement with ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?
The solution needs to integrate with the telecom system in more depth. Currently, the feature is limited to the SMS l...
 

Also Known As

Remedy ITSM, Remedy, Helix Remedy, BMC Helix IT Service Management
Flint
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Brookfield, HealthSouth Corporation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Mercator, SAP, Stanford University
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Western Carriers, Judson University, Golf Canada, Travix, Proxama, Paymentez, Ready Auto Transport
Tranter IT Infrastructure Services Limited, Sterlite Technologies, averda, Radiology Associates
Find out what your peers are saying about ServiceNow, Atlassian, ManageEngine and others in Help Desk Software. Updated: September 2025.
869,160 professionals have used our research since 2012.