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Cherwell Service Management vs SCSM vs ServiceNow 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of Cherwell Service Management is 1.3%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SCSM is 1.6%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 21.0%, down from 26.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ServiceNow21.0%
SCSM1.6%
Cherwell Service Management1.3%
Other76.1%
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

Thobile Moeketsi - PeerSpot reviewer
Having everything in one location has significantly improved our efficiency and reporting
We need to be on VPN in order to set up and access the solution, and that has created some challenges. Even though it uses our Windows login, we still have to be on VPN. The product should be able to log tickets directly from system to system. We haven't got there yet and I'm not sure it's possible but it would determine the product's capability to integrate with other systems.
LuisSanchez3 - PeerSpot reviewer
Current setup enables smooth problem-solving but lacks comprehensive guidance and local support
More information about setup procedures and a more user-friendly front end would be beneficial. We need more information for setup processes. It is difficult to do the work independently, requiring us to hire external companies for maintenance hours to fix small issues that could be resolved faster in-house if we had better information. We have been looking for an upgrade version, but finding local service has been difficult. It has been challenging trying to get things done. Speaking with the Microsoft office, we found there are no local companies with substantial experience with SCSM. What we have now was installed five or six years ago. It has been difficult to change configurations and look for upgrades, even with all the manuals. Our office is considering moving away from SCSM and getting a service desk solution outside of Microsoft. For me, it has been a good tool to get help and solve internal problems in the office. It is a very good tool, but the difficulty in getting local service or more information is pushing us to look for another tool.
Nikhil Gohil - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables effective incident management and seamless workflow automation with valuable mobile accessibility
I haven't thought deeply about improvements for ServiceNow or what might be missing right now. There are so many modules and features in ServiceNow that I haven't explored them all, so it's hard to say what might be missing or should be improved. I suggest making the cost more affordable for smaller companies.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"All our activities are carried out in the one place."
"Its integration features, orchestration features, and discovery tools are the most valuable. It is also pretty stable, and it can be as scalable as you want."
"Clear processes with transparent responsibilities led to more efficiencies within the teams."
"The dashboard and the reporting functionality are the solution's most valuable features."
"The most valuable features are problem management and change management."
"The dashboard is very useful to get a quick overview of current tasks."
"The solution is quite easy to integrate with other Microsoft products."
"This product has helped our organization by allowing people to connect with each other."
"The remote access is one of the features I really enjoy. The pushing of email updates and things like that are very good."
"The most requested feature from our customers is the helpdesk ticketing system."
"The solution offers good productivity at a low price point."
"If it is correctly configured, you can access and give service quickly to all the end users."
"This solution is easy to use."
"The solution's setup process is relatively straightforward due to the familiar deployment steps similar to other Microsoft solutions."
"ServiceNow was the first true enterprise to service management platform."
"The solution's initial setup process is easy."
"I have found many features that are important and that are easier when compared to Remedy; for example, the Scripted REST APIs and the Flow Designer... The Client scripts are simpler when you compare with Remedy."
"The feature that I have found most valuable from ServiceNow is the ability to assign sub-tasks to different teams, including problem tickets and the regular and chain tasks."
"Everything about the schema, including the design of ServiceNow, is great."
"It is user-friendly and simple to use."
"We always get good support."
"I would rate ServiceNow nine out of ten."
 

Cons

"Application service mapping, GRC, SecOps, and things like that need improvement."
"Access is only available if we're on VPN."
"The stability, specifically in the on-premises deployment model, could be improved."
"Areas for improvement would be the service catalog and customer catalog, which is not very user-friendly. The shopping cart experience is also terrible - you submit and go straight to the cart, you can't continue shopping or see your overall cost."
"It would be better if they had a portal for administrators. It would help me use it from anywhere and connect to any device from anywhere. I can administer the solution without a VPN."
"We have had some issues with the SCSM on-premise deployment version in the imaging aspects."
"Although some engineers at Microsoft are good, the support often lacks expertise, and response times are slow."
"They need more integration with open-source products."
"I have found SCSM not adequate enough to carry out some functions."
"We would like to see a web-based interface that works on mobile devices."
"One of the disadvantages in this product is that the reporting module is not very easy. It requires SQL development skills, which not all customers or IT professionals have."
"They might be looking for additional functionalities that SCSM could integrate."
"It's moving at a very fast pace. It is difficult for developers or engineers to keep up with it. That's the only issue."
"The customer service of the product right now isn't very good. It's an aspect they really need to improve."
"It should enhance its offerings by providing the chance to obtain course certifications at an affordable fee."
"The major area for improvement for our needs would be monitoring the metrics of the times to acknowledge and resolve issues and escalations."
"There are sometimes challenges with the portal being a bit confusing for new users. The implementation of the portal and workspaces is quite different, and improvements in this area would be beneficial."
"I have enjoyed all the features. There is not any feature that I have missed or didn't have."
"System deployment and automation capabilities could be within the platform, similar to competitors."
"The discovery of assets could be improved; right now they only allow for one domain."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For an ITIL user, the cost is probably about 50 bucks a month."
"It is a lower price vs. other things on the market."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"Licensing can be complex and confusing."
"The price should be lower."
"It comes free with the enterprise agreement that we have, but the expense really is in having to buy another product to sit on top of it to make it work properly. You wind up having to buy additional support and additional product with their own support and maintenance costs on top of that."
"The price of the solution could be better. My organization has an enterprise annual license with Microsoft which provides us support."
"The platform is competitively priced."
"The product cost is higher than that of other vendors."
"We know that ServiceNow is not cheap, it's more expensive than other solutions. But we are trying to increase our ability to handle tickets so that the cost per ticket is less."
"I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten. The pricing for ServiceNow is based on a SaaS platform with annual contracts. However, it may not offer much flexibility for adjusting usage in the short term."
"The solution is priced for medium to enterprises sized businesses. However, it is expensive compared to competitors."
"I have found the solution very expensive."
"The pricing is reasonable and affordable, making it suitable for businesses ranging from small to large scale."
"We are happy with the pricing."
"The price of the solution is comparable to industry standards. For the features that we received, it is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Energy/Utilities Company
13%
Legal Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
26%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business54
Midsize Enterprise36
Large Enterprise163
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about SCSM?
The solution offers good productivity at a low price point.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SCSM?
I am not sure about the pricing as I do not have experience with it.
What needs improvement with SCSM?
More information about setup procedures and a more user-friendly front end would be beneficial. We need more informat...
Which solution is better for developing non-ITSM applications: OutSystems or Service Now?
The short answer is that OutSystems is far better for 2 main reasons. Firstly, with Service Now you are locked into t...
Would you choose ServiceNow over Microsoft PowerApps?
Hi Netanya, I will choose ServiceNow because ServiceNow is a very good tool compared to Microsoft PowerApp. Because ...
What do you like most about ServiceNow?
The solution has a user-friendly interface.
 

Also Known As

No data available
System Center Service Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Ausenco, Highlights for Children, B/E Aerospace
Fibabanka, UMC Health System
AAA, AstraZeneca, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Broadcom, Christus Health, Epicor, Equinix, GE Capital, Intuit, KPMG, Loyola Marymount University, OshKosh, Quantas, RedHat, Royal Bank of Scotland, Swiss Re, U.S. Department of Energy, Safeway, Yale University, and Zillow    
Find out what your peers are saying about ServiceNow, Atlassian, BMC Helix and others in IT Service Management (ITSM). Updated: September 2025.
869,202 professionals have used our research since 2012.