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Freshservice vs OpenText Service Management (SMAX) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 19, 2025

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

Freshservice
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (8th), Project Management Software (11th), Cloud Management (15th), IT Asset Management (6th)
OpenText Service Management...
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
16th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of Freshservice is 4.6%, up from 4.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is 2.1%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

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…
Evgeniy Kolotilov - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers a range of tools for sales and configuration that can be used in banks and telecom companies
The deployment takes three months. In this process, customers need to allocate resources like networks, data storage, and images. They then need to decide which business functions they intend to use in production and perform some basic configurations. Custom documentation is prepared and provided for user renewals and administration. I would rate the experience of the initial setup a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"You can just register and within five to minute minutes, you are ready to go."
"We find its ability to track what's going on with each request very valuable. We are also able to merge ticket requests and assign them to different groups in the company. We have another department that uses the same system."
"It is a stable solution. My company hasn't faced any problems with the solution."
"The solution has been very helpful engineering insights into the client's environment. We have been able to manage calls and incidence very efficiently which provides us with a clear understanding of the system warranty and the actions that we might need to take in terms of insights. The system is very dynamic and prevents any kind of over sides which is yours that there is smooth contract management. Also we can easily uphold SLAs and deliver enhanced services without breaching any agreements."
"The overall functionality of the product is excellent."
"It allows for customization and offers a broad feature set."
"Ability to scan barcodes and a great search feature."
"With Freshservice in place, we have reversed the trend of creating tickets."
"It offers a range of tools for sales and configuration. It's like a business process improvement platform, suitable for various lines of business operations."
"The most valuable features of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) are that it is user-friendly, easy to configure, and adaptable."
"OpenText Service Management Automation X provides valuable features such as topic analytics for incident and problem management. It also includes natural language processing for analyzing technical descriptions. Additionally, it features a virtual chatbot capable of processing natural language to interact effectively with end users. This service enhances customer support and is not subject to the limitations often found in offerings from other vendors."
"The product provides an interface for the end users to make requests."
"The tool is very easy to use."
"This is a cordless application that can be used throughout any organization."
 

Cons

"We haven't had any issues with the stability of Freshservice. However, we have had some issues with data imports, we have noticed that large amounts of data can get stuck. This is something that we haven't seen in other solutions."
"Freshservice could improve the integration with Microsoft Outlook."
"The ability to customize the user interface is a bit lacking, and the reporting is a bit lacking because they're very stringent upon what you can pull reporting-wise within Freshservice. They have a lot of built-in reports that are very nice, but when it comes to customizing these, they just provide you with certain data. When you try to build your own report wizard, you aren't able to go and select some of the data that is shown in some of the reports that come with Freshservice. This is something that we have brought up with our account representative, and we have suggested these as feature updates in the future. We're still waiting on them to go and implement something like that."
"Freshservice could improve the delegation and workflow 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."
"Their analytics need improvement."
"We'd like to see a CMDB, a Configuration Management Database, in the future."
"Freshservice has issues around how assets get picked up, requiring a lot of parameter changes within to network to ensure the system discovers everything."
"The tool has negatively impacted our productivity."
"The initial setup of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) is complicated, but once it is set up the configuration is straightforward to adapt to the users' or customers' needs."
"The solution lacks sufficient documentation."
"The product's connectivity with third-party products is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The contract management feature can be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Freshservice could improve, it is expensive."
"The solution has an annual licensing model."
"It is $34 per license, per agent. Currently, we don't see any add-ons at extra fees."
"Freshservice price is competitive, it is not more than other solutions on the market."
"Our licensing fee for Freshservice is $2,500 a year."
"I can't recall exactly how much we pay, but it is somewhere in the middle compared to the rest of the market. The more we purchase, the cheaper it becomes, and I think the solution offers good value for money."
"Its price is great. Its pricing is supposedly a lot less than ServiceNow and other alternatives."
"One of the key benefits of Freshservice is license management. Asset management has the possibility to keep track of licenses and that's very useful. The price of the solution is very good."
"The solution is somewhat cheaper than the competitors."
"The cost of the license for SMAX varies depending on the configuration, including the number of seats for users and the customer's specific requirements. It's not a fixed cost and can vary."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
23%
Educational Organization
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 calls and incidence very efficiently which provides us with a clear understanding...
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 should optimize and allow customization. Additionally, asset management needs impr...
What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
The solution is used for the end-user portal. It is used for incident management, requests, and other informational purposes.
What advice do you have for others considering Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
The tool is appropriate if we don't have a complicated use case. It is the right tool for simple use cases. It's a lot cheaper than ServiceNow. It is an appropriate tool for a smaller business or m...
 

Also Known As

Flint
OpenText Service Manager, Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Western Carriers, Judson University, Golf Canada, Travix, Proxama, Paymentez, Ready Auto Transport
Zurich Airport, Envirosuite, Norsk Helsenett, Achmea, University of Milan, World Vision, Petroleum Development Oman, Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT).
Find out what your peers are saying about Freshservice vs. OpenText Service Management (SMAX) and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
858,038 professionals have used our research since 2012.