Retool vs ServiceNow comparison

Retool and ServiceNow are both solutions in the Rapid Application Development Software category. Retool is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.4, while ServiceNow is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.6. Retool holds a 0.9% mindshare in RADS, compared to ServiceNow’s 9.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Retool users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of ServiceNow users who would recommend it.

Retool

Read 8 Retool reviews

506 Views
506 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

ServiceNow

Read 223 ServiceNow reviews

24,149 Views
7,245 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Retool

ServiceNow

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

ServiceNow and Retool are two enterprise software platforms competing primarily in IT and business process automation. ServiceNow holds an advantage due to its strong support for IT service management, while Retool excels in customization and rapid development, making it ideal for quickly building internal tools.

Features: ServiceNow offers robust IT workflows, change management, and incident resolution, catering to large enterprises with complex needs. Retool is known for its flexibility, rapid development capabilities, and seamless integration of custom applications, which create a developer-centric environment.

Room for Improvement: ServiceNow could benefit from streamlining deployment times and simplifying its extensive suite to make it more approachable for smaller teams. Retool might improve by expanding integration options and enhancing support for enterprise-scale deployments. Both platforms can enhance their user-friendly interfaces to increase engagement and adoption.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ServiceNow's deployment process is comprehensive and offers excellent support aligned with mature IT practices, but it can be time-consuming. Retool provides a straightforward deployment model that is attractive to teams emphasizing speed and simplicity, with a user-friendly approach and responsive support services.

Pricing and ROI: ServiceNow has higher upfront costs tailored for large enterprises, justifying potential long-term ROI through streamlined IT operations. Retool offers a cost-effective initial setup, providing attractive ROI for teams focusing on the rapid development of tools. ServiceNow targets organizations with established IT budgets, while Retool appeals to those seeking agility and cost-effectiveness in application development.

To learn more, read our detailed Retool vs. ServiceNow Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Retool vs. ServiceNow

September 2025

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Helped 869,566 peers since 2012

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

Retool

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

16th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

ServiceNow

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

223

Ranking in other categories

Help Desk Software (1st), IT Asset Management (1st), IT Service Management (ITSM) (1st), No-Code Development Platforms (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Retool is 0.9%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 9.8%, down from 11.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rapid Application Development Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
ServiceNow	9.8%
Retool	0.9%
Other	89.3%

Rapid Application Development Software

Featured Reviews

Anees Shoukat

Full Stack PHP/Python AWS Developer at Binary Port

Built-in features streamline data processing and integration

Retool provides built-in features with all processing happening within the platform, which is a significant advantage. The platform is easy to use without requiring the installation of different libraries. Various features are available through drag and drop and UI-based interactions. The tool allows data retrieval through queries and displays information directly. It offers data tools that grab information based on specified queries and draws everything on screen. If a table is needed, it efficiently lists down the table data. Data manipulation happens through queries. We simply specify the table and required query, and the results are displayed immediately. Permissions are required for access. When we grant access from AWS, Retool can access the data. Without proper permissions, access is restricted. We can provide view-only access in Retool while maintaining view, edit, and delete capabilities in the main system. This allows us to control access for sales personnel and external data viewing. The platform provides an extensive range of graphs and visualization options.

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Nikhil Gohil

Solution Engineer - Digital Platform | Mobile at British American Tobacco

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The stability is okay."

"Retool's most valuable features are its drag-and-drop components and the ability to customize them extensively."

"There are several key aspects to Retool that make it stand out. Firstly, its extensive range of components makes integration straightforward. Secondly, its support for SQL and JavaScript allows for the implementation of complex logic, which is particularly beneficial for developers like yourself with experience in .NET development."

"Retool can be used with many applications as it is language independent; anyone can use it easily and create various visualizations regardless of their programming knowledge—this is the main reason I recommend it."

"Retool provides built-in features with all processing happening within the platform, which is a significant advantage."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is connectivity with APIs and other databases."

"Retool provides us with the opportunity to save time and be more efficient."

"The most valuable feature of Retool is the workflow because I can integrate multiple features, such as RESTful API, JavaScript API, or different databases on the same dashboard."

More Retool pros

"Data in reports and dashboards are easily accessible."

"We used ServiceNow for change management, release management, and event management."

"I like ServiceNow's Workspace feature. With Jira, we had to edit a ticket by going into it. We couldn't perform edits from within the project plan. ServiceNow allows you to edit everything from one screen. It's like an Excel spreadsheet, but Jira requires you to drill down into the ticket. ServiceNow is more convenient if you are working on multiple projects and workflows."

"The solution has very good automation tools."

"There are many expansions available."

"It uses a common base of data and allows different types of records to pull from that same base of data."

"The most valuable aspect of the solution is the possibility of the application development cap so that we can digitize workflows."

"The most valuable features of the solution are the ease of use and the sensor for ticketing systems."

More ServiceNow pros

Cons

"Retool should add more resource integration."

"There are restrictions on the front-end side."

"The solution lacks inbuilt customization to customize bar charts."

"The components are changed frequently, which is very irritating."

"The part where we can add some custom logic or custom plugins could be better."

"Retool could enhance support, including efforts to establish support centers in Europe, which was lacking previously. However, the community is still in the growth phase, leading to potential delays in receiving responses to queries."

"AI tools, features, and machine learning capabilities should be added as they would be helpful in the future."

More Retool cons

"Integration capabilities can improve."

"When we are using the solution on mobile phones on their networks the performance is reduced with a delay of approximately 8 seconds. There is less delay using the desktop computers connected to the WiFi or to the network directly."

"The solution’s pricing is expensive and could be improved."

"Data access is a bit difficult, where you sometimes wish you had a relational database for some queries. The flexibility of data access in general is a bit on the low end. Of course, there is flexibility in some ways, but when I need a certain combination of data for some report, it can become a challenge."

"The technical support SLA can be improved because sometimes they take a long time to answer our queries."

"We don't have a huge amount of password reset requests, but the minimum package of resets that ServiceNow offers is much more than we need."

"The solution could be made cheaper. Machine learning and artificial intelligence should be introduced in the next release."

"I am interested to see the firm's strategic plans for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), and how the particular areas it will expand on from its existing investments (that feature, for example, in its ITSM Pro and CSM Pro modules)."

More ServiceNow cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For new users, evaluate the scale of their administrative needs as Retool provides excellent free services for smaller setups, but larger deployments might require transitioning to a paid plan."

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

"For me, I'm in India right now, and we have Retool's subscription for one team member for $10 per month."

"The pricing is very expensive. It costs for each user, for automated users, open-end users, et cetera."

"I don't know Retool's current pricing, but it cost around $12 per month earlier."

"I would say it is moderately expensive, ranging from six to seven on a scale of ten."

"Isn't pricing always too much? We really do chafe at the ITIL licensing. ITOM is also pretty expensive."

"The CapEx version is great."

"ServiceNow is a leader and its pricing is quite good, quite competitive... Sometimes some plugins are not priced reasonably but, generally, the platform itself, its modules, are priced reasonably."

"The cost is quite high."

"We are happy with the pricing."

"ServiceNow is an expensive solution."

"The licensing cost is based on your partnership with ServiceNow and what you have selected for implementation. There is an annual license cost which is calculated based on your number of devices."

More ServiceNow pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

14%

Outsourcing Company

10%

University

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	2

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	54
Midsize Enterprise	36
Large Enterprise	163

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Retool?

For new users, evaluate the scale of their administrative needs as Retool provides excellent free services for smaller setups, but larger deployments might require transitioning to a paid plan.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Retool?

The platform already provides many features, and additional features aren't necessary for medium-level usage. Only very high-level requirements might necessitate more features. AI tools, features, ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Retool?

In Retool, I have designed graphs and data tools to implement rules-based functionality. Instead of implementing these features in our platform, we created them through Retool because we only provi...

See all answers

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 that platform for good. The business model is to lock in and then keep pumping th...

See all answers

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 ServiceNow has a very strong module (Performance Analysis) reporting which will ...

See all answers

What do you like most about ServiceNow?

The solution has a user-friendly interface.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 60% of the time

Pega Platform vs Retool

Compared 17% of the time

AWS App Studio vs Retool

Compared 13% of the time

ToolJet vs Retool

Compared 11% of the time

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BMC Helix ITSM vs ServiceNow

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs ServiceNow

Compared 5% of the time

Pega Platform vs ServiceNow

Compared 5% of the time

IBM Maximo vs ServiceNow

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Power Apps vs ServiceNow

Compared 4% of the time

More ServiceNow Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Retool

September 2025

Download Retool product report

Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow

September 2025

Download ServiceNow product report

Overview

Retool enables rapid construction of internal tools with minimal coding, streamlining workflows across HR, customer support, and compliance. Praised for its drag-and-drop interface, extensive component library, and SQL support, it boosts organizational efficiency by automating tasks and enhancing data management.

Retool

ServiceNow is a cloud-based task-management platform that specializes in IT operations management (ITOM), IT services management (ITSM), and IT business management (ITBM). ServiceNow allows users to manage their teams, projects, and customer interactions using a variety of different plugins and apps with which it easily integrates.

ServiceNow offers prebuilt applications to support any process, as well as a framework and tools that allow you to build your own.

ServiceNow’s service management solutions include change, request, incident, problem, and cost management, as well as HR, IT, field service, and facilities management solutions. They also cover business management solutions such as vendor performance management, financial management, performance analytics and project portfolio suite, as well as governance, risk, and compliance.

“The Smarter Way to Workflow”

ServiceNow’s activities, processes, and tasks are overseen as part of a comprehensive managed workflow that supports such features as real-time collaboration, communication, and resource sharing. ServiceNow’s suite of products allow for operation using serverless computing, and include the categories of Business Apps, Customer Service, HR, IT, and Security.

ServiceNow can be used to support most workflows because of the wide range of tools it offers. These include on-suite ticketing tools, predictive modeling to manage workflows, and benchmarking for the tracking of progress. ServiceNow can assist with artificial intelligence and machine learning processes and can be used to organize the cases of a help/service desk as well as for instance management and problem management. It also smoothly integrates with many legacy systems.

ServiceNow offers service management software for industries including:

Cloud services
Education
Financial services
Government
Healthcare
Manufacturing
Telecommunications

Reviews from Real Users

PeerSpot users prefer ServiceNow to its competitors because of its scalability, stability, and ease of use. It helps everyone in the company to be on the same page by creating a single source of record across all departments. One user stated that “I’ve definitely used over 20 project management solutions, but they can't be compared with ServiceNow.” Another said that “ServiceNow is an industry leader in multiple areas and provides an excellent ROI.”

ServiceNow

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

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

Buyer's Guide

Retool vs. ServiceNow

September 2025

Free Report: Retool vs. ServiceNow

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