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Salesforce Service Cloud vs ServiceNow Customer Service Management comparison

Salesforce and ServiceNow are both solutions in the CRM Customer Engagement Centers category. Salesforce is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.3, while ServiceNow is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.1. Salesforce holds a 13.5% mindshare in CCEC, compared to ServiceNow’s 8.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Salesforce users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of ServiceNow users who would recommend it.
Salesforce Service Cloud
Read 56 Salesforce Service Cloud reviews
  • 1,986 Views
  • 715 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
ServiceNow Customer Service...
Read 15 ServiceNow Customer Service Management reviews
  • 1,279 Views
  • 614 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 2025

Salesforce Service Cloud and ServiceNow Customer Service Management compete in the customer service software industry. Salesforce seems to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive features and strong integration with its CRM suite.

Features: Salesforce Service Cloud includes automation, customizable consoles, and comprehensive case management. It allows seamless integration with Salesforce data and offers pre-built packages for adaptability. ServiceNow Customer Service Management excels in workflow management and digital transformation through technology integration. It provides seamless workflow beneficial for incident tracking.

Room for Improvement: Salesforce Service Cloud is criticized for its high pricing, Outlook email issues, and complex UI. Users seek better mobile functionality and enhanced analytics tools. ServiceNow lacks advanced customization, has a premium price, and needs better integration with IVR systems and AI features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Salesforce Service Cloud is mainly deployed in the cloud, known for community support but mixed customer service experiences. ServiceNow offers multiple deployment models with knowledgeable support but desires faster response times in critical cases.

Pricing and ROI: Both Salesforce Service Cloud and ServiceNow are premium-priced, favoring larger organizations. Salesforce users stress negotiation for maximizing value, with ROI tied to efficiency. ServiceNow is known for streamlining operations despite high costs, necessitating careful cost-benefit evaluations.

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To learn more, read our detailed Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management Report (Updated: November 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management
November 2025
Download the complete report
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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
6.5
Salesforce Service Cloud improves ROI through efficiency, visibility, and integration, yielding up to 50% ROI amidst varying challenges.
Sentiment score
5.9
ServiceNow CSM boosts ROI and efficiency with reduced costs, requiring clear deployment and knowledgeable partners for maximum benefits.
Salesforce Service Cloud requires significant maintenance effort to see ROI.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
Without such tools, the business would be affected by five to ten percent in annual revenue.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.6
Salesforce Service Cloud is praised for responsiveness and community support, though premium support is recommended for complex issues.
Sentiment score
6.1
ServiceNow's Customer Service Management offers responsive, effective support with high ratings and fast, multilingual assistance, enhancing user satisfaction.
Unless you have premium support, assistance is restricted.
Salesforce directly does not give you the support, and it is through the partner that you have to go, leading to some time delays.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
It is better because partners have a deep understanding of the code and configuration challenges.
The technical support is good, but there are very few people who understand the technicalities and background configurations.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
reviewer2688993 - PeerSpot reviewerKishor Namburu - PeerSpot reviewerArvind Mehrotra - PeerSpot reviewer
AG
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Salesforce Service Cloud is scalable, customizable, and cloud-based, enabling seamless growth and integration for enterprise-level adaptability.
Sentiment score
7.9
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is scalable, highly rated, customizable, and supports large teams with efficient workflows and performance.
Salesforce Service Cloud is the most advanced in scalability, rating around nine to ten.
Nobody can compete with Salesforce Service Cloud's scalability.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
If challenges are resolved efficiently with tools like ServiceNow Customer Service Management, it significantly impacts business operations.
The solution is scalable and offers high scalability as new features are added regularly.
Scalability can lead to performance issues.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
Kishor Namburu - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2688993 - PeerSpot reviewer
AG
MS
Arvind Mehrotra - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Salesforce Service Cloud is stable and reliable, with rare disruptions, excellent support, and scalability when following best practices.
Sentiment score
7.7
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is highly stable, efficiently managing transactions and users, with rare downtimes and ongoing updates.
We rarely encounter stability issues with Salesforce Service Cloud, although when they occur, they cause significant disruption.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
Overall, it is very stable aside from these issues.
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is highly stable, which is critical because it operates as a live system 24/7.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
reviewer2688993 - PeerSpot reviewer
AG
MS
 

Room For Improvement

Salesforce Service Cloud needs UI/UX improvements, pricing adjustments, stability, better integrations, and enhanced reporting, email, and AI capabilities.
ServiceNow requires enhanced customization, automation, integration, pricing flexibility, AI capabilities, and better entry-level options for diverse business needs.
Salesforce Service Cloud should focus on simplification.
Configuring Flows in Salesforce Service Cloud is very difficult.
It could be better in areas such as media; it does not handle media effectively, particularly with pictures and uploads.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
It is important to follow practical rules and best practices to avoid misconfigurations caused by different developers doing things their own way.
Managing this platform requires sophisticated handling.
There should be an integration of workflows and less scripting to enhance and move the flow more efficiently.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
reviewer2688993 - PeerSpot reviewerMARIA PILAR CANDA - PeerSpot reviewer
JM
MS
Arvind Mehrotra - PeerSpot reviewerRizwanuddin Qazi - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Setup Cost

Salesforce Service Cloud's high costs can be offset by negotiating contracts, offering flexible licensing and significant functionality for large teams.
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is costly, rated 5-7 out of 10, providing value but pricey for smaller businesses.
The approximate licensing costs for Salesforce Service Cloud are around three hundred dollars a year per user.
Salesforce Service Cloud is expensive.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is expensive, with costs around half a million US dollars per year.
The pricing is around a seven, making it rather expensive.
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is expensive, although there is value for money considering the time and administrative efficiencies it brings.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
reviewer2677440 - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2688993 - PeerSpot reviewer
MS
AG
AP
 

Valuable Features

Salesforce Service Cloud excels in customization, integration, automation, and scalability, offering real-time data, email management, and extensive API support.
ServiceNow Customer Service Management offers seamless integration, low-code customization, and powerful workflow automation for streamlined digital customer experiences.
Salesforce Service Cloud improved our organization with its mobile capabilities.
Salesforce Service Cloud offers pre-built packages that are best in class.
Usability is one of the strongest characteristics of Salesforce Service Cloud.
For more quotes and insights, download the Salesforce Service Cloud report
The most valuable features are incident management and change management.
ServiceNow Customer Service Management offers valuable features such as workflow management, an approval cycle, and integration with a payment gateway, which allows for payments to be made using the system.
The best aspect of ServiceNow Customer Service Management is its out-of-the-box features that support all customer service processes.
For more quotes and insights, download the ServiceNow Customer Service Management report
reviewer2677440 - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2688993 - PeerSpot reviewerMARIA PILAR CANDA - PeerSpot reviewer
AG
MS
AP
 

Categories and Ranking

Salesforce Service Cloud
Ranking in CRM Customer Engagement Centers
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (4th), Knowledge Management Software (3rd), IT Alerting and Incident Management (6th)
ServiceNow Customer Service...
Ranking in CRM Customer Engagement Centers
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Customer Experience Management (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the CRM Customer Engagement Centers category, the mindshare of Salesforce Service Cloud is 13.5%, down from 18.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Customer Service Management is 8.1%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM Customer Engagement Centers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Salesforce Service Cloud13.5%
ServiceNow Customer Service Management8.1%
Other78.4%
CRM Customer Engagement Centers
 

Featured Reviews

MARIA PILAR CANDA - PeerSpot reviewer
Improved customer service and post-sales support saves time
The solution could be more affordable as it's quite expensive for some organizations, particularly middle-sized companies. Additionally, finding technical talent for improving the solution is challenging. Configuring Flows in Salesforce Service Cloud is very difficult. There are very few technical people in the market capable of implementing all the flows that clients need at this moment. It's primarily a matter of talent limitation, and flow is the technical mechanism of Salesforce Service Cloud for process automation. In general, while they have the knowledge and help solve problems, finding the right person to address specific issues is very challenging.
Read full review
Rizwanuddin Qazi - PeerSpot reviewer
Customer experience has improved through automation, actionable insights, and advanced self-service capabilities
Resolution speed has immensely improved because of ServiceNow Customer Service Management, especially the actionable insights, IT performances, and incident trends. Overall service health has improved in terms of the incident and response ratio. The benefits of having automation in place are that it has automated the process and most items are auto-populated within the services. Most of the time, there are pre-installed solutions where consumers can navigate before dealing with the developer side. The self-service portal has helped in creating and maintaining reports and dashboards with key metrics, and the resolution time and customer satisfaction have improved. Automated root cause analysis has improved for us, leveraging basic machine learning and identifying basic issues, reducing resolution times, and enhancing operational efficiencies.
Read full review
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Performing Arts
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Retailer
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Service Cloud?
The approximate licensing costs for Salesforce Service Cloud are around three hundred dollars a year per user.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Salesforce Service Cloud?
The solution could be more affordable as it's quite expensive for some organizations, particularly middle-sized companies. Additionally, finding technical talent for improving the solution is chall...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for Salesforce Service Cloud?
We have many clients with Salesforce Service Cloud and numerous use cases. The main use is in the sales area rather than the marketing area. We utilize it for customer service and customer post-sal...
See all answers
What do you like most about ServiceNow Customer Service Management?
We can integrate different technologies in ServiceNow Customer Service Management. An organization would like to offer a digital transformative experience to its employees and customers, which the ...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow Customer Service Management?
ServiceNow Customer Service Management is expensive, although there is value for money considering the time and administrative efficiencies it brings.
See all answers
What needs improvement with ServiceNow Customer Service Management?
The integration cost and learning curve are very high, and managing this platform requires sophisticated handling, which is more complex compared to other solutions.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 6% of the time
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Compared 3% of the time
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Compared 45% of the time
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Compared 20% of the time
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Compared 12% of the time
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Compared 8% of the time
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Compared 5% of the time
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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Salesforce Service Cloud
October 2025
Salesforce Service Cloud reportDownload Salesforce Service Cloud product report
Buyer's Guide
ServiceNow Customer Service Management
October 2025
ServiceNow Customer Service Management reportDownload ServiceNow Customer Service Management product report
 

Also Known As

Service Cloud
ServiceNow CSM
 

Overview

Service Cloud is fully customizable support and help desk that provide faster, smarter service that will increase loyalty, retention, and satisfaction. From call-center software to self-service portals, our service solutions enhance your customer service with more responsive, more intuitive, more flexible support that anticipates customer needs.

Salesforce

Customer Service Management groups key applications and capabilities into scalable packages that can grow with you as your needs change.

ServiceNow
 

Sample Customers

Stanley Black & Decker, Coca-Cola, Activision, Wells Fargo, Spotify, Aldo, Philips, The Red Cross, Blue Shield of California, Sprouts Farmers Market, Direct Energy Solar, Inspirato, Kiva
Siemens Healthineers, SAP SuccessFactors, Asurion
Buyer's Guide
Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management
November 2025
Free Report: Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management
Find out what your peers are saying about Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management and other solutions. Updated: November 2025.
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872,846 professionals have used our research since 2012.
See our Salesforce Service Cloud vs. ServiceNow Customer Service Management report.
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We monitor all CRM Customer Engagement Centers reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.