Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

HelpScout VS ServiceNow

Compare HelpScout VS ServiceNow and see what are their differences

HelpScout logo HelpScout

Help Scout is a simple, straightforward way to provide excellent support

ServiceNow logo ServiceNow

ServiceNow automates and manages global enterprise service relationships. Create a single system of record for enterprise services, automate manual tasks, consolidate legacy ITIL systems.
  • HelpScout Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-14
  • ServiceNow Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-12

HelpScout features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    HelpScout is known for its intuitive and easy-to-use interface, which reduces the learning curve for new users and makes it easier for support teams to manage customer inquiries efficiently.
  • Integrated Knowledge Base
    HelpScout offers an integrated knowledge base, allowing businesses to create and organize self-service resources for customers, reducing the number of support tickets.
  • Collaboration Features
    With features like private notes, assignments, and collision detection, teams can collaborate effectively on customer issues without duplicating efforts or missing important information.
  • Multichannel Support
    HelpScout supports email, live chat, and phone integrations, enabling teams to handle customer inquiries from various channels within a single platform.
  • Customer Profiles
    HelpScout provides detailed customer profiles, which include interaction history and data from integrated apps, helping support agents to offer personalized support.
  • Strong API and Integrations
    The platform offers a robust API and integrates with numerous third-party applications, such as CRM, e-commerce, and project management tools, enhancing its functionality and adaptability.
  • Reporting and Metrics
    HelpScout includes comprehensive reporting and analytics tools that provide insights into team performance, customer satisfaction, and ticket trends, helping businesses to improve their support operations.
  • Scalability
    HelpScout is designed to support small businesses as well as larger teams, making it a scalable solution that can grow with the company's needs.

Possible disadvantages of HelpScout

  • Cost
    HelpScout's pricing can be considered high, especially for smaller businesses or startups with tight budgets, when compared to some other customer support solutions.
  • Limited Customization
    Some users find that HelpScout offers limited customization options for workflows and ticket forms compared to more flexible support platforms.
  • No Built-In Phone Support
    While HelpScout integrates with third-party phone systems, it does not offer built-in phone support, which might be a drawback for businesses that rely heavily on phone interactions.
  • Chat Functionality
    The live chat feature is relatively basic and may not include advanced functionalities found in dedicated live chat platforms.
  • Limited Automation
    HelpScout's automation rules, while useful, can be less sophisticated compared to other help desk solutions offering more complex workflow automation capabilities.
  • Storage Limitations
    There are storage limitations on the number of attachments per customer conversation, which may be a constraint for businesses that need to regularly exchange large files with customers.
  • Ticket Management
    Some users report that the ticket management system could be improved, particularly in handling ticket prioritization and categorization.
  • Mobile App Limitations
    The mobile app, while functional, has fewer features and is less robust than the desktop version, limiting the ability of support teams to work effectively on the go.

ServiceNow features and specs

  • Comprehensive IT Service Management
    ServiceNow provides a wide range of ITSM functionalities like incident management, problem management, change management, and asset management, making it a robust tool for IT operations.
  • Customizable
    The platform is highly customizable, allowing organizations to tailor workflows, reports, and dashboards to meet specific business needs.
  • Integration Capabilities
    ServiceNow integrates easily with other enterprise systems like ERP, CRM, and monitoring tools, facilitating cross-departmental collaboration and data sharing.
  • Scalability
    The platform is scalable and can grow with your organization, making it suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises.
  • Automation
    ServiceNow offers powerful automation features that can streamline routine tasks and processes, reducing manual effort and errors.
  • Cloud-Based
    As a SaaS platform, ServiceNow delivers regular updates and patches, ensures uptime, and offers high availability, eliminating the need for on-premises infrastructure.

Possible disadvantages of ServiceNow

  • Cost
    ServiceNow can be expensive, particularly for small to mid-sized businesses, given its licensing and implementation costs.
  • Complexity
    The platform can be complex to implement and configure, requiring specialized skills and potentially leading to a steep learning curve for new users.
  • Performance
    There can be performance issues during peak times if the system is not properly tuned, which can affect usability.
  • Customization Challenges
    While highly customizable, extensive changes can lead to difficulties with future updates and maintenance, as customizations may need to be re-applied or re-configured.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Being deeply tied into ServiceNow's ecosystem can make it difficult to switch vendors or platforms without substantial cost and effort.
  • User Interface
    While powerful, the user interface can sometimes be seen as less intuitive compared to more modern, lightweight solutions.

HelpScout videos

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ServiceNow videos

User Experience | What is ServiceNow and How Can It Help Me Do My Job?

More videos:

  • Review - ServiceNow Product Review
  • Tutorial - ServiceNow Application Review - How to Disable All Mandatory Form Fields Simultaneously in Madrid

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to HelpScout and ServiceNow)
Customer Support
100 100%
0% 0
Help Desk
73 73%
27% 27
Service Desk
0 0%
100% 100
Help Desk And Ticketing
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare HelpScout and ServiceNow

HelpScout Reviews

9 Best Tidio Alternatives Compared
HelpScout is built for email-centric businesses, which means their live chat and automation functionality is less-developed compared to Tidio’s. HelpScout also doesn’t offer an AI-powered chatbot, which means more tickets for your agents to manage.
Source: www.tidio.com
The Best Help Desk Software in 2020
HelpScout really focuses on the customer interface. It values the customer journey and makes it easy for them to navigate. It is set up in a way to boost internal team collaboration. However, because of this emphasis on team collaboration, HelpScout's structure and ticketing systems are not as defined. It doesn't have a dedicated customer-facing portal or ticket numbers....
Source: www.jitbit.com
Help Scout Alternative - Have you outgrown Help Scout?
With over 500 more integrations than Help Scout, it’s easy to understand why many customers see Kayako as one of the best Help Scout alternatives. With Kayako you can connect to all the apps your team already uses. As you scale the need for automation becomes critical. Kayako helps save you time through a simple and easy setup for workflow automations across multiple apps.
Source: www.kayako.com
Top 10 Alternatives to Zendesk: Analysis of Leading Help Desk Software Solutions
Help Scout is preferred by many freelancers and small businesses for the right balance of features and affordability. In fact, it offers a free app for shared inbox. Its paid plan starts at $20 per user/month, providing you with a reliable set of automation, reporting and integration tools.
8 Zendesk Alternatives to Rock Your Customer Service
Also I don’t see Front (frontapp.com) in the list. Front is the biggest alternative to Zendesk & HelpScout on the customer service use case.

ServiceNow Reviews

TOP RPA tools you should never miss | Octoparse RPA
ServiceNow RPA allows customers to build and run unattended automation natively within the ServiceNow platform. Its out-of-the-box connectors to over 50 apps that are commonly used alongside ServiceNow, such as Salesforce, Office 365, ZenDesk, and more. This enables easy automation of workflows across systems. It also has a visual interface for creating automation without...
13 tools to use for DevSecOps automation
💰 ServiceNow is a cloud computing platform to help companies manage digital workflows for their operations. The ServiceNow node allows you to manage, among others, incidents, business services, and user roles.
Source: n8n.io
The Best Asset Management Software of 2017
Bottom Line: ServiceNow asset management is usable from a features perspective, but is burdened by a complex user interface that's mostly the result of it being part of a much larger business application framework.
Source: au.pcmag.com

Social recommendations and mentions

ServiceNow might be a bit more popular than HelpScout. We know about 2 links to it since March 2021 and only 2 links to HelpScout. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

HelpScout mentions (2)

  • Makers, what are the tools you can't live without?
    Slack for communication Helpscout for customer support Calendly for meeting scheduling Usermaven for website and product analytics Contentstudio.io for social media management. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Have you ever done a product comparison chart on your site?
    Not my site, but Helpscout (https://helpscout.com) has my favorite product comparison model. Source: about 3 years ago

ServiceNow mentions (2)

  • Case creation via email
    The instance email address is tied to the instance name. Rename the instance and the email address also changes. You cannot change the email address otherwise. However, as mentioned, you can have a custom email address [something@yourdomain.com](mailto:something@yourdomain.com) forward to the instance email address. From a user perspective, they wouldn't be using a servicenow.com email address and you have to... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Is there a payment service that can be used in the Caribbean?
    Wrong sub, friend. This is for the product servicenow. Source: over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing HelpScout and ServiceNow, you can also consider the following products

Freshdesk - Freshdesk is a cloud-based customer support software that lets you support customers through traditional channels like phone and email, social channels like Facebook and Twitter, and your own branded community

Zendesk - Zendesk is a beautiful, lightweight help-desk solution.

Freshservice - Freshservice: the one-stop cloud solution for all your IT management needs.

LiveAgent - LiveAgent is a fully-featured web-based live chat and help desk software. It harnesses the power of a universal inbox, real-time live chat, built-in call center, and a robust customer service portal. Start your free 1 month trial today!

Jira Service Desk - IT service desk and customer service software by Jira Service Desk. Powerful ticketing system used by 25,000+ organizations. Try it free today.

Front - The platform for exceptional customer service at scale.