Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Intercom VS ServiceNow

Compare Intercom VS ServiceNow and see what are their differences

Intercom logo Intercom

Intercom is a customer relationship management and messaging tool for web businesses. Build relationships with users to create loyal customers.

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.
  • Intercom Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-05
  • ServiceNow Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-12

Intercom

Release Date
2011 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
Founder(s)
Ciaran Lee
Employees
500 - 999

Intercom features and specs

  • User-friendly Interface
    Intercom offers an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise.
  • Comprehensive Customer Communication Tools
    It provides a suite of tools for live chat, email marketing, in-app messaging, and customer support, all of which can be accessed in one place.
  • Customization and Integration
    Intercom allows for extensive customization and integrates with various third-party applications, enabling businesses to tailor the platform to meet their specific needs.
  • Automation Capabilities
    The platform supports automated workflows, which can save time and ensure consistent customer interactions.
  • Customer Data Management
    Intercom collects and analyzes customer data, providing valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences that can inform business strategies.

Possible disadvantages of Intercom

  • Cost
    Intercom can be expensive, particularly for small businesses or startups. The pricing model is based on the number of users and features, which can add up quickly.
  • Complexity for Advanced Features
    While basic features are user-friendly, some of the more advanced functionalities can be complex and may require a steeper learning curve.
  • Limited Reporting
    The reporting and analytics features, while useful, are sometimes considered less comprehensive compared to specialized analytics platforms.
  • Customer Support
    Some users have reported that Intercom's own customer support can be slow to respond, which can be frustrating when dealing with urgent issues.
  • Notification Overload
    The platform can generate a high volume of notifications, which can be overwhelming and may require careful management to avoid interrupting workflow.

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.

Intercom videos

Intercom Review & Tutorial - How to Use Intercom for Websites

More videos:

  • Review - Intercom Software Review, Engage, Respond, Educate
  • Review - BTI V6 1200m Bluetooth & Intercom Review

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 Intercom and ServiceNow)
Customer Support
96 96%
4% 4
Help Desk
77 77%
23% 23
CRM
100 100%
0% 0
Service Desk
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

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

Intercom Reviews

  1. Eleanor Bennett
    · Digital Marketing Specialist at Logit.io ·
    An essential communication tool

    Intercom provides a lot of value to us. From live chat to email marketing and even helping us to create support documentation, Intercom handles a lot of key moving parts that are essential to keeping customers happy.


9 Best Tidio Alternatives Compared
Intercom is a customer engagement platform that serves mostly large and enterprise businesses. The software is known for its versatility, offering live chat, messaging, and in-app support, combined with advanced automation, AI bots, and customer data tracking.
Source: www.tidio.com
10 Best Freshdesk Alternatives for Businesses in 2024
Intercom is an alternative that excels in self-service support. It enables businesses to communicate and engage with their customers in real-time.
Top 11 Freshdesk Alternatives for 2024 (Ranked & Rated)
Intercom provides a useful suite of tools designed to improve your customer engagement. As a Freshdesk alternative, Intercom ticks several boxes when it comes to features:
9 Best ManyChat Alternatives & Competitors in 2024
Intercom’s main features are its helpdesk interfaces and chatbots. But it also includes lead qualification and nurturing functionalities. It offers product tours and resolution bots that can solve many customer concerns at once, freeing your reps’ time for the most complex queries. You can also make use of its Messenger integration and a provided chatbot to improve your...
Source: www.tidio.com
Top 13 Freshdesk alternatives and competitors for 2024
Intercom offers customer service software while also extending its platform to marketing and sales. Intercom is a newer platform to the CX market and has adopted AI and automation capabilities to keep up with business trends. Intercom features Intercom Messenger, a communication tool that provides customers with self-service or live support options.
Source: www.zendesk.com

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

Based on our record, Intercom should be more popular than ServiceNow. It has been mentiond 7 times since March 2021. 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.

Intercom mentions (7)

  • Enhancing Customer Support with a Live Chat Widget on Your Website
    Intercom: Famous for its conversational marketing focus, Intercom’s live chat widget offers features like proactive messaging and lead qualification. It also supports deep personalization for enhanced customer engagement. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • I started affiliate marketing, but with a twist
    Use chatbots to automate customer service: Chatbots use natural language processing to communicate with customers and answer their questions. By integrating chatbots into your affiliate marketing strategy, you can automate customer service and increase engagement with potential customers. This can lead to more sales and higher commissions. (Crisp, Intercom). Source: about 2 years ago
  • How to embed a web application into another website via API?
    I am trying to create an application that will work on a customer's website. Much like tawk.to or intercom.com. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Here's how I'd figure out the go-to-market for a Customer Support SaaS
    My way of doing marketing starts with figuring out what my overall project will (or will not) be. In this case, I looked at the vendors like Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk, or Help Scout. They all have whizbang features such as live-chat, collaboration stuffs, automations and workflows. They bill per contact and addons. I’d emphasize a straightforward, fuss-free angle instead. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Chat widget with react.js
    I wanted to know the best practices of developing a widget. So I went through the popular implementations of it. I liked Intercom's widget very much. It is written in React. I analyzed how it works. The minimal javascript is loaded async on the webpage. It is injecting an iframe with id intercom-frame. That iframe has a script in it's head with a source URl. Obviously it is React bundle. Source: about 3 years ago
View more

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: about 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 Intercom and ServiceNow, you can also consider the following products

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

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

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

Drift - A messaging app that helps you grow your business.

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.

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!