[Blog](/blog) Show links Resources [Blog](/blog) [Breaches](/breaches) [eBooks, reports, & more](/resources) [Events](/events) [News](/news) [DevOps](/category/devops) Show links Categories [Attack Surface Management](/category/attack-surface-management) [Company News](/category/company-news) [Compliance and Regulations](/category/compliance-and-regulations) [Cybersecurity](/category/cybersecurity) [Data Breaches](/category/data-breaches) [DevOps](/category/devops) [Human Cyber Risk](/category/human-cyber-risk) [Risks and Vulnerabilities](/category/risks-and-vulnerabilities) [Third-Party Risk Management](/category/third-party-risk-management) [Vendor Risk Management](/category/vendor-risk-management) [JIRA Service Desk vs ServiceNow: Ticketing System Comparison](/blog/servicenow-vs-jira) Publish date November 19, 2024 {x} minute read # JIRA Service Desk vs ServiceNow: Ticketing System Comparison [Get a demo](/contact-sales) [Free trial](/demo) [Download the PDF guide](#) [Free trial](/demo) Written by [UpGuard Team](/team/upguard) UpGuard Team Reviewed by Table of contents Free resource ### [Download now](#) Ticketing systems are essential to today's enterprise IT help desk operations—without them, service requests and issues would end up lost inside a flurry of emails and handwritten notes. Both JIRA's Service Desk and ServiceNow are leading solutions in this category; the latter has a 25% share of the IT service management (ITSM) market, while Atlassian—though more software developer-focused—is a household name when it comes to project management and [collaboration tools](https://www.freshbooks.com/blog/remotely-managing-15-tools). Both solutions are powerful offerings when it comes to integrations—this is arguably the crucial hallmark of a well-positioned enterprise software vendor these days. JIRA Service Desk is of course built on top of Atlassian's leading issue and project tracking platform JIRA, which makes it extensible via 1,800+ add-ons available on the Atlassian Marketplace. Not to be outdone, ServiceNow's [integrations](https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/jakarta-platform-administration/page/integrate/concept/c_IntegrationOptions.html?title=List_of_Available_Integrations#gsc.tab=0) include several that are vendor-provided as well as a myriad of custom-built integrations, from Salesforce.com to BMC Remedy. ## ServiceNow ServiceNow is a born-in-the-cloud SaaS and platform offering that started out focusing on ITIL-based IT service management applications. Because of the plentiful array of third-party developed solutions in the platform's ecosystem, the offering is often referred to as the *"Salesforce.com of IT." *  Today's ServiceNow offering includes a myriad of applications for IT service management, HR, legal, and other organizations within the enterprise. The platform aims to provide a single view of all systems in a given IT service delivery ecosystem—to this end, it integrates with existing systems as well as competing solutions from BMC, Salesforce and JIRA. ## JIRA Initially designed to compete with Mozilla's bug tracking tool Bugzilla (the name is in fact a truncation of *Gojira*, the Japanese name for Godzilla), JIRA is now a fully-fledged issue tracking system for helping agile teams develop and release software. Service Desk is built on top of JIRA to support IT support and customer service operations. True to DevOps form, many of Service Desk's features help to unsilo information between dev and ops. For example, Service Desk tickets can be linked to JIRA software issues for automatically keeping dev and ops in sync. ## Side-by-Side Scoring: ServiceNow vs. JIRA ### 1. Capability Set Both are competent platforms for managing the enterprise IT help desk; that said, Jira—as basically an add-on built on top of Atlassian JIRA—works well as part of an ecosystem of other Atlassian products. ServiceNow was designed to be a platform offering with integrations as a focal point, and derives many of its capabilities from working with other tools. | | | | ---------- | ----------------- | | ServiceNow | Jira Service Desk | | 4/5 | 3/5 | ### 2. Ease of Use JIRA's web interface is intuitive and easy to grasp—again, Atlassian customers will feel right at home with its admin console. ServiceNow's web front-end is also highly usable but, unlike Service Desk, is more enterprise/ITIL-focused, making it less accessible to smaller organizations and IT shops.  | | | | ---------- | ----------------- | | ServiceNow | Jira Service Desk | | 3/5 | 4/5 | ### 3. Community Support Atlassian offers a range of resources to its community of users and platform developers, including a extensive [developer portal](https://developer.atlassian.com/) and its [Answers Q\&A website.](https://community.atlassian.com/) ServiceNow also provides its users with various community support resources such as a [community portal](https://community.servicenow.com/community) and product [wiki](https://docs.servicenow.com/?title=Main_Page).  | | | | ---------- | ----------------- | | ServiceNow | Jira Service Desk | | 4/5 | 4/5 | ### 4. Release Rate JIRA Service Desk is currently on version 3.2—a full release history is available on the [Atlassian Documentation](https://confluence.atlassian.com/servicedesk/jira-service-desk-3-2-x-release-notes-830281732.html) website. Both Service Desk and JIRA have been regularly updated over the years. Currently on its "Helsinki" release, ServiceNow has also seen regular monthly updates since its initial release. A full release history and notes are located on the ServiceNow support wiki. | | | | ---------- | ----------------- | | ServiceNow | Jira Service Desk | | 4/5 | 4/5 | ### 5. Pricing and Support A monitoring system won't troubleshoot a configuration error. A configuration test script will. JIRA Service Desk's [pricing](https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/service-desk/pricing) is straightforward and manageable by even the most budget-conscious organizations: $10 per month for up to 3 agents and $20 per agent/month for 4+ agents. On-premise versions are also available, priced per agent. ServiceNow starts at $10,200 per year for the Express version, a price point more in line with enterprise budgets than with smaller IT shops.  In terms of support, Atlassian offers a range of [standard and premium](https://confluence.atlassian.com/support/atlassian-support-offerings-193299636.html) support options that include weekday and weekend coverage, dedicated support staff, shortened response windows, and more. ServiceNow offers web/email and 24/7/365 phone support for customers within the US. | | | | ---------- | ----------------- | | ServiceNow | Jira Service Desk | | 4/5 | 5/5 | ### 6. API and Extensibility JIRA offers a powerful [REST API](https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/jira/platform/rest/v3/) for building add-ons and develop integrations with other applications. ServiceNow also comes with a well-documented REST API for interacting with its platform's service instances.  | | | | ---------- | ----------------- | | ServiceNow | Jira Service Desk | | 5/5 | 5/5 | ### 7. 3rd Party Integrations JIRA's third party integrations are second to none—its [Marketplace](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/) offers up over 2,400 add-ons for extending the platform's capabilities. ServiceNow also offers a plethora of[ integrations](https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/jakarta-platform-administration/page/integrate/concept/c_IntegrationOptions.html?title=List_of_Available_Integrations)—both included and custom-built—via its website.  | | | | ---------- | ----------------- | | ServiceNow | Jira Service Desk | | 5/5 | 5/5 | ### 8. Companies that Use It JIRA is used by many of the world's leading enterprises: Twitter, Sotheby's, Spotify, BlackRock, and Splunk, among others. Equally popular among the enterprise elite, ServiceNow counts   AstraZeneca, Envision Healthcare, Equinix, GE Capital, and Standard Life as some of its marquee customers. | | | | ---------- | ----------------- | | ServiceNow | Jira Service Desk | | 5/5 | 5/5 | ### 9. Learning Curve ServiceNow is more enterprise-oriented and focused around ITIL, while JIRA was designed to be accessible by IT professionals from all organization types. Subsequently, Service Desk has a more moderate learning curve in store for the average IT professional when compared to ServiceNow.  | | | | ---------- | ----------------- | | ServiceNow | Jira Service Desk | | 4/5 | 4/5 | ### 10. Security Rating ServiceNow scores an average [security rating of 760](https://www.upguard.com/instant-security-score/report?c=www.servicenow.com) and Atlassian scores a [722.](https://www.upguard.com/instant-security-score/report?c=www.atlassian.com) ## Scoreboard and Summary | | | | | ---------------------- | ---------- | ----------------- | |   | ServiceNow | Jira Service Desk | | Capability set | 4/5 | 3/5 | | Ease of use | 3/5 | 4/5 | | Community support | 4/5 | 4/5 | | Release rate | 4/5 | 4/5 | | Pricing and support | 4/5 | 5/5 | | API and extensibility | 5/5 | 5/5 | | 3rd party integrations | 5/5 | 5/5 | | Companies that use it | 5/5 | 5/5 | | Learning curve | 4/5 | 4/5 | | Security rating | 706 | 722 | | Total | 4.2/5 | 4.3/5 | For smaller IT shops with limited needs/requirements, JIRA Service Desk is a safe bet, especially since the platform can be easily scaled up and expanded to support more users and features. Organizations looking for a more structured ITSM and [ITIL-focused](/blog/cobit-vs-itil-vs-itsm-which-is-better-for-cybersecurity-and-digital-resilience) solution may opt for ServiceNow's enterprise service management platform instead. Both platforms excel in their integration capabilities, so either solution can readily dovetail into an environment where disparate tools are being used.  ## Are You at Risk of a Data Breach? UpGuard can continuously monitor both the internal and third-party attack surface to help organizations discover and remediate residual risks exposing their [sensitive data](https://www.upguard.com/blog/sensitive-data). UpGuard also supports compliance across a myriad of security frameworks, including the new requirements set by [Biden's Cybersecurity Executive Order](https://www.upguard.com/blog/cybersecurity-executive-order). [Click here for a FREE trial of UpGuard today!](https://www.upguard.com/demo) Free resource ### [Download now](#) ## Related posts Learn more about the latest issues in cybersecurity. DevOps #### [Boost Your Cybersecurity with DevSecOps](/blog/devsecops) Explore how DevSecOps can significantly enhance your organization's cybersecurity posture by integrating security into your development process. [](/team/leah-sadoian) [Leah Sadoian](#) July 4, 2025 DevOps #### [Release Testing Basics](/blog/release-testing-basics) Learn how to start testing your software before releasing it to the public, an essential part of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). [](/team/upguard) [UpGuard Team](#) November 19, 2024 DevOps #### [SCOM vs Splunk](/blog/scom-vs-splunk) How does Microsoft's data center monitoring solution compare to Splunk's leading platform for IT operational intelligence? Read more to find out. 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