Helpscout vs ServiceNow vs Jitbit

Helpscout

You’re juggling tickets and trying to stay on top of what actually matters. Helpscout feels like a steady coworker: a help desk that keeps conversations organized without getting in the way. You can import and export data when a client changes systems or you need to hand off a project, and the same flow makes it easy to back up or migrate information later. It’s not flashy, but the rhythm is predictable: gather the right notes, keep threads tidy, and move on to the next thing.

Where it shines for teams is clarity, especially around people data. Active Directory integration makes user management less painful, so you’re not chasing emails for access or permissions at every turn. Custom Fields give you a way to track what actually matters for your team or your customers, so tickets aren’t just a blank slate with generic labels. And for feedback, the built-in customer satisfaction survey lets you drop in quick follow-ups after a ticket wraps—enough to gauge how things went without turning every interaction into a big project. It’s a quiet, practical tool that slots into your workflow instead of forcing a new one.

ServiceNow

You know that moment when your inbox feels like a labyrinth and your ticket queue keeps growing? ServiceNow is the kind of help desk software that slides into that chaos and gives you a way to tame it without the drama. It shows you an Activity Dashboard that surfaces real-time updates, lets you see who’s working on what, and helps you spot bottlenecks before they cascade. It’s not about flashy promises; it’s about making the day-to-day smoother, so you don’t have to chase people down or dredge through old threads.

Behind the scenes, Workflow Automation quietly does the heavy lifting—routing requests, triggering approvals, and moving tickets along so you don’t have to micromanage every step. When language isn’t your first, Internationalization keeps things legible for teammates around the world, so handoffs feel natural rather than awkward. And when you need to respond fast to common issues, Canned Responses provide ready-to-ship replies that still feel human. It’s not a magic wand, but it’s a reliable, straightforward tool that aims to keep conversations moving and the help desk coordinated. If you’ve ever wished for a little order, this is the kind of thing you might gravitate toward.

	Helpscout	ServiceNow	Jitbit
	A simple help desk focused on email.	Enterprise-class ITSM solution	Help Desk Software built for email. Trusted by thousands of companies across 50 + countries.
Pricing: 3 years / 5 agents	$6300	$18000	$3897
Pricing: 3 years / 10 agents	$12600	$36000	$8367
Active Directory	✅ Only Azure AD is supported	✅ LDAP, SAML authentication	✅ Integration via a script for your server or ADFS and SAML
Activity Dashboard	❌	✅ Live activity dashboard	✅ Live overview dashboard
Asset Management	❌	✅ Full fledged asset management with automated discovery	✅ A complete asset management module tightly integrated into the rest of the app
Canned Responses	✅ They are called Saved Replies. You can insert them in ticket replies	✅ Response templates	✅ You can also assign canned responses to specific ticket categories if you need to
Community Forums	❌	✅ Yes	✅ Ideas Forum comes out of the box
Custom Fields	✅ Up to ten custom fields per mailbox	✅ Custom fields via additional database columns	✅ Many custom field types, including dependant fields. Various privacy options.
Custom Statuses	❌	✅ Custom statuses for tickets and incidents	✅ Add custom statuses, customize how your customers see them and assign different colors to them
Customer satisfaction survey	✅ Comes with CSATs and a Happiness report	✅ Separate satisfaction surveys, not tied to tickets	✅ Optional CSATs in email notifications and a report
Design Customization	✅ Customize Knowledge Base with externally hosted CSS files	✅ Custom forms layouts only	✅ Unlimited customization options. Change colors with a live preview, add custom CSS and JS
Email Notification Templates	❌	✅ WYSIWIG/HTML templates	✅ You are able to completely change a template for any notification type
Escalation	❌	✅ Manual or via triggers	✅ Possible to set up various escalation scenarios via automation
Exchange Integration	❌	✅ Native integration via a plugin	✅ Native EWS support instead of IMAP. oAuth support for Office 365
Import and Export	✅ Can be done via API	✅ Import/export from Excel, export to PDF	✅ Import and Export tickets via CSV files
Internationalization	✅ You can manually translate some parts of the app	✅ Extra languages via a plugin	✅ Available in 16 different languages
ITIL Compliance	❌	✅ Full ITIL/ITSM	✅ Support for most ITIL processes
Knowledge Base	✅ It's called Docs and it is highly customizable	✅ Knowledge base and the self-service portal	✅ Customizable Knowledge Base optimized for search engines
Live Chat	❌	✅ Yes	✅ A free live chat component in the web widget
Mobile Apps	✅ iOS and Android	✅ Only via 'Now' mobile app	✅ iOS and Android
Multi-channel support	❌	❌	✅ Possible to add unlimited channels via integrations and API
On-premise Version	❌	✅ Yes, but only the highest pricing tier	✅ A full on-premises version that runs on Windows Server
Reports and Analytics	✅ Most must-have reports are included	✅ Yes	✅ 13 reports with an ability to build your own and to export everything to Excel
REST API	✅ Sparate APIs for KB and tickets	✅ Included	✅ API covers all the app features
Single-Sign-On	✅ Separate add-on for $5 per user per month	✅ SAML, LDAP	✅ SAML, Google login, Windows-integrated etc.
SLA Management	❌	✅ SLA policies available	✅ Full SLA automation via actions/triggers
Support Widget	❌	❌	✅ Two different versions of a web widget
Third-party Integrations	✅ 80+ apps	❌	✅ 30 native integrations and 500 more via Zapier
Ticket Collaboration	❌	✅ Transfer and CC, but no live updates and collision detection	✅ See when other techs are viewing tickets in real-time, assign multiple people to a ticket
Workflow Automation	✅ Very basic automation features are available	✅ Automation Designer in the 'Now' platform	✅ Automation Rules are very powerful and can go beyond simple if-this-then-that logic

Looking for help desk software? Check out Jitbit. We offer a fully-featured app at a very affordable price. It comes with all the must have features like knowledge base, two-way email integration (including native Exchange and Office 365 support), automation, hundreds of integrations with third-party apps and much more. Available both as a hosted "SaaS" version and an on-premises version you can install on your own server.