Activepieces
ServiceNow
| Feature | Activepieces | ServiceNow |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10/mo | Contact sales |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, startups, privacy-focused-teams, automation-builders | enterprise, it-departments, large-organizations, government |
| Founded | 2022 | 2004 |
| Visual Builder | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Copilot | ✓ | ✗ |
| Branching Logic | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pieces Framework | ✓ | ✗ |
| Webhooks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Itsm | ✗ | ✓ |
| Itom | ✗ | ✓ |
| Workflow Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cmdb | ✗ | ✓ |
| Service Portal | ✗ | ✓ |
| Virtual Agent | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Activepieces Pros
- Open-source and self-hostable
- AI helps build automations from descriptions
- Clean visual workflow builder
- Growing piece (connector) library
✗ Activepieces Cons
- Fewer integrations than Zapier/Make
- Community still growing
- Self-hosted requires maintenance
✓ ServiceNow Pros
- Industry leader in ITSM
- Highly customizable
- Powerful workflows
- AI integration
✗ ServiceNow Cons
- Very expensive
- Complex implementation
- Requires dedicated admin
The Verdict
Activepieces is built for developers and startups, with a focus on visual-builder and ai-copilot. ServiceNow targets enterprise and it departments and leads with itsm and itom.
ServiceNow uses custom enterprise pricing, while Activepieces starts at $10/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Activepieces has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. ServiceNow requires a paid subscription from day one.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.