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Manufacturing · head to head

IBM Maximo Application Suite vs ServiceNow

IBM Maximo Application Suite logo

IBM Maximo Application Suite

Manufacturing

Enterprise asset management suite licensed by a shared pool of AppPoints rather than by named user

From
$3150/month
Rated
-
ServiceNow logo

ServiceNow

Customer Support

The world works with ServiceNow

From
On request
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: IBM Maximo Application Suite appPoints are consumed by users, applications and environments at once, so a routine decision like adding a test environment or enabling Health quietly eats pool capacity and can trigger a true-up nobody budgeted for.; ServiceNow listed on G-Cloud 14 by reseller UP3 Services Ltd at £81.00 per licence per month for ServiceNow
  • They diverge on capability: IBM Maximo Application Suite covers AppPoint pooling, ServiceNow covers ITSM.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which IBM Maximo Application Suite and ServiceNow actually diverge.

Attributes where IBM Maximo Application Suite and ServiceNow differ
AttributeIBM Maximo Application SuiteServiceNow
Starting price$3150/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer year by AppPoint poolquote
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, On-premise, iOS, Android, LinuxWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryManufacturingCustomer Support
FoundedUnknown2004

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in IBM Maximo Application Suite

  • AppPoint pooling
  • Maximo Manage
  • Maximo Health and Predict
  • Maximo Visual Inspection
  • Industry solutions
  • OpenShift deployment

Only in ServiceNow

  • ITSM
  • IT Operations
  • Customer workflows
  • Employee workflows
  • App development
  • AI/ML capabilities
  • Slack
  • Microsoft Teams

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

IBM Maximo Application Suite

  • A transmission utility managing hundreds of thousands of linear and point assets with regulatory reporting that a mid-market CMMS cannot producenot ServiceNow
  • An airline or rail operator needing configuration control and maintenance history depth that survives a regulator audit going back yearsnot ServiceNow
  • A manufacturer wanting condition-based maintenance and work order execution in the same system rather than integrating a predictive tool to a separate CMMSnot ServiceNow
  • A defence or nuclear estate where the industry solution and long-term vendor viability matter more than the licence costnot ServiceNow

ServiceNow

  • Enterprise IT managementnot IBM Maximo Application Suite
  • Digital transformationnot IBM Maximo Application Suite
  • Workflow automationnot IBM Maximo Application Suite

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

IBM Maximo Application Suite

  • AppPoints are consumed by users, applications and environments at once, so a routine decision like adding a test environment or enabling Health quietly eats pool capacity and can trigger a true-up nobody budgeted for.
  • Pools are commonly sized from headcount rather than concurrency and application mix, and licence reviews frequently find them over-provisioned by a large margin, meaning organisations pay for entitlement they never consume.
  • Implementation, data migration, customisation and integrator fees routinely cost two to three times the first-year licence, so a business case built on the subscription figure will be materially wrong.
  • MAS requires Red Hat OpenShift, which for a customer-hosted deployment adds a container platform, its licensing and the specialist administration skills to run it, none of which the previous standalone Maximo needed.
  • Maximo is deep and slow to change; configuration is a specialist skill, upgrades are projects rather than updates, and organisations without a dedicated Maximo team end up permanently dependent on an implementation partner.

ServiceNow

  • Listed on G-Cloud 14 by reseller UP3 Services Ltd at £81.00 per licence per month for ServiceNow

Pricing, plan by plan

IBM Maximo Application Suite

$3150/month
  • Essentials (SaaS)$3150/month
    • Entry SaaS tier for a small user population
    • One production environment
    • Core Manage functionality
  • Standard (SaaS)$undefined/month
    • Larger AppPoint pool
    • Additional applications and environments
    • Priced on application
  • Premium (SaaS)$undefined/month
    • Full application set including Predict and Visual Inspection
    • Multiple environments
    • Priced on application
  • Customer hosted$undefined/year
    • AppPoint entitlement bought outright and run on your own OpenShift cluster
    • Infrastructure, OpenShift and administration costs are yours
    • Annual support and subscription contract required

ServiceNow

On request
  • IT Service Management$undefined/month
    • Incident management
    • Problem management
    • Change management
  • IT Operations Management$undefined/month
    • Discovery
    • Service mapping
    • Event management
  • Customer Service Management$undefined/month
    • Omnichannel engagement
    • Self-service
    • Case management

Which should you pick?

Choose IBM Maximo Application Suite if

  • You need apppoint pooling.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, On-premise, iOS, Android, Linux.
  • You also want maximo manage.

Choose ServiceNow if

  • You need itsm.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want it operations.

Questions people ask

Is IBM Maximo Application Suite or ServiceNow better?
Neither clearly leads. IBM Maximo Application Suite starts at $3150/month and ServiceNow at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IBM Maximo Application Suite or ServiceNow?
IBM Maximo Application Suite starts at $3150/month and ServiceNow at On request.
Does IBM Maximo Application Suite or ServiceNow run on more platforms?
IBM Maximo Application Suite runs on Web, Cloud, On-premise, iOS, Android, Linux. ServiceNow runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is IBM Maximo Application Suite best used for?
IBM Maximo Application Suite is most often used for a transmission utility managing hundreds of thousands of linear and point assets with regulatory reporting that a mid-market cmms cannot produce, an airline or rail operator needing configuration control and maintenance history depth that survives a regulator audit going back years, a manufacturer wanting condition-based maintenance and work order execution in the same system rather than integrating a predictive tool to a separate cmms, a defence or nuclear estate where the industry solution and long-term vendor viability matter more than the licence cost. Of those, a transmission utility managing hundreds of thousands of linear and point assets with regulatory reporting that a mid-market cmms cannot produce and an airline or rail operator needing configuration control and maintenance history depth that survives a regulator audit going back years are not what ServiceNow is typically brought in for.
What can IBM Maximo Application Suite do that ServiceNow cannot?
IBM Maximo Application Suite covers AppPoint pooling, Maximo Manage, Maximo Health and Predict, Maximo Visual Inspection. ServiceNow covers ITSM, IT Operations, Customer workflows, Employee workflows.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

IBM Maximo Application Suite: Is Maximo still sold per user?

No. The Maximo Application Suite licenses a shared AppPoint pool consumed by users, applications and environments. Per-seat Maximo is the old model.

ServiceNow: Does ServiceNow offer a free trial?

ServiceNow provides product trials and demos for prospects. Organizations can request a demo to see the platform capabilities for IT service management, customer service management, and business workflows.

Source
IBM Maximo Application Suite: What does the entry SaaS tier cost?

The Essentials package starts around $3,150 per month for a small user population and one production environment. Larger tiers are quoted.

ServiceNow: How is ServiceNow priced?

ServiceNow uses subscription-based pricing with custom quotes based on the number of users and modules selected. Organizations must contact ServiceNow directly to receive pricing for their specific deployment needs.

Source
IBM Maximo Application Suite: Do non-production environments cost AppPoints?

Yes. Development, test and training environments draw from the same pool, which is the most common sizing surprise.

ServiceNow: What implementation support does ServiceNow provide?

ServiceNow offers professional services, customer success management, and training programs to help organizations maximize value from the platform. Implementation support is available through direct services teams and certified implementation partners.

Source
IBM Maximo Application Suite: Can I run MAS without OpenShift?

No. OpenShift is the deployment platform whether you host it yourself or consume MAS as a service from IBM.

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