OPTION · CMDB WITH DISCOVERY · RANK 8 OF 9
Freshservice CMDB review: a priced service desk with agentless discovery
SHORT ANSWER
By The Record Desk · CMDB Alternatives Compare · Published 2026-10-11
RECORD SCORE
Freshservice is outscored on 7 of 7 criteria.
- Company
- Freshworks
- Type
- CMDB with discovery
- Deployment
- Cloud service desk from Freshworks.
- Pricing
- Service desk: Starter $19, Growth $49, Pro $99 per agent per month, billed annually; Enterprise custom; 14-day free trial. The CMDB and asset discovery come with separately licensed IT asset management plans (Growth and above), priced in Asset Units bought in packs of 500: 1 desktop or mobile device = 1 unit, 1 server, VM or network device = 4 units, 1 SaaS user = 1 unit. The Asset Unit price is not shown.
Source: Freshservice IT asset management pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026
- Website
- freshworks.com
What does Freshservice do?
A Freshworks service desk with a built-in CMDB that agentless discovery fills with devices, software, storage and cloud resources.
- CMDB: "Build a sophisticated CMDB with data from devices, software, storage, cloud resources, and their interdependencies", with "agentless discovery" and SaaS license management.
Source: Freshservice IT asset management · Read 27 Sep 2026
- ITSM processes: Problem, change and release management on Pro and Enterprise; service catalog and SLAs from Growth.
Source: Freshservice pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
- ITIL: "Gold Accredited Tool Vendor with certification across 14 ITIL practices"; "PinkVERIFY-certified across six ITSM processes".
Source: Freshservice homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026
- Public sector: Freshworks said on 6 August 2026 that Freshservice reached FedRAMP "In Process" status toward Class C (Moderate).
Source: Freshworks: FedRAMP In Process for Freshservice · Read 27 Sep 2026
- ITAM plans: ITAM Growth includes asset discovery and the CMDB; Pro adds SaaS discovery and software asset management; Enterprise adds service discovery, application dependency mapping and business service mapping.
Source: Freshservice IT asset management pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026
- Analyst report: Freshworks said on 29 July 2026 that it was named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Management Platforms.
Source: Freshworks: Leader in 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for ITSM platforms · Read 27 Sep 2026
How does it score on each criterion?
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Why | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Completeness of discovery | 20% | Agentless discovery of devices, software, storage and cloud resources; SaaS discovery on ITAM Pro and service discovery with application dependency mapping on Enterprise; OT, IoT and identities are not documented. | Source: Freshservice IT asset management pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026 | |
| Data trust and reconciliation | 20% | Lowest in set | Builds the CMDB from discovery data and interdependencies; merging records from several third-party tools is not described. | Source: Freshservice IT asset management · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Ownership mapping | 12% | Asset ownership mapping is not described on the pages reviewed. | Source: Freshservice IT asset management · Read 27 Sep 2026 | |
| Keeping the CMDB in sync | 16% | The CMDB is native to the service desk and fed by agentless discovery; sync with an outside CMDB is not described. | Source: Freshservice IT asset management · Read 27 Sep 2026 | |
| Effort to maintain | 14% | Agentless discovery cuts manual entry; discovery frequency is not stated on the pages reviewed. | Source: Freshservice IT asset management · Read 27 Sep 2026 | |
| Actionability | 10% | Problem, change and release management on Pro and Enterprise, service catalog and SLAs from Growth, on the same platform as the CMDB. | Source: Freshservice pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026 | |
| Pricing clarity | 8% | Service desk prices are published per agent ($19 to $99 a month billed annually), but the CMDB comes with separately licensed ITAM plans priced in Asset Units, and the Asset Unit price is not shown. | Source: Freshservice IT asset management pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026 |
What does its record card show?
- Documented on the vendor's pages
- Partial: in general terms, through another product or by integration only
- Not documented on the pages reviewed
- FOUND · Documented
Agentless discovery of devices, software, storage and cloud resources.
Source: Freshservice IT asset management · Read 27 Sep 2026
- MATCHED · Not documented
Merging records from several third-party tools is not described on the pages reviewed.
Source: Freshservice IT asset management · Read 27 Sep 2026
- OWNED · Not documented
Asset ownership mapping is not described on the pages reviewed.
Source: Freshservice IT asset management · Read 27 Sep 2026
- SYNCED · Documented
The CMDB is native to the service desk.
Source: Freshservice IT asset management · Read 27 Sep 2026
- CURRENT · Partial
Discovery is documented; its frequency is not stated on the pages reviewed.
Source: Freshservice IT asset management · Read 27 Sep 2026
How does it keep the record current?
Freshservice documents agentless discovery that builds the CMDB from devices, software, storage and cloud resources and their interdependencies, plus SaaS license management. The pages reviewed do not state how often discovery runs, so we score its currency as partial.
How does it work with a CMDB such as ServiceNow?
Freshservice is a service desk in its own right, so it is usually a choice instead of ServiceNow rather than a feed into it. Teams already on Freshservice can also pair it with Device42, which Freshworks owns, or with Lansweeper, which lists Freshservice among its integrations.
Where is it strong, and where are its limits?
Strengths
- The most pricing detail of the three CMDB-with-discovery options: published agent prices and a stated Asset Unit model for the CMDB.
- Problem, change and release work runs on the same platform as the CMDB.
Limits
- Reconciliation across third-party tools and ownership mapping are not described on the pages reviewed.
- The CMDB needs a separately licensed ITAM plan, and the Asset Unit price is not shown.
How does it compare with the others?
- Freshservice or Axonius: Freshservice 60.8 against Axonius 83.2
- Freshservice or Lansweeper: Freshservice 60.8 against Lansweeper 69.8
- Freshservice or runZero: Freshservice 60.8 against runZero 69.3
- Freshservice or Oomnitza: Freshservice 60.8 against Oomnitza 68.9
- Freshservice or Armis: Freshservice 60.8 against Armis 68.0
- Freshservice or JupiterOne: Freshservice 60.8 against JupiterOne 67.8
- Freshservice or ServiceNow CMDB: Freshservice 60.8 against ServiceNow CMDB 64.9
- Freshservice or Device42: Freshservice 60.8 against Device42 55.2
Alternatives to FreshserviceCompare Freshservice with others
Frequently asked questions
Which Freshservice plan includes the CMDB?
The CMDB and asset discovery come with Freshservice IT asset management, licensed separately from the service desk: the ITAM Growth plan includes both, Pro adds SaaS discovery and software asset management, and Enterprise adds service discovery and application dependency mapping. ITAM is priced in Asset Units bought in packs of 500; the Asset Unit price is not shown.
Is Freshservice ITIL aligned?
Freshworks describes Freshservice as a Gold Accredited Tool Vendor across 14 ITIL practices and PinkVERIFY-certified across six ITSM processes.
How is Freshservice related to Device42?
Both belong to Freshworks. Device42's own pages describe it as a Freshworks company.
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