IT service management · October 2026 Edition
Freshservice vs SolarWinds Service Desk
Fourteen of fourteen models named Freshservice first on the direct prompt; zero named SolarWinds Service Desk. Freshservice was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and SolarWinds Service Desk by eight and Freshservice carries 66 labels and SolarWinds Service Desk 14, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in nine categories this edition.
Named in three categories this edition.
First-choice share58%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate2%29%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#6A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels6614A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Freshservice reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Jira Service Management was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. Freshservice vs Jira Service Management · Freshservice vs ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus · Freshservice vs Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the IT service management page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
FreshserviceFirst choices, of fourteen modelsSolarWinds Service Desk
Direct140
Paraphrase120
Comparative00
Budget-constrained21
Scale-constrained50
Negative001 against Freshservice · 4 against SolarWinds Service Desk
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Freshservice and SolarWinds Service Desk stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | | | |
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | | ||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | |||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | ||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | | |
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | ||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | | |
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | | ||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | |
Freshservice SolarWinds Service Desk first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Freshservice on the left and SolarWinds Service Desk on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Freshservice and SolarWinds Service Desk stood in it.
Freshservice first, SolarWinds Service Desk an alternative
14 of 14 modelsSolarWinds Service Desk was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Claude Haiku 4.5Freshservice alternatives: InvGate Service Management, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus, SysAid
GPT-5.4 miniFreshservice alternatives: Jira Service Management, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Gemini 3.5 FlashFreshservice alternatives: HaloITSM, InvGate Service Management, Jira Service Management, SysAid
Perplexity SonarFreshservice alternatives: BMC Helix ITSM, Jira Service Management, ServiceDesk Plus, SysAid
Grok 4.1 FastFreshservice alternatives: InvGate Service Management, Jira Service Management, SysAid
Mistral SmallFreshservice alternatives: Jira Service Management, SolarWinds Service Desk
DeepSeek V4 FlashFreshservice alternatives: Jira Service Management, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Llama 4 MaverickFreshservice, Hiver, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Qwen 3.7 FlashFreshservice, Jira Service Management
Kimi K2Freshservice alternatives: Jira Service Management, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
GLM 4.7 FlashXFreshservice alternatives: Jira Service Management, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
MiniMax M2.5Freshservice, Jira Service Management
GPT-6 LunaFreshservice alternatives: Jira Service Management, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Muse Glimmer 30BFreshservice alternatives: Jira Service Management, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus, Zendesk
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Freshservice leads by forty-five points.
Freshservice47%#1 of 12SolarWinds Service Desk2%#8 of 12Mid-marketThe figures above
Freshservice leads by fifty-six points.
Freshservice58%#1 of 11SolarWinds Service Desk2%#6 of 11Enterprise
Freshservice leads by nine points.
Freshservice9%#3 of 9SolarWinds Service Desk0%#– of 9What the models said about Freshservice
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of four in this category shown.
“can outgrow the platform's configuration flexibility, and some customers report needing workarounds for highly custom approval chains” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Freshservice (Best All-Rounder) ... often the go-to recommendation for SMBs ... Start with Freshservice if you want the least amount of headache” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
“Highly intuitive UI, exceptionally fast implementation, and excellent out-of-the-box AI features. Highly recommended for mid-market teams.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · scale prompt · first choice
“I'd recommend Freshservice as the best default choice if your priority is a modern IT service desk that is easy to adopt and manage.” Perplexity Sonar · paraphrase prompt · first choice
What the models said about SolarWinds Service Desk
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of five in this category shown.
“SolarWinds has extra baggage from past security incidents. When to avoid: If modern UX, quick setup, or security are priorities.” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · hard negative
“otherwise, it's a limited ITSM play. Also carries the legacy of the 2020 Supply Chain security incident.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“noted for slow report loading, limited data export options, and a complex configuration process” Mistral Small · negative prompt · soft negative
“The best ITSM platform for a company with a limited budget is likely to be one of the following options: 1. SolarWinds Service Desk ($39/technician/month)” Llama 4 Maverick · budget prompt · first choice
“Another solid option for mid-market businesses, offering good core ITIL features and strong asset management.” Mistral Small · direct prompt · alternative
Also compared
Freshservice vs Jira Service ManagementFreshservice vs ManageEngine ServiceDesk PlusFreshservice vs Spiceworks Cloud Help DeskFreshservice vs InvGate Service ManagementJira Service Management vs SolarWinds Service DeskManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs SolarWinds Service DeskSpiceworks Cloud Help Desk vs SolarWinds Service DeskInvGate Service Management vs SolarWinds Service DeskAll fifteen head-to-head pages and the full ITSM standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.