ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs Rootly
Compare ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and Rootly on features, pricing, and buyer fit using the same researched criteria.

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
SMB/mid-market ITSM — Cloud Standard from $13/technician/mo; free up to 5 techs Standard; Professional $27; Enterprise $67; 30-day trial. Does not outrank ServiceNow 8.7 / Freshservice 8.4.
Best for
- • SMB/mid-market IT teams that want a published $13/technician ITSM SKU
- • Zoho/ManageEngine-aligned shops that need incidents, changes, and assets without a ServiceNow RFP
- • Buyers who will actually use the 5-tech free Standard path before paid Cloud
Starting from $13.00/user/mo
Free plan available
VS
Our verdict
No universal winner. Choose based on which criteria matter most for your team.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is better for
- ✓ Starting pricing
- ✓ Free plan
- ✓ Security & admin
Tie
- • Integrations
Choose ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus if: SMB/mid-market IT teams that want a published $13/technician ITSM SKU
Choose Rootly if: Slack-first teams buying incident command at a published $20/user floor

Rootly
Incident response — Incident Response Essentials $20/user/mo; On-Call Essentials $20/user; Enterprise custom. Does not outrank PagerDuty 8.0.
Best for
- • Slack-first teams buying incident command at a published $20/user floor
- • Buyers who will add On-Call Essentials only if they need paging
- • Comparisons versus FireHydrant Pro $25 and incident.io Team $15
Starting from $20.00/user/mo
No free plan
Comparison scorecard
Criterion-by-criterion results for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and Rootly. Numeric bars appear only when both products have approved scores.
- ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Starting pricing
Published floor price and what that floor actually includes.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus publishes a lower researched starting floor ($13/mo vs $20/mo for Rootly). Confirm currency, renewals, and add-ons — not a total TCO winner.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk PlusStrongerRootlyWeaker - ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Free plan
Whether a usable free plan is published, and what it gates.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus researches a free plan; Rootly does not research a free plan.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk PlusStrongerRootlyWeaker - Depends
User / licence minimum
Seat floors, per-employee minimums, and small-team pricing traps.
Check seat, agent, or licence minimums for ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and Rootly on current vendor packaging.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk PlusDependsRootlyDepends - Tie
Integrations
Important third-party integrations.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and Rootly are close on integrations (8/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus8/10Rootly8/10 - ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Security & admin
Admin controls, access, compliance posture, and security packaging.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus leads on security admin (8/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk PlusStrongerRootlyWeaker
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