Top 10 Pega competitors and alternatives for 2024
A flexible, easy-to-use customer service solution is ideal for improving CX. Discover the top Pega alternatives and competitors to find the right fit.
Why you might want a Pega alternative
Laatst gewijzigd January 2, 2024
Pegasystems, also known as Pega, is a business process management (BPM) tool that specializes in building complete business workflows from the ground up. Pega’s product can be used in areas like customer service, sales, operations, and marketing. Pega is open-source and highly customizable, meaning businesses with dev resources can add and change the code to tailor the software to their needs.
Despite all that, Pega’s limited out-of-the-box (OOTB) service functionality means it could take longer for businesses to build custom apps to create a product that meets their CX needs. Additionally, some users have found the learning curve to be steep and the user interface confusing and time-consuming to navigate.
Pega can also be expensive compared to competitors, especially for small and mid-sized companies. The licensing fees, implementation costs, and ongoing maintenance costs can add up quickly, making it difficult for some organizations to justify the investment. Plus, businesses that find the software too complex may switch to a Pega competitor, adding unexpected rip-and-replace costs and increasing their total cost of ownership.
That’s where our guide comes in. It has the information you need to find the best customer service software for your business. Explore our detailed list of Pega alternatives—including key features, pricing tiers, functionality, and capabilities—so you can avoid those switching costs.
More in this guide:
- Best Pega alternatives and competitors at a glance
- A deep dive into the top alternatives and competitors to Pega
- Frequently asked questions
- How to choose the best alternative to Pega
Best Pega alternatives and competitors at a glance
Our comparison chart provides the starting price, free trial length, and key features that businesses look for when choosing an alternative to Pega.
| Pega alternative | Starting price | Free trial | Key features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk | $19 per agent/month (billed annually) | 14 days |
|
| Salesforce Service Cloud | $25 per user/month (billed annually) | 30 days |
|
| ServiceNow | Contact ServiceNow | Unavailable |
|
| Appian | $0 per month (limited support) | 14 days |
|
| OutSystems | $0 per month (100 end-user cap) | Unavailable |
|
| Microsoft Power Apps | $20 per user/month | 30 days |
|
| Quickbase | $35 per user/month (billed annually) | 30 days |
|
| Oracle Fusion Service | Contact Oracle | Unavailable |
|
| IBM Cloud | Contact IBM | 30 days |
|
| SAP Service Cloud | Contact SAP | 30 days |
|
A deep dive into the top alternatives and competitors to Pega
Our comprehensive list of Pega competitors has all the info you need in one place.
1. Zendesk
Zendesk focuses exclusively on CX. That means you get customer service software packed with the right tools to help your agents deliver the best customer experience. Zendesk has proven expertise, and more than 160,000 businesses trust us to empower their support teams.
Where Zendesk excels:
- Simplicity: Zendesk is easy to use and comes equipped with an AI-powered agent workspace for intelligent guidance.
- Fast time to value: Our customer service software sets up fast and eliminates agent training, so you can start seeing your ROI sooner.
- Out-of-the-box service functionality: Zendesk is plug-and-play with native functionality. It also offers APIs and 1,500+ integrations with third-party apps to boost capabilities.
- High agility: Zendesk allows you to adapt to changing needs on the fly with no-code and low-code customization.
- Low total cost of ownership: Zendesk creates partnerships, builds relationships, and provides high-quality support and professional services to help customers maximize their ROI.
To boot, Zendesk offers advanced AI with bots that are pre-trained in customer sentiment, intent, and language and that can provide conversational support out of the box. Zendesk AI is also powered by OpenAI, allowing you to use generative AI (ChatGPT) to seamlessly manage knowledge base content and create prewritten responses for faster replies.
Features:
- Unified Agent Workspace
- SLAs and OLAs
- 1,500+ apps and integrations
- Omnichannel support
- Reporting and analytics
- Knowledge base
- AI
- Intelligent routing and triage
- Workflow automations
- Self-service software
- Ticketing system
Pricing:
- Support Team: $19 per agent/month
- Support Professional: $55 per agent/month
- Support Enterprise: $115 per agent/month
Free trial:
14 days
2. Salesforce Service Cloud
Salesforce offers a customer relationship management (CRM) platform designed to help businesses streamline CX, sales, and business processes. It provides customer support teams with tools and features like self-service resources and a multichannel agent interface. Service Cloud features real-time reporting and analytics dashboards, collaboration tools, chatbots, and automation options to handle repetitive tasks.
But Salesforce does have limitations. Its complex software may take users longer to learn, increasing training and onboarding time (and costs). Because Salesforce offers a wide range of use cases, like sales and marketing, it may not meet every company’s specific customer service needs.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- Reporting and analytics
- Knowledge base
- AI
- Self-service portal
- Chatbots
- Case management
- Routing and automation
- Integrations
Pricing:
- Starter: $25 per user/month
- Professional: $80 per user/month
- Enterprise: $165 per user/month
- Unlimited: $330 per user/month
- Unlimited+: $500 per user/month
*Plans are billed annually.
Free trial:
30 days
3. ServiceNow
ServiceNow is a versatile platform known for IT service management (ITSM) capabilities. It also offers customer experience products for different areas of CX, including customer service management, field service management, and order management. Each product includes toolsets and features to manage customer service requests, incidents, and inquiries.
ServiceNow has workflow automation capabilities that use AI to help businesses streamline their customer service processes. It integrates with other third-party apps and systems, and it features an automation center that lets businesses manage all automations from a centralized repository.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- Reporting and analytics
- Knowledge base
- AI
- Live chat
Pricing:
- Contact ServiceNow
Free trial:
Unavailable
4. Appian
Appian is a low-code development platform designed for building and deploying enterprise applications quickly. Appian’s low-code development environment allows businesses to create custom customer service applications without much coding. It offers case management, robotic process automation (RPA), and an integration marketplace.
With the Appian API, users can build custom apps for specific use cases, like customer experience. Users can also automate many types of onboarding workflows. That includes onboarding for employees, suppliers, customers, and new products.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- Reporting and analytics
- Knowledge base
- AI
- Business process management (BPM)
Pricing:
- Free: $0 per agent/month (limited support)
- Application: Contact Appian
- Platform: Contact Appian
- Unlimited: Contact Appian
Free trial:
14 days
5. OutSystems
OutSystems is another low-code platform used for app development. It enables businesses to build web portals and mobile apps for iOS and Android. It features a visual development environment that allows users to create and customize their apps for different use cases, like sales, marketing, or customer service.
For example, users can build customer service applications for omnichannel support, customer surveys, self-service, and onboarding. For internal customer service, OutSystems provides tools for users to build employee self-service portals where staff can access HR documents, share knowledge, and create IT tickets.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- Reporting and analytics
- Knowledge base
- AI
- Low-code application customization
Pricing:
- Single app: $0 per month (100 end-user cap)
- Multiple apps: Starts at $1,513 per month
- Large app portfolio: Contact OutSystems
*Plans are billed annually.
Free trial:
Unavailable
6. Microsoft Power Apps
Microsoft Power Apps enables business users to develop custom apps without in-depth coding knowledge. It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products—such as Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Windows, and Microsoft 365—providing access to advanced CRM capabilities. Additionally, Power Apps has a connector library with third-party integrations.
Microsoft also has an AI builder for Power Apps that allows businesses to create custom AI models that can integrate with their current systems. Its capabilities include language detection, sentiment analysis, and text recognition to better engage with customers.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- Reporting and analytics
- Knowledge base
- AI
- Integrates with Microsoft products
Pricing:
- Premium: $20 per user/month
Free trial:
30 days
7. Quickbase
Quickbase is a low-code platform for building custom applications for various business needs, including supply chain, process improvement, project management, CRM, and sales. With Quickbase, businesses can also create databases and automated workflows.
Users can configure Quickbase to include granular permissions, giving only the right employees access to select information. The platform integrates data from external systems with Quickbase apps, so users can gain real-time insights into all their projects and programs.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- Reporting and analytics
- Knowledge base
- AI
- Template library
Pricing:
- Team: $35 per user/month
- Business: $55 per user/month
- Enterprise: Contact Quickbase
*Plans are billed annually.
Free trial:
30 days
8. Oracle Fusion Service
Oracle is a cloud-based suite of customer service solutions that includes Oracle Fusion Service. Oracle Fusion Service has customer experience tools that enable customer self-service, agent-assisted service, and field service workflows.
Oracle Fusion Service lets users build branded customer help centers, create knowledge base content, and route inquiries received from self-service channels to live agents. Agents can also access an AI-powered assistant to guide them through conversations in real time. Oracle Fusion Service also equips mobile agents with tools that allow them to work on the go.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- Reporting and analytics
- Knowledge base
- AI
- Service and support
Pricing:
- Contact Oracle
Free trial:
Unavailable
9. IBM Cloud
IBM offers a broad set of products for various use cases. IBM Cloud is a cloud-based platform that allows developers to build and manage custom applications for asset management, business automation, development operations, supply chain management, and more. IBM’s cloud services include both self-service and managed services, allowing businesses to choose how hands-on they want to be.
IBM Cloud offers AI for customer service with IBM Watson AI and watsonx, a virtual assistant add-on that provides support teams with conversational AI capabilities. It uses natural language understanding (NLU) to deliver accurate answers and self-service support, and it comes pre-trained, out of the box. Users can also use watsonx to automate workflows.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- Reporting and analytics
- Knowledge base
- AI
- Data security
Pricing:
- Cloud: Contact IBM
Free trial:
30 days
10. SAP Service Cloud
SAP Service Cloud is part of the SAP Customer Experience suite that helps businesses deliver customer service. SAP Service Cloud features a ticketing system, routing and triage, and omnichannel support. SAP works best when integrated with its larger collection of business solutions.
SAP Service Cloud supports intelligent technology, including the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, and machine learning. IoT is used for predictive maintenance and troubleshooting on tech products. Meanwhile, AI and machine learning are found in its chatbots and service assistants.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- Reporting and analytics
- Knowledge base
- AI
- Generative AI
Pricing:
- Core: Contact SAP
Free trial:
30 days
Frequently asked questions
How to choose the best alternative to Pega
If the software is complex, has a high total cost of ownership, and has low CX agility, it may be time to start looking for other options. For businesses that want to upgrade their CX and seek out-of-the-box functionality, Pega may not be the best fit. The good news is there’s software that excels in the areas where Pega falls short: Zendesk.
Our customer service solution is easy to use and sets up quickly, so you can see a fast time to value and better ROI. Zendesk also specializes in CX, providing businesses of all sizes with the expertise and tools that make it easy for your team to deliver exceptional customer service. Try it yourself—for free—and experience the benefits of our software now and in the future.
Zendesk vs. the rest: Related guides for software alternatives
Don’t miss these guides on Pega competitors and alternatives, packed with the information you need to help you pick the right customer service software for your business.