Spiceworks

What Spiceworks does

Spiceworks Inc. is a privately held IT industry platform founded in 2006 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, operating as a subsidiary of Spiceworks Ziff Davis. The company operates a two-sided marketplace built around a community of millions of IT professionals, offering a suite of free and freemium SaaS tools — Cloud Help Desk (ticketing), Inventory Online (network device scanning), Remote Support (via Zoho Assist partnership), Connectivity Dashboard (real-time network monitoring), and Contracts Tracker (vendor contract management) — alongside an editorial content platform (Spiceworks News & Insights), an annual conference (SpiceWorld), and the Aberdeen Strategy & Research division that publishes vendor-neutral research including the State of IT annual report.

The underlying technology is a cloud-based SaaS platform integrating IT operations tools with the Spiceworks Community forums, supported by mobile applications on iOS and Android and a Power BI data connector for Cloud Help Desk. Cloud Help Desk offers a free Core Plan (1-5 admin seats, ad-supported) and a Premium Plan launched in March 2025 at $5/seat/month (annual) or $6/seat/month (monthly), adding bulk actions, customizable reporting, TOTP-based MFA, and an ad-free experience.

Spiceworks monetizes primarily through vendor advertising and vendor directory placements, leveraging its community reach to connect technology vendors with IT decision-makers. Customer segments are split between the demand-side (technology vendors seeking to reach IT buyers) and the supply-side (SMB IT professionals and enterprise IT teams using the free and premium tools). The company has raised approximately $111M across five funding rounds ending in 2014 and currently employs 101-250 people.

Name

Spiceworks

Legal name

Spiceworks Inc.

Website

https://spiceworks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

IT Service Management Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

IT Knowledge Management & Service Desk Platforms (HDAEALAH)

Keywords

• IT help desk software
• Network inventory management
• Remote IT support
• IT community platform
• IT vendor directory

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Advertising (Primary Revenue): Tech vendors pay to advertise and reach the millions of IT professionals using the Spiceworks platform. Vendors get targeted, relevant advertising and content exposure to IT decision-makers.
2. Premium Software Subscriptions: Cloud Help Desk Premium Plan at $5/seat/month (billed annually) or $6/seat/month (billed monthly) for enhanced features beyond the free Core Plan. Upgrade path for organizations needing advanced capabilities.
3. Vendor Directory/Marketplace: Vendors maintain presence on Spiceworks Vendor Directory and community, paying for visibility among IT professionals researching and purchasing technology solutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Spiceworks provides free and freemium cloud-based IT management tools — Cloud Help Desk, Inventory Online, Remote Support, Connectivity Dashboard, and Contracts Tracker — for IT professionals at small and mid-sized businesses. The tools are bundled with a large online IT community, Aberdeen research, and a vendor directory marketplace that connects technology buyers and sellers.

Product overview

Spiceworks is an IT technology platform offering a suite of free and freemium tools for IT professionals, built around a community of millions of IT pros. The core product portfolio includes Cloud Help Desk (ticketing/software), Inventory Online (network device management), Remote Support (remote access tool), Connectivity Dashboard (network monitoring), and Contracts Tracker (vendor contract management). These tools integrate with each other within the Spiceworks ecosystem and are complemented by Spiceworks Community (an online peer network), Spiceworks News & Insights (content platform), Aberdeen Research (market research division), and SpiceWorld (annual IT conference). The company has operated since 2006 and positions itself as a vendor-neutral platform connecting IT professionals with technology solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk Cloud-based IT help desk and ticketing system for IT professionals at small and mid-sized businesses, available in a free ad-supported tier and a paid Premium plan with advanced automation, SLAs, and reporting.
• Inventory Online Free network inventory and asset management tool that scans devices on a network to track hardware, software, and configuration for IT teams.
• Remote Support Free remote support tool that enables IT professionals to securely connect to end-user machines for troubleshooting and assistance.
• Connectivity Dashboard Connectivity monitoring dashboard that helps IT teams track ISP performance, network outages, and end-user connectivity in real time.
• Contracts Tracker Tool that helps IT teams track software licenses, vendor contracts, and renewal dates to manage subscription and maintenance commitments.
• Cloud Help Desk Premium Plan Paid Premium upgrade to the Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk, providing advanced features such as SLAs, automation, and deeper reporting for IT teams that need more than the free tier offers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 million IT pros have used Spiceworks Inventory
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Zoho AssistcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2019Spiceworks Remote Support tool is provided in partnership with Zoho Assist. The tool enables IT professionals to access users' computers across the internet for Windows and Mac workstations. Zoho's terms of service and privacy policy apply to the remote support sessions. Spiceworks offers access to the full Zoho Assist feature set including multiple technicians, concurrent sessions, file transfer, and session recordings through a free trial promotion.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Freshworks: Freshworks' Freshdesk is a leading cloud help desk and ITSM product targeting SMB and mid-market customers, the same segment Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk serves. Both compete on ease-of-use, freemium entry points, and rapid onboarding for IT teams.
• SolarWinds: SolarWinds provides IT infrastructure monitoring, network device inventory, and observability tools directly comparable to Spiceworks' Inventory Online and Connectivity Dashboard. Both target IT operations teams managing on-premises and hybrid environments.
• Zendesk: Zendesk is a global help desk and customer service platform that overlaps directly with Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk on ticketing, workflows, and SMB/mid-market IT support. Both companies also publish content and community resources aimed at practitioners.
• Atlassian (Jira Service Management): Jira Service Management is a leading ITSM platform for IT teams and directly competes with Spiceworks' help desk and IT service management tooling. Atlassian also benefits from a strong practitioner community that mirrors Spiceworks' community-led GTM motion.

Broad incumbents

• ServiceNow: ServiceNow is the enterprise incumbent in ITSM and IT workflow automation, with a much broader portfolio than Spiceworks. It is comparable as the dominant help desk and IT service management category leader that defines the competitive ceiling for Spiceworks' ambitions.
• Zoho (ManageEngine): Zoho's ManageEngine suite covers help desk, network monitoring, and asset management—products that overlap with most of Spiceworks' free tools. Zoho is also an active partner (Zoho Assist powers Spiceworks Remote Support), making it both a peer and an ecosystem dependency.

Others

• Reddit (r/sysadmin community): Reddit hosts large, active IT professional communities (e.g., r/sysadmin) that increasingly compete for the same attention and knowledge-sharing moments the Spiceworks Community has historically owned. It is a peer in the community layer even though it is not a commercial help desk product.
• Stack Overflow: Stack Overflow is a major destination where IT professionals research and troubleshoot technical problems, overlapping with Spiceworks' community and content use cases. It competes for the same practitioner mindshare and content traffic.
• G2: G2 is a software marketplace and review platform that helps IT buyers evaluate technology vendors, overlapping with Spiceworks' vendor directory and research-driven buyer enablement. Both monetize by connecting IT decision-makers with technology sellers.

Emerging players

• Atera: Atera is an all-in-one RMM, PSA, and help desk platform built for MSPs and SMB IT teams, the same SMB persona Spiceworks targets. It represents a newer, bundled competitor to Spiceworks' individual free tools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Spiceworks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spiceworks
• Xx.com/spiceworks

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Spiceworks