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Adobe ColdFusion vs Oracle Application Express (APEX) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Adobe ColdFusion
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
29th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
27th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Application Express ...
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
3rd
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Adobe ColdFusion is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 7.3%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle Application Express (APEX)7.3%
Adobe ColdFusion0.8%
Other91.9%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

RakibulIslam - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-setup tool that can be used to automate repetitive tasks
Currently, they have some legacy connectors with different tools, and they are creating native connectors. For example, AEM was only using HTTP or SMTP connections. However, now, AEM also has a native connector. In Adobe Workfront, if we use those connectors, we can push data through them. Previously there were no in-built connectors for Power BI and the dashboard. Now I see that connectors are there in Adobe ColdFusion though I have not used them yet. Previously when I was trying to create some data, it was very difficult to get real-time data from Workfront. I would like to say that it could be an area of improvement if it was possible to get real-time data, and we can create some connectors like the ones on Power BI or Tableau. Now we have the option with which we can schedule a time, like one or two hours, five times a day, allowing us to push the data with Power BI or an external tool. However, with real-time data, it's really difficult now. For ColdFusion, since I do not have that much expertise, I would say that whatever issue I face, I will resolve them. For that, I would like to get real-time data using the tool. Hence, I would like to get a real-time dashboard all the time.
Rodrigo-Mesquita - PeerSpot reviewer
Rapid application development empowers big projects in months
The ability to quickly develop applications without needing to code a lot is very valuable. It is very quick to create a page, and one can use AI to speed up software development. It is easy to learn. In my company, we could develop a very big application in a couple of months.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I find it to be the easiest server-side technology for website development. It easily integrates with virtually everything– from web APIs to NoSQL databases to RSS and XML services."
"I would like to say that its best feature is its different kinds of connectors. We have lots of in-built connectors."
"This tool was very easy learn, yet powerful enough to manage many sites on a single instance."
"No need to import libraries from outside the environment."
"The ability to write SQL queries was very helpful as we did not need to bother our DBAs in writing stored procedures for simple tasks."
"My client has been able to improve productivity with the use of the tool. The solution has them develop several tools that addressed their specific needs. They have become more efficient and safe with the use of the product."
"We save enormous amounts of time in development using this tool."
"Apart from providing a mature, reliable, consistent platform, Adobe also offers outstanding customer service and product support."
"I like that Oracle Application Express (APEX) is powerful and attractive, allowing my organization to modernize forms within two months. I also found its PWA feature very powerful because you can produce substantial mobile applications."
"The most valuable features of Oracle Application Express (APEX) are the ease and speed of development. Instead of engaging a large team of middleware, front-end, and database engineers, we can have professional look at the front end and have the user interface up and running in a matter of days. However, if you want to go far and implement very custom features, it doesn't require a lot of knowledge of front-end development, such as HTML, JavaScript, or other aspects."
"This is a good application for quickly creating public applications."
"By using Express, we are able to load the data and integrate it into our data map."
"One of the most valuable features is that we can develop everything locally and deploy it for different kinds of operators in different locations, so we can do our job in one piece. The benefit of that is that others can use these applications. They connect to the internet to do these kinds of applications based on the permissions for those users."
"It has many ready modules that can be used and developed."
"The valuable features are charts, reports, and search engines."
"The virtual patching feature is valuable."
 

Cons

"The solution needs to improve its adaption capability with a third-party company. I want to see more communities or open knowledge resources with the tool."
"Installation of the server software was formidable due the number of configurable options."
"Need to be able to Be able to inject Python, Java, Groovy, or PHP code into a CFML page."
"Previously when I was trying to create some data, it was very difficult to get real-time data from Workfront."
"ColdFusion’s third-party authentication is currently limited to just a couple of companies, like Google and Facebook, and a few third-party SAML authenticators. From my personal perspective, adding LinkedIn and Microsoft would greatly benefit me."
"There is not much third party authenticators in this solution"
"Source control could be stronger in Oracle Application Express (APEX). It needs some work."
"One area for improvement in Oracle APEX is its workflow orchestration capabilities."
"It can be modern and more user-friendly."
"There is a problem with security because the applications store passwords in the configuration files."
"We would like to see tighter integration with the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure."
"I've experienced some difficulties when using Oracle Application Express (APEX), particularly when I'm designing forms. For example, when I design a form, I add buttons and controls, but I'm unable to visualize how it'll look unless I run it. You want to design and do things your way, but if you don't have much experience, then you'll find that designing in Oracle Application Express (APEX) is a little complicated. This won't be a problem with anyone more experienced, though. If I wanted to create my design, for example, a different table format or some background images, it becomes a problem, and this is an area for improvement in Oracle Application Express (APEX). Designing should be easier, even for less experienced users. An additional feature I'd like to see in Oracle Application Express (APEX) is more plugins, particularly a repository that contains a lot of plugins, so you can go to that repository and download whichever you like and use it or add it to your project. Right now, I create my plugins, so it would be helpful if Oracle Application Express (APEX) has a repository of plugins people can use, download from anywhere in the world, and integrate into projects."
"The product's stability has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required."
"Another issue I used to encounter was with the debugging functions. I believe this is an area where Oracle APEX could improve significantly in terms of displaying error messages or error pages. It is very difficult to detect bugs or which bugs you are having when it comes to errors or which errors you have."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's pricing is high but it's totally worth the investment."
"It is a very effective solution and worth the price."
"If you really want to save money, there is a free open source CFML engine (former Railo, now Lucee) out there."
"The solution is moderately priced, where it is neither cheap nor expensive."
"The solution is free."
"I would rate it around an eight in terms of price, with one being low and ten being high."
"It is expensive, but I don't know what the licensing cost is."
"The tool is not expensive."
"I rate the product's price as ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price."
"To my understanding, my organization is using the free version of Oracle Application Express (APEX), but I'm unsure because I haven't checked the pricing or licensing cost for it."
"We have an Oracle basic product license, and then we can use Oracle APEX for free. We have many licenses for Oracle for approximately 20 processors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
18%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise28
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Application Express (APEX)?
I consider Oracle Application Express (APEX) to be good value for the money because it has infinite quality for money since it's included in any Oracle database license. It's free once you have the...
What needs improvement with Oracle Application Express (APEX)?
One of the things that could be done to improve Oracle Application Express (APEX) is if Oracle decided to open it up to other databases. It needs to be an enterprise database; therefore, it needs t...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Oracle APEX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Inspirus, Promisan, Webapper, Giva, Frontech Solutions Inc, Digicon, ITX Corp, Wall Street Magnate, SimulTV, ten24 Digital Solutions, Prospective Medical Data International Inc, Alcatel-Lucent
Hepart AG, pharmasol, SATLOG, Collège Bois-de-Boulogne
Find out what your peers are saying about Adobe ColdFusion vs. Oracle Application Express (APEX) and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,922 professionals have used our research since 2012.