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HCL Domino vs Oracle Application Express (APEX) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 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

HCL Domino
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
17th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Application Express ...
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (2nd), Low-Code Development Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of HCL Domino is 0.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 7.5%, down from 9.1% 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)7.5%
HCL Domino0.7%
Other91.8%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

FrederickLim - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides mobile email systems with solid stability and easy deployment
The initial setup is easy. You need to sign up. It depends on the scope. It will take longer if there are more than one or more applications. The project usually includes infrastructure and deployment may take anywhere from one month to six months. I rate the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.
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

"The most important benefit is security. The security architecture is very good. It's the best part of the solution."
"They offer good support and provide a roadmap."
"It serves as a centralized solution that fulfills all my requirements from operating my email server to managing various aspects of my operations."
"HCL Domino is the best product from a security point of view."
"Overall, I would rate HCL Domino as eight out of ten. I would recommend HCL Domino and Notes applications for small and medium-sized companies since it offers a good return on investment."
"We have been able to set up a portal using a special XPage application that gives our customers access to this system."
"HCL Domino is an application development and collaboration platform with strong stability and security. Deployment of this platform is easy and takes only 10 minutes."
"This solution can be used for workflow application so that applications can be easily developed."
"The most valuable feature of Oracle APEX is its comprehensive set of features for creating user-friendly and visually appealing applications."
"Personally, I would say that Oracle Application Express (APEX) is a powerful tool...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
"By using Express, we are able to load the data and integrate it into our data map."
"Oracle APEX is very easy to use and comes with a lot of ready-made components that speed up the process of creating reports and dashboards."
"The solution's most valuable aspect is its Graphics Form Design."
"Oracle APEX improved our organization by making it possible for us to implement agile project development."
"What I like best about Oracle Application Express (APEX) is that it doesn't require hard coding for reporting and building applications. It's a GUI-based application builder that even end-users with little development and language knowledge can develop applications on Oracle Application Express (APEX). The software is also very user-friendly, which I find valuable."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
 

Cons

"The product's user interface is one of its shortcomings since it is outdated, making it an area for improvement."
"Scalability is also an issue. We have problems with large databases."
"The speed of the Notes client is an area that could be improved."
"When you compare with Microsoft Exchange, the UI could be more user-friendly."
"From the Domino side, it should support DKIM and DMARC."
"The solution is expensive."
"HCL Domino needs to be more user-friendly."
"The client version of this solution could be faster and be made simpler for non-IT users. You will need to have some knowledge of Notes to correctly install this solution."
"I don't like the URL syntax."
"The grid reports contain a lot of bugs."
"There is a problem with security because the applications store passwords in the configuration files."
"Apex has effectively incorporated new market trends into its features. The platform's user-friendly nature is notable, guiding developers through the development process. While advanced customization of the user interface with HTML and CSS is possible, the out-of-the-box options often suffice, providing 80-90% of the required functionality. The IDE is commendable, yet an enhancement in the Page Designer to allow a real-time preview of layout changes would be beneficial. Currently, running the page is necessary to visualize layout adjustments, but an immediate preview during the design phase would be a valuable improvement."
"Some of the application interfaces of Oracle Application Express are not very attractive and could be improved."
"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."
"The user interface needs to be improved. It should be more user-friendly."
"There is not a lot of Wiki help or in Google, but there is some."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I'd rate it a seven out of ten in terms of price."
"The pricing is subjective and contingent on the intended usage."
"The pricing is individually determined. For us, in our current deployment, we pay $12.50 Canadian per month per user."
"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."
"It is less expensive compared to other vendors."
"The license for Domino is yearly. The price is high."
"We're happy with the price of our license — it's pretty standard."
"For 30 licenses, we pay $1,500 every year. It is not an expensive product."
"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."
"The tool is free with the Oracle Database license."
"It's a free solution with no additional costs."
"The tool is not expensive."
"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."
"The solution is cheap. It's a free solution. I rate the solution's pricing a six or seven out of ten."
"It is expensive in comparison to other products."
"There is a trial version available that can be used free of charge."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise28
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HCL Domino?
The most valuable features of the solution are security and integration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HCL Domino?
The Notes client is very expensive, costing around $105 per client. Overall, HCL Domino is a costly product.
What needs improvement with HCL Domino?
One challenge I faced with HCL Domino was fully understanding its capabilities because initial use may lead to misconceptions based on simpler platforms. Exploring and comprehending what is possibl...
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

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino
Oracle APEX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil
Hepart AG, pharmasol, SATLOG, Collège Bois-de-Boulogne
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Domino vs. Oracle Application Express (APEX) and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
866,483 professionals have used our research since 2012.