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Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs OutSystems 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

Oracle Application Express ...
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
3rd
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (2nd)
OutSystems
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
4th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Development Platforms (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Low-Code Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 8.8%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OutSystems is 8.3%, down from 9.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Low-Code Development Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle Application Express (APEX)8.8%
OutSystems8.3%
Other82.9%
Low-Code Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Sukrut Joshi - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables users to develop applications quickly and has a responsive and helpful technical support team
The time to market is quite good. We can quickly develop an application using the tool. OutSystems is developed using .NET and Java. We can easily find technical resources who have worked on .NET and Java and leverage their previous knowledge to develop OutSystems applications. It can also be used for application development. If an end-user does not want to use the solution after two to three years, OutSystems sends the source code and the applications to the end-user. There is no dependency. It’s one of the major factors I found quite good in OutSystems.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are security, stability, and ease of implementation."
"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."
"The solution is easy to handle. The tool has helped us develop many applications since it supports SQL and NoSQL languages. We are familiar with this language. Also, the solution’s interface design and database design are very easy. It is not so much complex. I have no experience working with other solutions."
"It has many ready modules that can be used and developed."
"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward."
"It's fairly easy to make a user-friendly interface."
"It has a well-designed architecture and is a simple 3rd party application."
"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."
"It is much easier to develop applications with the product’s IDE."
"OutSystems is a robust and rapid application development platform with a less steep learning curve."
"Speed of delivery: We were able to reduce development time by 30%."
"We used almost all of the features, themes, styling guide, and approach components. They are useful in our applications."
"OutSystems is a low-code solution. Most features are like drag-and-drop, so it's pretty easy to work. Thus it helps the organization by saving time for developers."
"It is very stable."
"The most valuable feature of OutSystems is the drag and drop and toolchains in the small AI developing environment. Additionally, the documentation is helpful."
"One of the valuable features of OutSystems is the very small lead time for the delivery of projects."
 

Cons

"Regarding features, the solution lacks the ability to integrate with different databases. Also, I feel that Oracle Application Express (APEX) is exclusively designed for other Oracle tools."
"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."
"The solution's layout could be improved for report generation to allow more configuration."
"I don't like the URL syntax."
"Visual Builder and APEX should meld in one product."
"It has been reported that the technology is very hard to learn, and the service is expensive."
"The solution has some stability problems that need to be resolved."
"I would like to see more integration between the use of artificial intelligence to speed up the process delivery time."
"The technical features are good, but the actual commercialization is out of reach."
"We have performance issues while fetching bulk data."
"The tutorials for the solution should be updated."
"The resource availability needs to be increased."
"The documentation needs to be more robust."
"The installation is a bit tedious."
"OutSystems could improve by being more like GitHub. It would be more helpful for us for division management and version control for our application."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is free with your Oracle license or database and that is a good value."
"It's a free solution with no additional costs."
"When you have a licensed database in an Oracle environment, APEX is free."
"The solution is free."
"I do not think this would be an ideal option for a small sized company or a startup when considering the salary requirements for Oracle DBA'a and developers."
"There is a trial version available that can be used free of charge."
"It is expensive in comparison to other products."
"If you have a license to Oracle database, you can access APEX."
"OutSystems is a good solution, but it's not cheap."
"OutSystems is an expensive product. My company has to make monthly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"There is a free trial to use this solution and other options available, such as enterprise. There are different subscription plans."
"The solution is expensive."
"The price is okay. OutSystems isn't expensive. It's a mid-range solution."
"I believe they are very strict with their pricing platforms, or the pricing policies, and it changes."
"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to OutSystems. It is an expensive product."
"The product is expensive and I would rate its pricing a seven out of ten. You need to pay a yearly subscription to use the product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise28
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise29
 

Questions from the Community

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...
Which solution is better for developing non-ITSM applications: OutSystems or Service Now?
The short answer is that OutSystems is far better for 2 main reasons. Firstly, with Service Now you are locked into that platform for good. The business model is to lock in and then keep pumping th...
What industries do you think OutSystems is most useful for?
I cannot really name an industry in which OutSystems cannot be beneficial. Who does not want to make top-notch applications that work in no time? And OutsyStems does exactly that. The low-code plat...
How did you decide which OutSystems edition was the best one for you?
We started using OutSystems fairly recently, so we are still on the free version of it. My company is still testing how we like the platform, but so far, we have been satisfied with it and will li...
 

Also Known As

Oracle APEX
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hepart AG, pharmasol, SATLOG, Collège Bois-de-Boulogne
Randstad, Warner Brothers, HP, Intel, ING, Banco Popular, Thrivent Financial, Bacardi, Kent State University, Bacardi, FICO, ING, Vodafone, AbbVie, Estafeta, Siemens, Vopak
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs. OutSystems and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,778 professionals have used our research since 2012.