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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
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (2nd)
OutSystems
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
4th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Development Platforms (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Low-Code Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 9.8%, down from 11.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OutSystems is 10.1%, up from 9.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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.
DhrubajyotiBiswas - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps us efficiently streamline repetitive tasks, but they could provide improved connectors to integrate with outside platforms
The OutSystems' most effective features for speeding up development cycles are the process orchestration and the drag-and-drop updating of business processes. I would recommend it to a friend or colleague, especially if they are looking for a solution that is easy to deploy and helps streamline internal processes. I rate it a six out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The autonomous database is valuable and provides the main structure for code 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 virtual patching feature is valuable."
"The ability to quickly develop applications without needing to code a lot is very valuable."
"It provides attractive GUIs allowing professionally-styled applications without the need to know HTML, CSS, or JavaScript."
"It's fairly easy to make a user-friendly interface."
"I like how we can actively develop and customize APEX because it's on the same database."
"The product is easy to use."
"It is easy to use."
"There is literally a ton of stuff it can do. It's very flexible."
"The drag-and-drop feature is very valuable."
"We can do the validation before calling the API."
"OutSystems' best feature is that you can build tests with the flow, so even the tests are made in the PDD framework in a low-code way."
"The solution is all-encompassing and very easy to use with its drag-and-drop feature."
"Speed of delivery: We were able to reduce development time by 30%."
"The technical support is perfect."
 

Cons

"You also need an APEX specialist for deployment because not many people use it."
"The user interface needs to be improved."
"Visual Builder and APEX should meld in one product."
"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."
"Source control could be stronger in Oracle Application Express (APEX). It needs some work."
"The collaboration and the workflow engine could use some improvement."
"An area for improvement in Oracle Application Express (APEX) is the slow reporting because pulling the report for two months, one year, three years, etc., is very slow. It takes more than thirty minutes to download the report. There's also room for improvement in integrating Oracle Application Express (APEX) with other vendors, such as open-source solutions through API integration. I believe Oracle is working on this feature, or the issue could be because my organization is using an older version of Oracle Application Express (APEX). The Oracle database also has to be improved because it's still lacking in some packages, triggers, and indexes."
"The user interface needs to be improved. It should be more user-friendly."
"The tutorials for the solution should be updated."
"Currently, in mobile applications, we don't have push notifications."
"The integration points need to be increased. People have also started to adopt this solution for their regular needs. That means it's not only the big enterprises that are adopting this solution. There are also small and medium enterprises that are adopting it. I've read that where you have large deployments, OutSystems starts to crumble a bit. That is the idea that no customer would know at the beginning and would also not like to hit the wall there. When it is on the client, there are a lot of applications already on low-code, and then suddenly you realize that you want to do some big applications, and you face hurdles. This is the general feedback for all such platforms."
"It is hard to find the logic in OutSystems. From an improvement perspective, I want to be able to properly use logic in OutSystems."
"The integration Studio could be improved. It needs a tool in which we could develop C# code and then integrate into OutSystems. The application could have a better UI."
"There are many tutorials available but they are very basic and good for learning the platform. To develop an enterprise-grade application, advanced tutorials need to be developed to help IT professionals design/develop high-quality/performance applications."
"The cons involve delays in project timelines primarily due to the time taken in requirements refinement and challenges faced when adding new features, making it somewhat complex to manage and maintain applications as they grow in scale."
"The installation is a bit tedious."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive in comparison to other products."
"The pricing is very good and less expensive than Mendix or OutSystems."
"Apex is not priced separately; instead, it is associated with the Oracle database. A free option for Oracle database and Apex can be downloaded and installed on this complimentary database version. This aligns with our current approach."
"Oracle Application Express (APEX) comes with Oracle. The Oracle price itself. I do not know the exact cost. Oracle is flexible on its price. If you overspend on your hardware, then I don't think you will overpay. I heard that Oracle is more expensive than other databases, but when you consider Oracle is the best traditional relational database out there. You get what you pay for."
"The product is completely free of cost."
"The solution is moderately priced, where it is neither cheap nor expensive."
"I believe APEX comes bundled with the database, including autonomous database and other related database products, so the pricing is quite reasonable."
"We have a full Oracle E-Business Suite license, and we use that license to develop applications. There's no license required for developing Oracle applications."
"OutSystems is a good solution, but it's not cheap."
"For a single application, it's too expensive."
"I would rate it five to six out of ten."
"There are no additional costs with the standard license."
"I think the pricing for OutSystems is comparable with similar solutions. I would place it somewhere in the middle. We pay for the bundle and don't pay anything extra in terms of licensing and other fees."
"There is a free trial to use this solution and other options available, such as enterprise. There are different subscription plans."
"It is not an expensive product, especially if you have access to more features and deal with more projects."
"It's not cheap. It's pretty expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
16%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Educational Organization
19%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Application Express (APEX)?
Oracle APEX is part of our on-premises solution included in our agreement with Oracle E Business Suite, though I don't know the cost specifics. Power BI is licensed by the user.
What needs improvement with Oracle Application Express (APEX)?
Using AI to analyze data without needing much code would be better. Also, although the interface is easy to change, it could have more features.
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: April 2025.
856,874 professionals have used our research since 2012.