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Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs ServiceNow 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

Oracle Application Express ...
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (2nd), Low-Code Development Platforms (4th)
ServiceNow
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
224
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (1st), IT Asset Management (1st), IT Service Management (ITSM) (1st), No-Code Development Platforms (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 7.3%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 9.2%, down from 11.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ServiceNow9.2%
Oracle Application Express (APEX)7.3%
Other83.5%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

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.
Anil  Rao - PeerSpot reviewer
Have reduced L1 dependency and improved incident resolution through AI-powered automation
To make ServiceNow better, they should reduce their pricing, especially because there's a lot of competition. Many customers have moved to ManageEngine because they cannot afford the license cost. The price should be reduced by at least 40%. The setup of ServiceNow is sometimes complex when new updates or versions are released. When they introduce something new, they should provide training to understand the new features and their functionality. We sometimes get stuck and have to call them to learn about the changes in the latest version. They should communicate the changes made from older versions to new versions, which features are not available, which features have changed, and how to implement them. If the communication part was handled properly, it would benefit us.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"It has many ready modules that can be used and developed."
"Oracle APEX improved our organization by making it possible for us to implement agile project development."
"Intuitive with a user-friendly UI."
"We set up the HTTP server and installed the Apex Xamarin DB using the Mark Hill SQL packages for an older version. That's the extent of our configuration."
"By using Express, we are able to load the data and integrate it into our data map."
"With only a browser, it is very easy to develop in a web environment."
"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."
"HR Case Management and Customer Service Management are two of the key areas which clients are using."
"Consolidating multiple functionalities into a single platform reduces the need to invest in various separate solutions. ServiceNow integrates ITSM, CMDB, Discovery modules, and more into one cohesive system."
"Straightforward tool."
"ServiceNow offers a range of ITSM, IT incident management, and PRCPs."
"You can scale the solution."
"I really like ServiceNow and all of the features. The way incident management is built is very helpful. You have a lot of options to optimize it, customize it, and automate it. You also have a lot of options for reporting. There are plenty of possibilities to do preference management within your customer CMDB file. These are very useful features, which I missed in BMC Remedy ITSM. ServiceNow is the best ticketing tool I have used so far."
"In the Service Portal, the widget concept - and the way we have developed our widget - is pretty simple. We can leverage a lot on top of it."
"The most valuable features of the solution are the ease of use and the sensor for ticketing systems."
 

Cons

"It can be modern and more user-friendly."
"There is not a lot of Wiki help or in Google, but there is some."
"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."
"Oracle is more of a database-oriented solution and is not very flexible in app development."
"Visual Builder and APEX should meld in one product."
"You also need an APEX specialist for deployment because not many people use it."
"The solution's layout could be improved for report generation to allow more configuration."
"The user interface needs to be improved. It should be more user-friendly."
"The Software Asset Management feature can be improved. We would like to see more features for the Software Asset Management functionality. Its price can also be better. It is currently more expensive than other solutions."
"The discovery of assets could be improved; right now they only allow for one domain."
"The customization that we are doing for the needs of our organization are difficult to do and could be improved."
"Some enhancements to the self-service platform would be helpful. That part is still a little barebone... Also, the mobile app is not bad, but it's limited."
"The user interface for accessing assistance sometimes disconnects."
"The solution should offer better security when it comes to storing data."
"The solution is lacking in the mobile application area that could be improved."
"They can maybe improve the area of agile project management. They do have user storyboards and other things, but we kind of lean on Jira for that work. This is perhaps an area that could be looked at a little more."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe that the solution's pricing is high."
"The tool is free with the Oracle Database license."
"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."
"If you have a license to Oracle database, you can access APEX."
"The tool is not expensive."
"When you have a licensed database in an Oracle environment, APEX is free."
"The pricing is mid-range so is neither expensive nor cheap."
"Oracle Application Express (APEX) is free, so this is another magic of the solution. You just get charged for the database license, which I don't need."
"The CapEx version is great."
"The setup cost is high compared to others, especially when the scope is not fixed."
"I have found the solution very expensive."
"This is a pretty expensive product, so the licensing could be better."
"The licensing cost is based on your partnership with ServiceNow and what you have selected for implementation. There is an annual license cost which is calculated based on your number of devices."
"It has a higher cost compared to local/regional solutions."
"ServiceNow is an expensive solution."
"While the option exists to pay for a monthly license, we are dealing with large enterprises and these typically involve multi-year licenses of ten or five years, at a minimum."
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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
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
 

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 Business54
Midsize Enterprise36
Large Enterprise164
 

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...
Would you choose ServiceNow over Microsoft PowerApps?
Hi Netanya, I will choose ServiceNow because ServiceNow is a very good tool compared to Microsoft PowerApp. Because ServiceNow has a very strong module (Performance Analysis) reporting which will ...
What do you like most about ServiceNow?
The solution has a user-friendly interface.
 

Also Known As

Oracle APEX
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hepart AG, pharmasol, SATLOG, Collège Bois-de-Boulogne
AAA, AstraZeneca, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Broadcom, Christus Health, Epicor, Equinix, GE Capital, Intuit, KPMG, Loyola Marymount University, OshKosh, Quantas, RedHat, Royal Bank of Scotland, Swiss Re, U.S. Department of Energy, Safeway, Yale University, and Zillow    
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs. ServiceNow and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,837 professionals have used our research since 2012.