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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
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (2nd), Low-Code Development Platforms (3rd)
ServiceNow
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
217
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 May 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 8.1%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 10.9%, up from 10.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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.
Somnath Kand - PeerSpot reviewer
Custom integration and reporting lead to efficient ticket management
There is a need for bug or error tracking in ServiceNow. Although there are child incidents or tickets, tracking primary issues or bugs within enhancements is not present. The reporting features in the new portal could be more user-friendly. While it provides options to minimize chart and image sizes, actual implementation doesn't always reflect these changes.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It provides attractive GUIs allowing professionally-styled applications without the need to know HTML, CSS, or JavaScript."
"Oracle APEX improved our organization by making it possible for us to implement agile project development."
"The most valuable applications within the organization are primarily data forms and extended reports."
"It helps us create web pages quickly."
"Oracle APEX allows our company to complete webpage projects easily in a fast turnaround time."
"The virtual patching feature is valuable."
"The most valuable features are security, stability, and ease of implementation."
"The ability to quickly develop applications without needing to code a lot is very valuable."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of development for customization."
"The Idea Portal and the PPM platform are most valuable. Their out-of-the-box dashboards and reporting are fantastic. I use them almost on a weekly basis. I have developed a couple of PMO dashboards for reporting. It is user-friendly. Everything is done through a navigation bar, and it makes things a lot easier that way."
"ServiceNow is a cloud-based platform, so people won't need to worry about investing on hardware to host it. Being on the cloud, it is available 24x7. It's scalable, stable, and multifeatured, with a straightforward setup and good technical support."
"ServiceNow has been implemented to streamline team workflows across different departments in our company. Users, including traveling leaders, were able to approve requests and authorize additional rights through the mobile platform."
"What I like the most is the functionality, it's features are rich, and there is a high degree of compliance with IT standards."
"Your time-to-market, or TTM, becomes faster when you use ServiceNow. Even individuals that are not tech savvy can quickly change processes and workflows in it. This can make the organization as a whole more agile."
"I like the reporting aspect of it. It helps us know where we stand regarding the types of issues we're receiving... It also shows us trends. That enables us to possibly predict an issue that might come up in the future as well as what is happening right now. We will like that feature. With it, we can either avoid certain issues or know where we need to focus more regarding the service we provide."
"It facilitates the monitoring of major incidents and provides insights into the effort expended to resolve each incident."
 

Cons

"Visual Builder and APEX should meld in one product."
"It would be beneficial to include WebSockets so that you can see real-time updates."
"The solution's layout could be improved for report generation to allow more configuration."
"It should have the functionality to develop mobile applications. It would also be good if they can improve development in videos and other formats."
"Being able to only design with HTML and CSS can be limiting as to what can be accomplished."
"There is one disadvantage. When facing problems, it can be difficult to find solutions online (Google/YouTube), unlike with Java coding, where solutions are readily available on Google."
"Currently, APEX doesn't have a building workflow engine. I think that's the most important improvement that could be made at this point."
"Maybe there are other technologies that offer what APEX cannot."
"HR Service Management is one module that needs a lot of improvement because it's a pretty new module. It was introduced in the last two years. It's becoming more mature day by day, but there is a lot of scope for improvement in that module."
"The RPA needs improvement. That's a new area for them that they're just entering into now."
"The reporting, which also includes dashboards, needs to be improved, and there should also be the ability to turn on and off portions of Project Management. Currently, as soon as you install the new version, you've got to go back there and make all the tweaks. There should be just a configuration file that goes to the new version.  The Project Management module does not leverage the knowledge base the way it should, and there is no built-in ability to get to the articles. Resource management should be easier. It would be amazing if they can make resource management a little bit more graphical. There are other solutions that I've seen where resource management was a more visual experience."
"I have enjoyed all the features. There is not any feature that I have missed or didn't have."
"All the screens are similar. It's the same platform for everything and you need to familiarize yourself with it. In the past, you used to have one screen per application. Now, you have everything integrated into one. Everybody will manage the same screen and they need to navigate into the same screen as the Internet Explorer with a toolbar with the categories and look for the things you want to see or the models you want to use."
"The contract module is quite rudimentary and doesn't support contract line items."
"It became kind of complex to set it up without a general lack of knowledge of the particular feature-function capabilities. Features and capabilities could have been explained better to the end-users."
"Compared to other products that I have been using, it is not as user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a free solution with no additional costs."
"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."
"The tool is free with the Oracle Database license."
"The tool is not expensive."
"It is expensive, but I don't know what the licensing cost is."
"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."
"Pricing is expensive, overall on an enterprise system but we consider that it gives corresponding value in the product."
"I believe that the solution's pricing is high."
"I have found the solution very expensive."
"It is an expensive platform."
"In Tunisia, the companies find the licensing costs to be expensive."
"Certainly, from a product-platform perspective, the price is not too bad."
"For the modules we use, we found it competitive. I can't think of any costs in addition to the licensing fees."
"The licenses are expensive."
"There is an annual subscription to use this solution."
"Initially, the licensing model ServiceNow came up with was very good. But now, from a licensing perspective, they are changing their model day by day. It is becoming a bit expensive for customers."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
29%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
10%
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...
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: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.