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Appian vs Oracle Application Express (APEX) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

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

Appian
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
10th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (8th), Process Automation (7th), Process Mining (6th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (11th)
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)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Appian is 5.8%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 6.1%, down from 8.3% 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)6.1%
Appian5.8%
Other88.1%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

Shad Bhowmik - PeerSpot reviewer
Finance Specialist at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees
Automated remittance workflows have boosted speed and accuracy but still need geo-tagging improvements
Remittance is a crucial part of my integral operation, so any disruption would majorly impact our clients. After switching to Appian, we never faced any disruption as it is reliable and we can generate data at any point in time, quite faster than other tools in my personal opinion. Regulators can ask for data from us at any time, and with Appian, we download data from our Appian tools to share it with them whenever they ask. I would share a real-life example: a customer's transaction processed more than a year ago. Suddenly the customer came back asking for all the details. In our previous tool, it was quite difficult to generate transaction details from over a year ago; however, while using Appian, we can pull up data using different key search fields, such as a customer's cell phone number, remittance tracking number, or MT103 reference number. We shared it with the customer instantly, and the customer was surprised we could provide all the details in such a short time. It added reputational value for our organization, thanks to Appian.You have pointed out two major things: time-saving and reduction of error, which are key points while processing remittance. Previously, while using another tool, it was quite time-consuming to process remittance, but after switching to Appian, it can extract data from MT103, eliminating the need for manual data entry. The process has become fully automated. Previously we could process only five to ten transactions within an hour, but now, after switching to Appian, we can process about 100 transactions in an hour, making it 10 times faster. In terms of error detection, since Appian extracts data from MT103, the extraction rate is quite good, and the error rate is negligible, lower than 0.001%. We can share accurate, error-free data with the regulator, which is essential for us. Appian benefits us significantly. After receiving an MT103, we check what the remitter is, the amount, if it is under threshold for processing, and if it is from a high-priority remitter or client. Since Appian extracts data from MT103 messages and identifies top-level clients from the database, it can notify us to process their transactions with priority. Due to automated data extraction, there are fewer instances of error. In our previous tool, we reported regulatory data to the central bank manually and often received complaints about invalid purpose codes due to manual data entry. Appian handles this automatically, and after switching, our error rate has dropped significantly, resulting in positive feedback from the Central Bank of Bangladesh regarding our reduced error rates. This has greatly enhanced our organization's reputation. Appian is fully on-premises, and we have our own system.
Rodrigo-Mesquita - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software developer at QV Systems
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

"Appian has many valuable features, the first being the ease of development—rapid development. Second, the process of learning the product and tool is faster when compared to its peers in the market. It's closer to low-code, and while it's still not very easy, it's more low-code than other products in the industry. Appian has a good user interface, a seamless model user interface, which comes without additional coding. It can also integrate with multiple systems."
"This is the most complete solution of its kind."
"What stands out are the speed of the product, the quick, easy development, and visual diagramming."
"Technical support is helpful."
"The most beneficial aspect of Appian is its data management capabilities and the process engine in general."
"Technical support has been amazing overall."
"Compared to other code tools that I've seen, Appian has a more robust rules engine"
"The initial setup was seamless. We didn't run into any hardships at all."
"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 applications within the organization are primarily data forms and extended reports."
"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward."
"Oracle Application Express is easy to use, people don't have to be developers to use it."
"I like that Oracle Application Express (APEX) is powerful and attractive, allowing my organization to modernize forms within two months. I also found its PWA feature very powerful because you can produce substantial mobile applications."
"It provides attractive GUIs allowing professionally-styled applications without the need to know HTML, CSS, or JavaScript."
"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."
"Personally, I would say that Oracle Application Express (APEX) is a powerful tool...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
 

Cons

"While Appian is generally flexible, it's rigid in some ways. It takes longer to do something that isn't available out of the box."
"Sometimes, clients expect us to implement ERP using Appian, which is very complicated. In such cases, I don't believe that Appian is a good tool for that."
"Something I would like to see improved is an SQL database connection."
"What could be improved is more on the front end perspective, like the user interface and the mobile application aspect."
"Appian could be improved by making it a strict, no-code platform with free-built process packs."
"There could be a scope of enhancement for capturing the variety of use cases."
"There are some restrictions with respect to using external components within Appian. So, for example, if we do not have a particular feature available, there's a long cycle of getting approvals and all of that. That does not offer flexibility, which definitely can be improved on."
"From a reseller's point of view, subscription licensing could be improved to be more cost-effective, especially for new prospects and smaller investments."
"It has been reported that the technology is very hard to learn, and the service is expensive."
"Oracle is more of a database-oriented solution and is not very flexible in app development."
"Fixing bugs is difficult because of how the HTML code is generated. It is not always broadly compatible with browsers."
"Some of the application interfaces of Oracle Application Express are not very attractive and could be improved."
"There is a problem with security because the applications store passwords in the configuration files."
"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 grid reports contain a lot of bugs."
"There is not a lot of Wiki help or in Google, but there is some."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When it comes to pricing, it's definitely not affordable. However, it really depends on the requirements that you're seeking from the solution."
"Licensing of Appian is less expensive when compared to other BPMs in the market."
"BPM done right is a huge value proposition for almost any company, and with Appian's low code rapid development model, the ROI can be huge, while the break-even point should be accelerated tremendously."
"Product pricing compared to some of the earlier vendors, like IBM, CA, and Oracle, is quite well-priced. Although, we do feel that as we increase the number of users and the workload increases, we will have to spend more."
"It's good value for the price."
"I'm sure it is cost-effective, but right now, we're just toying around with it. So, I don't have any hard numbers."
"The price is high."
"We will have to have a dialogue or negotiate a price for future use. To start with, it is a reasonable price. As we go ahead, we will have to make sure the costs are inline with our expectations as we grow our user base and workloads."
"When buying the data license, APEX is included."
"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."
"It's a free solution with no additional costs."
"I would rate it around an eight in terms of price, with one being low and ten being high."
"The product is completely free of cost."
"The pricing is mid-range so is neither expensive nor cheap."
"When you have a licensed database in an Oracle environment, APEX 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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise44
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise28
 

Questions from the Community

Which do you prefer - Appian or Camunda Platform?
Appian is fast when building simple to medium solutions. This solution offers simple drag-and-drop functionality with easy plug-and-play options. The initial setup was seamless and very easy to imp...
Is Appian a suitable solution for beginners who have no additional preparation?
Appian is actually pretty big on educating its users, including with courses that reward you with certifications. There is a whole section on their company’s website where you can check out the edu...
Is it easy to set up Appian or did you have to resort to professional help?
We had some issues when we were setting up Appian. It was quite surprising, since this is a low-code tool which, in its essence, means it is meant for business users and inexperienced beginners. So...
What needs improvement with Oracle Application Express (APEX)?
I have only tried it with an Oracle database, not with other databases. For beginners, understanding the installation process can be challenging because documentation is limited. It is hard to unde...
 

Also Known As

Appian BPM, Appian AnyWhere, Appian Enterprise BPMS
Oracle APEX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hansard Global plc, Punch Taverns, Pirelli, Crawford & Company, EDP Renewables, Queensland Government Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (, Bank of Tennessee
Hepart AG, pharmasol, SATLOG, Collège Bois-de-Boulogne
Find out what your peers are saying about Appian vs. Oracle Application Express (APEX) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,227 professionals have used our research since 2012.