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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
11th
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) (9th), Process Automation (7th), Process Mining (6th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (12th)
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 February 2026, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Appian is 5.2%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 6.0%, 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)6.0%
Appian5.2%
Other88.8%
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's most valuable features are the quick time it takes to develop for the market. It's easy and faster than other BPM solutions."
"Since implementing we have had a faster time to solution, with fewer resources needed."
"The tool is very flexible."
"The product has a very good mobile app."
"Write to Data Store Entity - Saving data in SQL databases is done easily using entities. Entities (CDTs in Appian terminology) define relationships and target schema tables via XSD files."
"Appian's most valuable feature is that we can create end-to-end process workflows with minimum turnaround."
"Form building capabilities and well thought out process modelling are key points to this product."
"The most valuable features of Appian are the VPN engine, it is fast, lightweight, and easy to set up business rules. Business teams can do it by themselves. That is a very good feature."
"Quick development and the connection with the database are the most valuable and useful features. It is also very stable, scalable, and easy to set up. Its support is also good."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"It's stable and reliable for the most part."
"The virtual patching feature is valuable."
"The product is easy to use."
"It helps us create web pages quickly."
"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."
"The database is super easy to use for creating tables."
 

Cons

"The graphical user interface could be easier to use. It should be simplified."
"One room for improvement is the ease of UI UX development, like in OutSystems and Mendix."
"Offline capabilities and responsive capabilities could be better. The mobility features of Appian platform are still evolving."
"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."
"The reporting is not as good as in similar products. They could also improve the dashboards."
"The solution needs more features. For example, a way to connect to our viewing database, to record, and more interface and component design."
"The biggest areas of improvement would be in facilitating team development, DevOps, and integration with typical tools used in enterprise development (Jenkins, Subversion, etc.)"
"If we could calculate the amount of data that will be realized, it would help us a lot."
"For beginners, understanding the installation process can be challenging because documentation is limited."
"There is a problem with security because the applications store passwords in the configuration files."
"Fixing bugs is difficult because of how the HTML code is generated. It is not always broadly compatible with browsers."
"It has been reported that the technology is very hard to learn, and the service is expensive."
"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."
"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."
"The problem of sending emails arises when Oracle Application Express (APEX) is inside Oracle Cloud Infrastructure since it is a bit complicated or difficult to understand where to take care of the setup part to be able to just send out emails properly."
"The solution’s pricing is high if you use it on the OCA platform. It’s also a little bit costly. However, if we use it on an on-premises Oracle database, the pricing is cheaper."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's good value for the price."
"Appian is very flexible in their pricing. In general, Appian's pricing is much, much lower when compared to competition like Pega or other products. Appian also has a flexible licensing model across geographies. Pega usually goes with a single licensing cost—which is a US-based cost—for all global customers, and it's costly. Whereas Appian has a different regional licensing cost model and it can be cheaper, depending on geography. So Appian's licensing is very flexible, and cheaper when compared to other competition."
"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."
"It is fully managed, and I don't believe there are any additional expenses."
"The tool is quite costly."
"The licensing will be on a monthly basis. We are estimating that cost to be around $2000 to maybe $3,000 per month. We don't foresee any costs above that."
"When it comes to pricing, it's definitely not affordable. However, it really depends on the requirements that you're seeking from the solution."
"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."
"It's a free solution with no additional costs."
"The solution is cheap. It's a free solution. I rate the solution's pricing a six or seven out of ten."
"To my understanding, my organization is using the free version of Oracle Application Express (APEX), but I'm unsure because I haven't checked the pricing or licensing cost for it."
"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."
"The solution is free if you are using on Oracle database."
"We have an Oracle basic product license, and then we can use Oracle APEX for free. We have many licenses for Oracle for approximately 20 processors."
"APEX itslelf is a free product, but you will need to license peripheral components."
"The tool is free with the Oracle Database license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
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: February 2026.
882,479 professionals have used our research since 2012.