Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs Oracle Visual Builder Cloud Service 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
4th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (3rd)
Oracle Visual Builder Cloud...
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
21st
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 8.3%, down from 9.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Visual Builder Cloud Service is 0.8%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

Ashraf Hamza - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient with good data retrieval but improvement needed in user interface
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. It is part of our agreement with Oracle E Business Suite and offers seamless data retrieval and performance. Additionally, we utilize its dashboard and reporting capabilities.
Sherif Bashar - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers low-code/no-code concept makes development much easier and faster and offers good community support as the development team actively answers questions on the community every day
There are very minor things, like the feature called "action chains," that could use a bit of enhancement. But the team is perfect; they're working on it. An action chain is a sequence of actions triggered by a button or an event. It executes code in order, from top to bottom. For example, it could call a code, call a REST service, and then insert data into a database. It needs enhancement because it can be a bit complex for fresh grads or new developers to understand. It would be better if it was made more readable. That's the main point. But if you have experience, you'll understand it easily. One more thing I want to add about Visual Builder: up until two years ago, it supported native mobile development. That's not available anymore. They replaced native mobile development with progressive web apps, and most customers are complaining about that. We need native mobile development back – the ability to put apps on stores like Google Play or the App Store. That feature is not available right now, and they deprecated it starting in 2024. It's very important. Otherwise, clients go with Flutter or other mobile development tools. It would be good for Oracle to regain that capability. We need the native mobile development feature back.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Oracle APEX's reporting features are simple yet powerful. The ability to quickly create CRUD screens has simplified many RAD discovery processes, while the APEX environment allows the product owners and dev teams to quickly understand the complex solutions and employ usage statistics to identify areas requiring improvement. The option to add external JavaScript tools in screen development enables the development of complicated mobile or web usage scenarios in rare cases where the APEX UX is not enough."
"Efficient software delivery and a solution that works quickly."
"Oracle APEX improved our organization by making it possible for us to implement agile project development."
"The virtual patching feature is valuable."
"It has many ready modules that can be used and developed."
"I like the fact that it is natively integrated into the Oracle database."
"I like the way that it automatically goes into the spreadsheets and the users can deal with it."
"The solution can efficiently translate from English to another language including Arabic using the XLIFF format."
"VBS is another tool that allows users to create enterprise applications without needing to store their projects in traditional databases like SQL."
"You don't need a dedicated IDE to develop. You can work from any browser, which is very convenient. And, with the cloud concept, your code is stored in the cloud, so you can modify it from anywhere, at any time."
"The action chains are really helpful, and the trigger event, along with those action chains, has been very helpful."
"The tool is very easy to use."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The most valuable feature was the visual drag and drop on the components."
 

Cons

"I would like to see easier integration into active directory authentication. Also, maybe integration of JavaScript frameworks would resolve some issues."
"There is a bit of a learning curve involved when first using the solution."
"One area for improvement in Oracle APEX is its workflow orchestration capabilities."
"I've experienced some difficulties when using Oracle Application Express (APEX), particularly when I'm designing forms. For example, when I design a form, I add buttons and controls, but I'm unable to visualize how it'll look unless I run it. You want to design and do things your way, but if you don't have much experience, then you'll find that designing in Oracle Application Express (APEX) is a little complicated. This won't be a problem with anyone more experienced, though. If I wanted to create my design, for example, a different table format or some background images, it becomes a problem, and this is an area for improvement in Oracle Application Express (APEX). Designing should be easier, even for less experienced users. An additional feature I'd like to see in Oracle Application Express (APEX) is more plugins, particularly a repository that contains a lot of plugins, so you can go to that repository and download whichever you like and use it or add it to your project. Right now, I create my plugins, so it would be helpful if Oracle Application Express (APEX) has a repository of plugins people can use, download from anywhere in the world, and integrate into projects."
"The user interface needs to be improved."
"It has a bit of a strict framework, you have to make all the time adjustments in their JavaScript. Another downside is that it's only available for Oracle databases."
"It has been reported that the technology is very hard to learn, and the service is expensive."
"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."
"The feature called "action chains" could use a bit of enhancement."
"I would improve the license structure as, for some companies, it may seem a little bit expensive, depending on what they're doing."
"There was an attempt to enable front-end development, it did what it intended to do, but the side effects were too bad."
"The tool has minor bugs."
"The initial setup of Oracle VBCS can be challenging for those unfamiliar with DBS."
"There are some bugs in VBCS."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"It is expensive, but I don't know what the licensing cost is."
"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 moderately priced, where it is neither cheap nor expensive."
"The pricing is very good and less expensive than Mendix or OutSystems."
"The tool is not expensive."
"When buying the data license, APEX is included."
"When you have a licensed database in an Oracle environment, APEX is free."
"It's not expensive when you consider what it provides: low-code/no-code development, faster development time, good quality, and good stability."
"Oracle Visual Builder Cloud Service is much too expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rapid Application Development Software solutions are best for your needs.
841,004 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
33%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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)?
The user interface needs to be improved. It should be more user-friendly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Visual Builder Cloud Service?
I actually don't have much experience with pricing, so I can't comment on it right now.
What is your primary use case for Oracle Visual Builder Cloud Service?
There was a requirement to build a custom form to raise AI invoices, using Oracle Fusion. We created a form, and another use case was that users wanted to create and update customers.
 

Also Known As

Oracle APEX
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hepart AG, pharmasol, SATLOG, Collège Bois-de-Boulogne
Transcom Worldwide, Latham Pool Products
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs. Oracle Visual Builder Cloud Service and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
841,004 professionals have used our research since 2012.