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
3rd
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (2nd)
Oracle Visual Builder Cloud...
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
20th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
16th
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 July 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 7.6%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Visual Builder Cloud Service is 1.0%, down from 1.1% 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.
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

"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."
"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward."
"The valuable features are charts, reports, and search engines."
"I particularly enjoy the web builder capabilities, especially the Page Designer. It offers so many elements or components to choose from, which is a major plus for me."
"The most valuable applications within the organization are primarily data forms and extended reports."
"One standout feature of Oracle APEX is its seamless integration with backend procedures, allowing for quick updates without changing the front-end interface."
"It's fairly easy to make a user-friendly interface."
"The database is super easy to use for creating tables."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The most valuable feature was the visual drag and drop on the components."
"The tool is very easy to use."
"VBS is another tool that allows users to create enterprise applications without needing to store their projects in traditional databases like SQL."
"The action chains are really helpful, and the trigger event, along with those action chains, has been very helpful."
"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."
 

Cons

"The solution could provide more AI functionalities or AI assistance."
"I would like to see easier integration into active directory authentication. Also, maybe integration of JavaScript frameworks would resolve some issues."
"Oracle should implement vertical and horizontal data segmentation in APEX's security framework, so Dev teams don't need to do any heavy lifting in the APEX screens. This is a common issue in enterprise apps. It would be nice to seamlessly integrate Git repositories into the development process since the current solution can result in overlapping work or an eventual overwrite. The provided example apps are great, but they could benefit from some added documentation in the "explanation screens"."
"Another issue I used to encounter was with the debugging functions. I believe this is an area where Oracle APEX could improve significantly in terms of displaying error messages or error pages. It is very difficult to detect bugs or which bugs you are having when it comes to errors or which errors you have."
"I don't like the URL syntax."
"The format is not recognized by Microsoft Word products."
"Visual Builder and APEX should meld in one product."
"Occasionally when trying to un a page, I would be faced with an error number; however, not much information would be provided on the error itself outside of the programming language. It would be nice if more information could be provided."
"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 feature called "action chains" could use a bit of enhancement."
"The tool has minor bugs."
"There are some bugs in VBCS."
"The initial setup of Oracle VBCS can be challenging for those unfamiliar with DBS."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is free."
"There is a trial version available that can be used free of charge."
"The tool is free with the Oracle Database license."
"The pricing is very good and less expensive than Mendix or OutSystems."
"The product is completely free of cost."
"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."
"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."
"I believe APEX comes bundled with the database, including autonomous database and other related database products, so the pricing is quite reasonable."
"Oracle Visual Builder Cloud Service is much too expensive."
"It's not expensive when you consider what it provides: low-code/no-code development, faster development time, good quality, and good stability."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rapid Application Development Software solutions are best for your needs.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Insurance 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)?
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.
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: June 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.