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Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs OutSystems 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
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (2nd)
OutSystems
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
4th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Development Platforms (1st), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Low-Code Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 5.2%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OutSystems is 4.8%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Low-Code Development Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
OutSystems4.8%
Oracle Application Express (APEX)5.2%
Other90.0%
Low-Code Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

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.
MA
Software Developer Advisor at NTT DATA Services
OutSystems facilitates rapid application development and effective project management
What I find valuable about OutSystems is that it has a very good learning curve for developers. Within two weeks, we can gain knowledge in OutSystems, and it is very easy to learn. With my background being .NET, OutSystems is straightforward to learn, which is beneficial. Developing applications in OutSystems is good, and the flexibility allowed by OutSystems for application development is excellent compared to my experiences with other low-code technologies, where I've faced some challenges. The clean separation of concerns in the architecture provided by OutSystems is a key benefit compared to other platforms. OutSystems integrates with our existing tech infrastructure and provides flexible integration. If we want to integrate with third-party services, OutSystems has SOAP and RESTful services that allow us to consume external services, integrate with external databases such as SQL or Oracle, and includes integration studio for writing custom .NET code. After developing a .NET component, we can reference it in service studio, creating a reference file that makes integration easy. OutSystems officially supports various integrations and also includes an API discovery tool for consuming and exposing services, providing a lot of information about incoming URLs, similar to how we use Postman.

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."
"Personally, I would say that Oracle Application Express (APEX) is a powerful tool...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
"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."
"Oracle APEX allows our company to complete webpage projects easily in a fast turnaround time."
"You don't have to know a lot of PL because it's built on PL/SQL. You don't need developers. You only need to design a good application that resolves a problem, or many problems, for companies and you're ready to go."
"Oracle is always adding very important updates"
"One of the most valuable features is that we can develop everything locally and deploy it for different kinds of operators in different locations, so we can do our job in one piece. The benefit of that is that others can use these applications. They connect to the internet to do these kinds of applications based on the permissions for those users."
"What's most valuable in Oracle Application Express (APEX) is its secure coding functionality, and the solution also has good features."
"There is literally a ton of stuff it can do. It's very flexible."
"The visual program of OutSystems is one of the major advantages of this solution."
"OutSystems' best feature is that you can build tests with the flow, so even the tests are made in the PDD framework in a low-code way."
"For me, the most valuable feature is the flexibility the tools give us to change any customer requirements on the fly, when we are in a meeting. I also like how easy it is to deploy the code between environments and how easy it is to integrate OutSystems with other systems."
"I like the mobile features the most, and there are also various features around the portal we created that I enjoy."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it allows users to easily build applications."
"I really like the one-click publish feature in OutSystems. In other development tools/languages, it's not as easy. I also like how easily I can manage all my projects in one place."
"OutSystems' low-cost approach has positively impacted our productivity, because we were able to develop faster with OutSystems, enabling us to implement many changes during our sprint."
 

Cons

"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."
"The solution does not include a default or custom template like other products."
"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."
"You also need an APEX specialist for deployment because not many people use it."
"Maybe there are other technologies that offer what APEX cannot."
"Some of the application interfaces of Oracle Application Express are not very attractive and could be improved."
"Better connection and integration with non-Oracle databases is needed."
"For beginners, understanding the installation process can be challenging because documentation is limited."
"Mobile apps need improvement."
"The solution's testing framework needs to be improved, and the workflow should be slightly more mature."
"Its ability to create and run automated tasks could be better."
"In the future with OutSystems, improvements could be made on the costing side rather than the feature side."
"There are not enough resources on the market."
"We had some lagging issues under high data loads, and the solution needed to be customized to improve this."
"I have difficulty in using several new features. Some of the product's features are tricky to use as well."
"We'd like OutSystems to add stronger workflow-based automation similar to what Appian offers. It needs more workflow modeling and RPA features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is expensive, overall on an enterprise system but we consider that it gives corresponding value in the product."
"APEX itslelf is a free product, but you will need to license peripheral components."
"It is expensive in comparison to other products."
"Oracle Application Express (APEX) comes with Oracle. The Oracle price itself. I do not know the exact cost. Oracle is flexible on its price. If you overspend on your hardware, then I don't think you will overpay. I heard that Oracle is more expensive than other databases, but when you consider Oracle is the best traditional relational database out there. You get what you pay for."
"The pricing is very good and less expensive than Mendix or OutSystems."
"The tool is not expensive."
"The product is completely free of cost."
"The solution is moderately priced, where it is neither cheap nor expensive."
"It is not an expensive product, especially if you have access to more features and deal with more projects."
"OutSystems was open to a deal that worked for both sides."
"The price is okay. OutSystems isn't expensive. It's a mid-range solution."
"There are no additional costs with the standard license."
"OutSystems is expensive, and they changed the pricing model in the last couple of years. It's changing too much and it's becoming unstable. They are constantly shifting their prices based on users, courses, and other factors."
"You should contact OutSystems for more details but my opinion is that it is not for small business budgets."
"It is very high price."
"OutSystems is a very expensive solution, and it has to be cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise28
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise31
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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...
What industries do you think OutSystems is most useful for?
I cannot really name an industry in which OutSystems cannot be beneficial. Who does not want to make top-notch applications that work in no time? And OutsyStems does exactly that. The low-code plat...
How did you decide which OutSystems edition was the best one for you?
We started using OutSystems fairly recently, so we are still on the free version of it. My company is still testing how we like the platform, but so far, we have been satisfied with it and will li...
 

Also Known As

Oracle APEX
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hepart AG, pharmasol, SATLOG, Collège Bois-de-Boulogne
Randstad, Warner Brothers, HP, Intel, ING, Banco Popular, Thrivent Financial, Bacardi, Kent State University, Bacardi, FICO, ING, Vodafone, AbbVie, Estafeta, Siemens, Vopak
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs. OutSystems and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,360 professionals have used our research since 2012.