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

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
4th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (2nd)
OutSystems
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
3rd
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Development Platforms (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Low-Code Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 10.1%, down from 11.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OutSystems is 10.4%, up from 9.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Low-Code Development Platforms
 

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.
Bireswar Das - PeerSpot reviewer
A low-code platform for the development of mobile and web enterprise applications
To illustrate a case, the customer initially had a private cloud, essentially a data center hosted within it. They needed a disaster recovery solution, which would involve using a public cloud. This situation led to some deployment challenges due to the hybrid nature of their setup. However, once we implemented the solution for them, they were extremely satisfied. The process was not only effective but also quite speedy. To be more precise, we completed it in around 100 days, even though they initially requested it to be done in four months. They were very pleased with the efficiency of the implementation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is fast."
"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."
"Intuitive with a user-friendly UI."
"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward."
"The valuable features are charts, reports, and search engines."
"The most valuable applications within the organization are primarily data forms and extended reports."
"Oracle APEX allows our company to complete webpage projects easily in a fast turnaround time."
"One of the most valuable features is the ability to build very fast data-driven UIs."
"OutSystems is a low-code solution. Most features are like drag-and-drop, so it's pretty easy to work. Thus it helps the organization by saving time for developers."
"The most valuable features of OutSystems are the user-friendly platform. The drag-and-drop feature is great. I have used other rapid application development tools before, but they were not as advanced as OutSystems. With the previous tools, I had to manually build certain features, but OutSystems does it automatically."
"OutSystems is a hybrid framework and supports my mobile and web application development needs. This means I don't have to write separate code for mobile applications. It adapts the UI and functionality, whether I'm developing for web or mobile interfaces. All I need to do is provide the layout during development."
"We can do the validation before calling the API."
"It is very stable."
"It is much easier to develop applications with the product’s IDE."
"The flow editor is the most valuable feature. It is simple and intuitive, and it can guide you step-by-step."
"The visual program of OutSystems is one of the major advantages of this solution."
 

Cons

"It would be highly beneficial if APEX were an all-in-one platform capable of handling all aspects of application development."
"Some of the application interfaces of Oracle Application Express are not very attractive and could be improved."
"During the upcoming versions, we can modify the current configuration."
"Oracle Application Express would be improved if you could use it on a mobile platform."
"The migration process is difficult in Oracle Application Express."
"Connecting with Oracle and the relation with Oracle at the database as a procedure needs improvement."
"It would be beneficial to include WebSockets so that you can see real-time updates."
"It has been reported that the technology is very hard to learn, and the service is expensive."
"The integration points need to be increased. People have also started to adopt this solution for their regular needs. That means it's not only the big enterprises that are adopting this solution. There are also small and medium enterprises that are adopting it. I've read that where you have large deployments, OutSystems starts to crumble a bit. That is the idea that no customer would know at the beginning and would also not like to hit the wall there. When it is on the client, there are a lot of applications already on low-code, and then suddenly you realize that you want to do some big applications, and you face hurdles. This is the general feedback for all such platforms."
"The product could be improved if there was a shortcut, or predefined, predictable templates provided."
"I would like to see improvements in versioning. It can be challenging to keep track of what changes should be committed, especially when many developers are working in one environment."
"In OutSystems, cloud management is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"While I can't speak to the market impact, as a developer, I've seen significant reductions in development time across different versions of our applications. One area for improvement would be the UI controls in Service Studio. Sometimes, controls don't appear in the IDE, requiring us to check them in the web browser instead. Overall, our experience with OutSystems has been positive, though improvements in UI development would be welcomed."
"I would like to see more integration between the use of artificial intelligence to speed up the process delivery time."
"When shared extensions are updated, all the applications are redeployed."
"The solution is costly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe that the solution's pricing is high."
"I believe APEX comes bundled with the database, including autonomous database and other related database products, so the pricing is quite reasonable."
"The pricing is very good and less expensive than Mendix or OutSystems."
"APEX itslelf is a free product, but you will need to license peripheral components."
"The solution is moderately priced, where it is neither cheap nor expensive."
"When buying the data license, APEX is included."
"Apex is not priced separately; instead, it is associated with the Oracle database. A free option for Oracle database and Apex can be downloaded and installed on this complimentary database version. This aligns with our current approach."
"The solution is free."
"For one developer to use, the cost is around $5,000."
"It is not an expensive product, especially if you have access to more features and deal with more projects."
"The solution is expensive."
"As for licensing costs, I'm not directly involved in that aspect."
"OutSystems was open to a deal that worked for both sides."
"OutSystems is a good solution, but it's not cheap."
"The price is okay. OutSystems isn't expensive. It's a mid-range solution."
"The product is expensive and I would rate its pricing a seven out of ten. You need to pay a yearly subscription to use the product."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Low-Code Development Platforms solutions are best for your needs.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
32%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Educational Organization
33%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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.
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: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.