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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

"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."
"The ability to quickly develop applications without needing to code a lot is very valuable."
"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."
"Personally, I would say that Oracle Application Express (APEX) is a powerful tool...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
"With only a browser, it is very easy to develop in a web environment."
"I like how we can actively develop and customize APEX because it's on the same database."
"Oracle Application Express is easy to use, people don't have to be developers to use it."
"I like the way that it automatically goes into the spreadsheets and the users can deal with it."
"Let's assume a project in .NET, native .NET, or Java takes around 12 months. In OutSystems, we can build that application in four to five months."
"Speed of delivery: We were able to reduce development time by 30%."
"In terms of user support and community engagement, I rate the tool a ten out of ten."
"Integrations with external systems with SOAP and REST are easy to implement off-the-shelf, but a developer can always implement specific libraries for other integrations."
"There is literally a ton of stuff it can do. It's very flexible."
"Scalability proved to be an exceptionally beneficial feature."
"We can quickly develop an application using the tool."
"It provides for faster development and better software releases."
 

Cons

"The solution has some stability problems that need to be resolved."
"Oracle is more of a database-oriented solution and is not very flexible in app development."
"The workflow engine should be embedded in the solution."
"There is a problem with security because the applications store passwords in the configuration files."
"Currently, APEX doesn't have a building workflow engine. I think that's the most important improvement that could be made at this point."
"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."
"The product must provide more triggers."
"I'd like to see AI features integrated into the solution."
"We have performance issues while fetching bulk data."
"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."
"Currently, in mobile applications, we don't have push notifications."
"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."
"It is hard to find the logic in OutSystems. From an improvement perspective, I want to be able to properly use logic in OutSystems."
"One of the biggest areas for improvement is that every time an existing data element is modified, it creates a new data element. It doesn't really modify that particular data element. So, a user has to follow an extra step of removing the existing data element and bringing in the new and modified data element that is being added, which sort of goes into negative productivity."
"In my opinion, the support and the pricing could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is cheap. It's a free solution. I rate the solution's pricing a six or seven out of ten."
"The product is completely free of cost."
"Oracle Application Express (APEX) is free, so this is another magic of the solution. You just get charged for the database license, which I don't need."
"APEX itslelf is a free product, but you will need to license peripheral components."
"Oracle Express comes with the Oracle license, it is a bundle."
"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."
"I believe that the solution's pricing is high."
"When you have a licensed database in an Oracle environment, APEX is free."
"For a single application, it's too expensive."
"It is not an expensive product, especially if you have access to more features and deal with more projects."
"I would rate it five to six out of ten."
"The solution is expensive. The platform is not suitable for all of my clients. I work with labor unions and other smaller organizations that would not be able to afford the platform's current pricing model. It would be beneficial if there were a scaled-down version or a tiered pricing option that would allow me to build an app or a web app that is more cost-effective for my clients. Currently, the platform's pricing is too high for many of my clients, who would not be able to afford something in the $50,000 to $100,000 range."
"I believe they are very strict with their pricing platforms, or the pricing policies, and it changes."
"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."
"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."
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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.
881,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.