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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 January 2026, in the Low-Code Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 5.6%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OutSystems is 5.3%, 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 (%)
OutSystems5.3%
Oracle Application Express (APEX)5.6%
Other89.1%
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

"What's most valuable in Oracle Application Express (APEX) is its secure coding functionality, and the solution also has good features."
"I like the way that it automatically goes into the spreadsheets and the users can deal with it."
"A user interface is relatively simple to create."
"It's stable and reliable for the most part."
"The most valuable applications within the organization are primarily data forms and extended reports."
"The valuable features are charts, reports, and search engines."
"Intuitive with a user-friendly UI."
"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."
"We used almost all of the features, themes, styling guide, and approach components. They are useful in our applications."
"The scratch coding is useful. The solution is easy to understand."
"The solution helps to build mobile and web applications on SOAP and REST. You can integrate it with backend systems by submitting a code."
"Scalability proved to be an exceptionally beneficial feature."
"The integration capabilities have benefited my customers by providing many connectors out of the box, allowing for the integration of external applications or business applications."
"The flow editor is the most valuable feature. It is simple and intuitive, and it can guide you step-by-step."
"The most important features of this tool are its visual modeling capabilities and drag and drop functionality. You can see what you are coding which makes it easy to understand and maintain. They have also created a big revolution in digital transformation by introducing native mobile app development under the same IDE."
"It provides for faster development and better software releases."
 

Cons

"It would be beneficial to include WebSockets so that you can see real-time updates."
"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."
"There is not a lot of Wiki help or in Google, but there is some."
"It has been reported that the technology is very hard to learn, and the service is expensive."
"The solution has some stability problems that need to be resolved."
"Maybe there are other technologies that offer what APEX cannot."
"It would be highly beneficial if APEX were an all-in-one platform capable of handling all aspects of application development."
"It should have the functionality to develop mobile applications. It would also be good if they can improve development in videos and other formats."
"The cons involve delays in project timelines primarily due to the time taken in requirements refinement and challenges faced when adding new features, making it somewhat complex to manage and maintain applications as they grow in scale."
"The customer service and support are maintaining a two-day SLA for everything. 48 hours is very high."
"The new version could be improved."
"In the future with OutSystems, improvements could be made on the costing side rather than the feature side."
"The largest obstacle currently associated with OutSystems is its high cost and limited availability of skilled personnel. Despite being a rapid application development platform, having a highly skilled individual familiar with the platform can be much more beneficial than an inexperienced individual. Because there is a shortage of people with the necessary OutSystems skills, utilizing the platform can become expensive. This makes little sense, considering that a rapid application development platform should be accessible to the average person. However, having a highly skilled individual can greatly increase productivity, making the cost worthwhile."
"The prices should be lower. It is a little bit too high for a small market."
"The tutorials for the solution should be updated."
"The integration Studio could be improved. It needs a tool in which we could develop C# code and then integrate into OutSystems. The application could have a better UI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"To my understanding, my organization is using the free version of Oracle Application Express (APEX), but I'm unsure because I haven't checked the pricing or licensing cost for it."
"The tool is free with the Oracle Database license."
"Oracle Express comes with the Oracle license, it is a bundle."
"It is expensive in comparison to other products."
"When buying the data license, APEX is included."
"I believe that the solution's pricing is high."
"There is a trial version available that can be used free of charge."
"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."
"OutSystems is an expensive product. My company has to make monthly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"Pricing could be a concern. You have to pay yearly, even after you have completed your development."
"The price is okay. OutSystems isn't expensive. It's a mid-range solution."
"For one developer to use, the cost is around $5,000."
"The tool’s licensing is based on the user’s usage."
"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."
"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."
"OutSystems was open to a deal that worked for both sides."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
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.
881,227 professionals have used our research since 2012.