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Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs Pega Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

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)
Pega Platform
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
8th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
Business Rules Management (1st), Business Process Management (BPM) (4th), Process Automation (4th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (7th), AI Software Development (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 6.1%, down from 8.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pega Platform is 6.1%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle Application Express (APEX)6.1%
Pega Platform6.1%
Other87.8%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

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.
reviewer4848291 - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Head of Digital, Process Automation at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Pega is a low-code platform that enables organizations to build, automate, and optimize business processes and customer experiences through AI-powered decisioning and workflow automation.
Here are the key areas where Pega Platform could be improved: 1. User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX) Customization Limitations: The UI layer is tightly coupled with the platform, limiting flexibility for custom front-end development. Constellation Architecture: While it improves consistency, it restricts advanced UI customizations compared to older section-based designs. Learning Curve: Non-technical users find the UI unintuitive despite the low-code promise. 2. Integration & Extensibility Limited Out-of-the-Box Integrations: Users report challenges integrating with non-relational databases and legacy systems. Robotics Integration: Pega RPA (formerly OpenSpan) is not seamlessly integrated with BPM, creating silos in automation. 3. AI & Decisioning AI Capabilities Need Maturity: Users expect more advanced, native AI features without relying on external tools. CDH & Decision Hub: While powerful, these components require deep expertise to configure effectively. 4. Cost & Licensing High Licensing Costs: Pega is often seen as expensive, especially for small and mid-sized enterprises. Lack of Flexible Pricing Models: Calls for subscription-based or usage-based pricing to improve accessibility. 5. Performance & Scalability Scalability Concerns: Some users report performance degradation with large user bases or complex workflows. Upgrade Complexity: Platform upgrades can be time-consuming and disruptive if not planned well. 6. Documentation & Community Support Insufficient Learning Resources: Especially for advanced features, documentation is limited and community support is not as strong as competitors. Talent Availability: Finding skilled Pega professionals remains a challenge in many regions. 7. Low-Code/No-Code Experience Not Fully No-Code: Despite branding, some tasks still require technical intervention, and the drag-and-drop interface can be restrictive 2. Conflict Management: Simultaneous development by multiple users can lead to rule conflicts.

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 the ability to build very fast data-driven UIs."
"It has a well-designed architecture and is a simple 3rd party application."
"The support is great; whenever I encounter an issue and raise an SR to Oracle, I receive a fast response from their side."
"The most valuable feature of Oracle APEX is its comprehensive set of features for creating user-friendly and visually appealing applications."
"The solution's most valuable aspect is its Graphics Form Design."
"The product is fast."
"Oracle Application Express is easy to use, people don't have to be developers to use it."
"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."
"I have a lot of experience in this kind of industry, and Pega is one of the best solutions in terms of performance, capabilities, and the way we develop."
"The most valuable feature of the product is that it's very customer-centric. It's easy to use for a customer or a user. It's also easy for someone who is developing an application. You can develop different features in just one place. You don't have to go to different places."
"The product's most valuable features include its adaptability and flexibility, attributed to its Java-based architecture."
"While Pega technical support is okay, it also depends on the issues you need help with and who your contact is with Pega."
"They're pretty easy to create, and they're pretty easy to deploy."
"The most notable feature is the dynamic workflow changes, allowing adjustments without completing the entire cycle. Transitioning from test to build to production was seamless and on the fly, which is something truly remarkable about Pega. Additionally, the workflow creation doesn't require users with extensive technical skills, thanks to its low-code platform, making it accessible and efficient."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of deployment."
"We find the product to be scalable."
 

Cons

"Connections to the application pages are not handled well and at times more than one user can be accessing an application with the same ID."
"Oracle Application Express would be improved if you could use it on a mobile platform."
"I don't like the URL syntax."
"There is a bit of a learning curve involved when first using the solution."
"The migration process is difficult in Oracle Application Express."
"There is not a lot of Wiki help or in Google, but there is some."
"The solution does not include a default or custom template like other products."
"The format is not recognized by Microsoft Word products."
"Pega currently is trying to add chatbots to their systems, and it's still quite immature. This part definitely needs to be improved."
"Containerization should be improved in relation to Pega because Camunda is deployable in the containerization deployment process."
"It needs more integration with other platforms."
"Pega BPM can improve product management, case management, omnichannel, CDH, and the customer data hub. All the major domains can improve. Additionally, more AI functionality and proper integrations with Pega RPA would be helpful."
"It is scalable, but it also interacts with a lot of other systems. I think they thought that the interface to other systems, legacy systems, was its strength, but when problems do occur, quickly diagnosing those problems has been a challenge."
"The local development approach is good in Pega, however, cost-wise, it's getting expensive. That needs to be addressed."
"The product's artificial intelligence capabilities could be improved. More advanced AI features could further optimize process automation and decision-making."
"The way the IDE works with the chatbox and the taxonomy imports could be a little smoother."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"I would rate it around an eight in terms of price, with one being low and ten being high."
"It is expensive in comparison to other products."
"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."
"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."
"When you have a licensed database in an Oracle environment, APEX is free."
"Oracle Express comes with the Oracle license, it is a bundle."
"It is expensive, but I don't know what the licensing cost is."
"The licensing fees are based on the number of users."
"This upgrade process is very expensive; although I haven't been on the sales team responsible for the pricing, I know it costs millions of dollars."
"I rate Pega BPM a seven out of ten."
"The pricing is pretty good, compared to other similar products."
"They have both on-premise and cloud licensing. If you are a small to medium company, go for the cloud option because that eliminates a lot of the setting up of your DevTest and performance environments, multiple environments, because you can buy that from Pega with the cloud option. So your setup time really goes down. If you're a large company, then you're better off putting it within your company. You have other skill resources within your company to create environments."
"Pricing is good."
"They need to come up with licensing options. Right now they do have a cloud-based option, but the cloud prices I've seen are much more expensive compared to competing products."
"It's a user-based license where, as you scale the numbers of users, the price increases."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
26%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
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 Business11
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise69
 

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...
Is Pega BPM easy to work with and can beginners utilize this software?
You do need some preparation to be able to use all functions of Pega BPM. However, all users of this platform are in luck as it comes with good documentation and you can learn pretty much everythin...
Have you encountered any issues while using Pega BPM and were you assisted by the company?
My company has been using this tool for years and the only issue we have had, if you can call it that, was while setting it up. When we were setting it up initially, we had some drawbacks and could...
When you consider the features and benefits of Pega BPM, would you say this product is fairly priced?
Pega BPM can be considered overpriced for some; it all depends on the size of your company and the requirements of your customers. Sure, there are products out there that do the things that Pega B...
 

Also Known As

Oracle APEX
Pega BPM, Pegasystems, SmartBPM, PegaRULES
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hepart AG, pharmasol, SATLOG, Collège Bois-de-Boulogne
The State of Maine, ANZ, Coca-Cola, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), ME, New South Wales, OptumRx, Texas Department of Transportation, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs. Pega Platform and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,435 professionals have used our research since 2012.