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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

"The most valuable applications within the organization are primarily data forms and extended reports."
"The valuable features are charts, reports, and search engines."
"Oracle Application Express is easy to use, people don't have to be developers to use it."
"The solution is easy to handle. The tool has helped us develop many applications since it supports SQL and NoSQL languages. We are familiar with this language. Also, the solution’s interface design and database design are very easy. It is not so much complex. I have no experience working with other solutions."
"You can customize the solution to create a console where only business users can access and download files if they want to extract the data."
"I like that Oracle Application Express (APEX) is powerful and attractive, allowing my organization to modernize forms within two months. I also found its PWA feature very powerful because you can produce substantial mobile applications."
"I like the way that it automatically goes into the spreadsheets and the users can deal with it."
"Efficient software delivery and a solution that works quickly."
"Using Pega Platform has saved me time during development, as it takes significantly less time to create example use cases compared to other platforms."
"Whenever a customer needs to do something, the way Pega designs the whole thing into an easy number of steps makes the flow from the actual intent to the actual final results pretty fast."
"Pega is the leader in business process management solutions"
"While Pega technical support is okay, it also depends on the issues you need help with and who your contact is with Pega."
"The technical support of Pega BPM is very good."
"The most valuable features of the solution are case management, routing, and low-code environment."
"This solution is useful for business process management if you have any banking solutions or need to manage a process."
"The robotic process automation has increased the confidence of business users."
 

Cons

"In terms of improvement, there should be a greater focus on AI and machine learning tools in Oracle APEX."
"Source control could be stronger in Oracle Application Express (APEX). It needs some work."
"The format is not recognized by Microsoft Word products."
"Oracle Application Express would be improved if you could use it on a mobile platform."
"Fixing bugs is difficult because of how the HTML code is generated. It is not always broadly compatible with browsers."
"Occasionally when trying to un a page, I would be faced with an error number; however, not much information would be provided on the error itself outside of the programming language. It would be nice if more information could be provided."
"Maybe there are other technologies that offer what APEX cannot."
"The solution has some stability problems that need to be resolved."
"The UI has always been the weakest part."
"Pega is claiming they're into low code but as per Gartner Magic Quadrant, Pega is not there now."
"One of the areas of this solution that could be improved would be to advance the low code features of the application itself. We would also like to use the same platform to build any application, even if it is not necessarily defined as a functionality needed by a BPM."
"Pega currently is trying to add chatbots to their systems, and it's still quite immature. This part definitely needs to be improved."
"If it could also be integrated with robotics, it could help with a lot of things, even if we don't have APIs, we could still talk to other applications. If it could invoke a bot, for example."
"The UI needs reworking."
"There is a scarcity of resources who have worked with this solution before."
"There is room for potential improvement in the performance of PegaRULES, as well as the need to address any existing security concerns. It should be noted that working with an older version of Pega, rather than the latest 8.x versions, may limit certain capabilities and leave room for vulnerabilities that could benefit from increased attention. Furthermore, the user interface (UI) could be a candidate for enhancements. It is worth mentioning that newer versions of Pega may have introduced improvements in these areas."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When you have a licensed database in an Oracle environment, APEX is free."
"There is a trial version available that can be used free of charge."
"The tool is free with the Oracle Database license."
"It's a free solution with no additional costs."
"The solution is moderately priced, where it is neither cheap nor expensive."
"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."
"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."
"APEX itslelf is a free product, but you will need to license peripheral components."
"The licensing model from Pega BPM is too complex and is more expensive than other solutions, such as SAP. The overall price of the solution depends on the use case."
"Pega is expensive."
"Pega BPM is expensive because it's a leading product, but it also delivers a good return on investment (ROI)."
"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."
"The price of Pega BPM falls on the higher side of the spectrum if I were to compare it with other solutions in the market."
"The licensing model for Pega BPM needs to be improved."
"The licensing is on a yearly basis. Because of our special relationship, all the training certifications are free of cost. All our employees can do Pega certifications at zero cost. It is all on Pega."
"May be somewhat more expensive than other solutions initially, but should have enhanced return on investment."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
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.
880,481 professionals have used our research since 2012.