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Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs ServiceNow comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 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
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (2nd), Low-Code Development Platforms (3rd)
ServiceNow
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
216
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (1st), IT Asset Management (1st), IT Service Management (ITSM) (1st), No-Code Development Platforms (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 8.3%, down from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 11.3%, up from 9.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

Ashraf Hamza - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient with good data retrieval but improvement needed in user interface
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. It is part of our agreement with Oracle E Business Suite and offers seamless data retrieval and performance. Additionally, we utilize its dashboard and reporting capabilities.
Somnath Kand - PeerSpot reviewer
Custom integration and reporting lead to efficient ticket management
There is a need for bug or error tracking in ServiceNow. Although there are child incidents or tickets, tracking primary issues or bugs within enhancements is not present. The reporting features in the new portal could be more user-friendly. While it provides options to minimize chart and image sizes, actual implementation doesn't always reflect these changes.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"A user interface is relatively simple to create."
"It's low code, or even no code. It's very flexible, allowing you to achieve what you want. You can customize applications with very little code, which is the best part."
"The database is super easy to use for creating tables."
"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."
"This product will speed up development time with helpful production aids."
"What's most valuable in Oracle Application Express (APEX) is its secure coding functionality, and the solution also has good features."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of Oracle APEX is its comprehensive set of features for creating user-friendly and visually appealing applications."
"Easy to implement and consolidate different platforms and users with useful functionalities."
"It's a very low-code platform, and it's simple. The user experience is also really good."
"I like the reporting aspect of it. It helps us know where we stand regarding the types of issues we're receiving... It also shows us trends. That enables us to possibly predict an issue that might come up in the future as well as what is happening right now. We will like that feature. With it, we can either avoid certain issues or know where we need to focus more regarding the service we provide."
"The most valuable feature is that this is a Cloud solution."
"I have found that sorting and grouping functions are particularly useful."
"For change management, I find the CAB workbench very useful. I haven't seen any other solution that has a CAB workbench or advanced automated solutions for a change advisory board. ServiceNow also has the Workflow Engine which works very well and is very intuitive."
"Makes ticket information easy to access."
"It has more extensive features as compared to the other competitors."
 

Cons

"I've experienced some difficulties when using Oracle Application Express (APEX), particularly when I'm designing forms. For example, when I design a form, I add buttons and controls, but I'm unable to visualize how it'll look unless I run it. You want to design and do things your way, but if you don't have much experience, then you'll find that designing in Oracle Application Express (APEX) is a little complicated. This won't be a problem with anyone more experienced, though. If I wanted to create my design, for example, a different table format or some background images, it becomes a problem, and this is an area for improvement in Oracle Application Express (APEX). Designing should be easier, even for less experienced users. An additional feature I'd like to see in Oracle Application Express (APEX) is more plugins, particularly a repository that contains a lot of plugins, so you can go to that repository and download whichever you like and use it or add it to your project. Right now, I create my plugins, so it would be helpful if Oracle Application Express (APEX) has a repository of plugins people can use, download from anywhere in the world, and integrate into projects."
"Reporting needs to be accessed via third party tools."
"There is not a lot of Wiki help or in Google, but there is some."
"Being able to only design with HTML and CSS can be limiting as to what can be accomplished."
"It can only be deployed on Oracle Database."
"We would like to see tighter integration with the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure."
"Visual Builder and APEX should meld in one product."
"I don't like the URL syntax."
"I do not like the user interface."
"An area for improvement would be the accessibility of downloaded and compressed files."
"The installation and deployment of ServiceNow can be a bit challenging. One major issue I've encountered is that ServiceNow doesn't provide the same mobile responsiveness or features that we used to enjoy with other tools. For example, with Splunk, our response times were about five minutes, and we could manage alerts and incidents directly from our mobile devices."
"I have a problem with the way the solution's price is calculated."
"I have enjoyed all the features. There is not any feature that I have missed or didn't have."
"We do a lot of relatively advanced stuff for the size that we are, but ServiceNow itself is so big and to some extent, there is a significant amount of complexity that you have, a big learning curve I would say, in order to really get on board."
"It became kind of complex to set it up without a general lack of knowledge of the particular feature-function capabilities. Features and capabilities could have been explained better to the end-users."
"I am interested to see the firm's strategic plans for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), and how the particular areas it will expand on from its existing investments (that feature, for example, in its ITSM Pro and CSM Pro modules)."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is very good and less expensive than Mendix or OutSystems."
"The solution is free if you are using on Oracle database."
"It's a free solution with no additional costs."
"I believe that the solution's pricing is high."
"The solution is free with your Oracle license or database and that is a good value."
"If you have a license to Oracle database, you can access APEX."
"The pricing is mid-range so is neither expensive nor cheap."
"I believe APEX comes bundled with the database, including autonomous database and other related database products, so the pricing is quite reasonable."
"The product cost is higher than that of other vendors."
"We are happy with the pricing."
"It's sold as a less expensive solution, but it has to be highly modified. That's where you get into the cost."
"The cost is quite high."
"The mandatory minimum is US$ 20,000 for licensing."
"The licensing cost is based on your partnership with ServiceNow and what you have selected for implementation. There is an annual license cost which is calculated based on your number of devices."
"ServiceNow's pricing is comparatively higher than Helix's."
"The licenses are expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
33%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
28%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

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)?
The user interface needs to be improved. It should be more user-friendly.
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...
Would you choose ServiceNow over Microsoft PowerApps?
Hi Netanya, I will choose ServiceNow because ServiceNow is a very good tool compared to Microsoft PowerApp. Because ServiceNow has a very strong module (Performance Analysis) reporting which will ...
What do you like most about ServiceNow?
The solution has a user-friendly interface.
 

Also Known As

Oracle APEX
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hepart AG, pharmasol, SATLOG, Collège Bois-de-Boulogne
AAA, AstraZeneca, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Broadcom, Christus Health, Epicor, Equinix, GE Capital, Intuit, KPMG, Loyola Marymount University, OshKosh, Quantas, RedHat, Royal Bank of Scotland, Swiss Re, U.S. Department of Energy, Safeway, Yale University, and Zillow    
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Application Express (APEX) vs. ServiceNow and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.