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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
59
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 April 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 8.2%, down from 9.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 11.0%, up from 10.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

Rodrigo-Mesquita - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
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

"One of the most valuable features is the ability to build very fast data-driven UIs."
"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."
"By using Express, we are able to load the data and integrate it into our data map."
"I like the way that it automatically goes into the spreadsheets and the users can deal with it."
"It has a well-designed architecture and is a simple 3rd party application."
"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."
"You don't have to know a lot of PL because it's built on PL/SQL. You don't need developers. You only need to design a good application that resolves a problem, or many problems, for companies and you're ready to go."
"Quick development and the connection with the database are the most valuable and useful features. It is also very stable, scalable, and easy to set up. Its support is also good."
"HR Case Management and Customer Service Management are two of the key areas which clients are using."
"Discovery has reduced, on average, the time to build/deploy devices within our environment by one hour. This may not seem like much but it adds up over time. It also reaps additional time savings with its ability to capture changes through subsequent discoveries over the life of the device."
"I have found the workflows and integration the most valuable in this solution."
"There are lots of modules around IT service management such as IT business management and human resource management (HRC)."
"I prefer ServiceNow to the competition because of its ease of use, installation and configuration."
"It's more about the ease of use of ServiceNow. Plus, everything is there in a single platform. If you need any additional functionality, you just need to enable the plugins without even installing anything on the servers"
"Straightforward tool."
"The solution is stable, scalable and easy to use."
 

Cons

"The grid reports contain a lot of bugs."
"The solution's layout could be improved for report generation to allow more configuration."
"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."
"The solution could provide more AI functionalities or AI assistance."
"The product's stability has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The solution has some stability problems that need to be resolved."
"Being able to only design with HTML and CSS can be limiting as to what can be accomplished."
"It would be highly beneficial if APEX were an all-in-one platform capable of handling all aspects of application development."
"Needs additional software titles and easier normalization."
"The user interface for accessing assistance sometimes disconnects."
"When it comes to changing some of the features, I would like a little more leeway."
"Vulnerability management could be improved. Also, integration with tools such as Microsoft Defender ATP needs improvement."
"I know that discovery tools are not meant to be simple, but somehow, if they could make it more simple and robust, that would be great."
"We are struggling with the scheduling part, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it is a ServiceNow issue. It could be the way we have configured it. We don't have it configured in a way where you can schedule a support call with our end users. We are looking for more automation in the box and the chat feature."
"There are a few things that it needs to improve, like automation of most things out-of-the-box. For example, when it comes to cloud management, we are still going with manual intervention. Instead of that, if we had an out-of-the-box feature available, that would be great."
"Integration capabilities can improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate it around an eight in terms of price, with one being low and ten being high."
"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."
"The solution is free with your Oracle license or database and that is a good value."
"Pricing is expensive, overall on an enterprise system but we consider that it gives corresponding value in the product."
"It's a free solution with no additional costs."
"It is expensive in comparison to other products."
"The solution is free."
"If you have a license to Oracle database, you can access APEX."
"While the option exists to pay for a monthly license, we are dealing with large enterprises and these typically involve multi-year licenses of ten or five years, at a minimum."
"I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten. The pricing for ServiceNow is based on a SaaS platform with annual contracts. However, it may not offer much flexibility for adjusting usage in the short term."
"The price could be a little lower for the solution. Many of my customers have issues with the licensing process, they have to make it easier and straightforward."
"The setup cost is high compared to others, especially when the scope is not fixed."
"It's sold as a less expensive solution, but it has to be highly modified. That's where you get into the cost."
"The solution is expensive."
"They could be more competitive with their licensing."
"It has a higher cost compared to local/regional solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
32%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
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)?
Using AI to analyze data without needing much code would be better. Also, although the interface is easy to change, it could have more features.
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: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.