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Adobe ColdFusion vs Oracle Application Express (APEX) 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

Adobe ColdFusion
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
29th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
27th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Application Express ...
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
3rd
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Adobe ColdFusion is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 7.3%, down from 8.8% 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)7.3%
Adobe ColdFusion0.8%
Other91.9%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

RakibulIslam - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-setup tool that can be used to automate repetitive tasks
Currently, they have some legacy connectors with different tools, and they are creating native connectors. For example, AEM was only using HTTP or SMTP connections. However, now, AEM also has a native connector. In Adobe Workfront, if we use those connectors, we can push data through them. Previously there were no in-built connectors for Power BI and the dashboard. Now I see that connectors are there in Adobe ColdFusion though I have not used them yet. Previously when I was trying to create some data, it was very difficult to get real-time data from Workfront. I would like to say that it could be an area of improvement if it was possible to get real-time data, and we can create some connectors like the ones on Power BI or Tableau. Now we have the option with which we can schedule a time, like one or two hours, five times a day, allowing us to push the data with Power BI or an external tool. However, with real-time data, it's really difficult now. For ColdFusion, since I do not have that much expertise, I would say that whatever issue I face, I will resolve them. For that, I would like to get real-time data using the tool. Hence, I would like to get a real-time dashboard all the time.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Apart from providing a mature, reliable, consistent platform, Adobe also offers outstanding customer service and product support."
"I find it to be the easiest server-side technology for website development. It easily integrates with virtually everything– from web APIs to NoSQL databases to RSS and XML services."
"This tool was very easy learn, yet powerful enough to manage many sites on a single instance."
"I would like to say that its best feature is its different kinds of connectors. We have lots of in-built connectors."
"My client has been able to improve productivity with the use of the tool. The solution has them develop several tools that addressed their specific needs. They have become more efficient and safe with the use of the product."
"We save enormous amounts of time in development using this tool."
"The ability to write SQL queries was very helpful as we did not need to bother our DBAs in writing stored procedures for simple tasks."
"No need to import libraries from outside the environment."
"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."
"Oracle APEX improved our organization by making it possible for us to implement agile project development."
"Oracle is always adding very important updates"
"It has a well-designed architecture and is a simple 3rd party application."
"In our experience with Apex, we find that minimizing reliance on HTML and JavaScript is preferable, especially considering our background as seasoned programmers adept in PL/SQL. Incorporating HTML and JavaScript can pose challenges due to potential compatibility issues when updates are made to JavaScript. We also make use of JAPER report integration for generating reports, a practice integral to our reporting procedures."
"The product is fast."
"It helps us create web pages quickly."
"The support is great; whenever I encounter an issue and raise an SR to Oracle, I receive a fast response from their side."
 

Cons

"ColdFusion’s third-party authentication is currently limited to just a couple of companies, like Google and Facebook, and a few third-party SAML authenticators. From my personal perspective, adding LinkedIn and Microsoft would greatly benefit me."
"Previously when I was trying to create some data, it was very difficult to get real-time data from Workfront."
"Need to be able to Be able to inject Python, Java, Groovy, or PHP code into a CFML page."
"There is not much third party authenticators in this solution"
"Installation of the server software was formidable due the number of configurable options."
"The solution needs to improve its adaption capability with a third-party company. I want to see more communities or open knowledge resources with the tool."
"The collaboration and the workflow engine could use some improvement."
"It can be modern and more user-friendly."
"It should have the functionality to develop mobile applications. It would also be good if they can improve development in videos and other formats."
"Being able to only design with HTML and CSS can be limiting as to what can be accomplished."
"Reporting needs to be accessed via third party tools."
"Fixing bugs is difficult because of how the HTML code is generated. It is not always broadly compatible with browsers."
"Another issue I used to encounter was with the debugging functions. I believe this is an area where Oracle APEX could improve significantly in terms of displaying error messages or error pages. It is very difficult to detect bugs or which bugs you are having when it comes to errors or which errors you have."
"Oracle should implement vertical and horizontal data segmentation in APEX's security framework, so Dev teams don't need to do any heavy lifting in the APEX screens. This is a common issue in enterprise apps. It would be nice to seamlessly integrate Git repositories into the development process since the current solution can result in overlapping work or an eventual overwrite. The provided example apps are great, but they could benefit from some added documentation in the "explanation screens"."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you really want to save money, there is a free open source CFML engine (former Railo, now Lucee) out there."
"The tool's pricing is high but it's totally worth the investment."
"It is a very effective solution and worth the price."
"I believe APEX comes bundled with the database, including autonomous database and other related database products, so the pricing is quite reasonable."
"If you have a license to Oracle database, you can access APEX."
"The solution is free."
"The product is completely free of cost."
"When buying the data license, APEX is included."
"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."
"We have a full Oracle E-Business Suite license, and we use that license to develop applications. There's no license required for developing Oracle applications."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
18%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise28
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Application Express (APEX)?
I consider Oracle Application Express (APEX) to be good value for the money because it has infinite quality for money since it's included in any Oracle database license. It's free once you have the...
What needs improvement with Oracle Application Express (APEX)?
One of the things that could be done to improve Oracle Application Express (APEX) is if Oracle decided to open it up to other databases. It needs to be an enterprise database; therefore, it needs t...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Oracle APEX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Inspirus, Promisan, Webapper, Giva, Frontech Solutions Inc, Digicon, ITX Corp, Wall Street Magnate, SimulTV, ten24 Digital Solutions, Prospective Medical Data International Inc, Alcatel-Lucent
Hepart AG, pharmasol, SATLOG, Collège Bois-de-Boulogne
Find out what your peers are saying about Adobe ColdFusion vs. Oracle Application Express (APEX) and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,869 professionals have used our research since 2012.