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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
3rd
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
9th
Ranking in Low-Code Development Platforms
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
Business Rules Management (1st), Business Process Management (BPM) (6th), Process Automation (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 7.3%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pega Platform is 6.8%, up from 6.5% 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%
Pega Platform6.8%
Other85.9%
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.
reviewer4848291 - PeerSpot reviewer
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

"It helps us create web pages quickly."
"The database is super easy to use for creating tables."
"The support is great; whenever I encounter an issue and raise an SR to Oracle, I receive a fast response from their side."
"The solution can build functionalities in a very short time."
"I like the fact that it is natively integrated into the Oracle database."
"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."
"A user interface is relatively simple to create."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Powerful, full-featured business process management with excellent support"
"getNext removes some of the managements overheads as well as inbuilt reporting."
"The most valuable feature of Pega BPMI would be the academy courses, specifically the Product Development Network (PDN). Additionally, our organization has a dedicated Customer Engagement Team that we work closely with to achieve our goals."
"In general, we use web services to integrate this solution with our other tools. It is the main approach we use with this solution and it integrates with all tools that we need. If you want to integrate with other solutions such ThreatFire or similar, it is possible as well."
"The interface is quite simple and easy to use, even for beginners."
"Pricing is a little on the high side."
"The most valuable feature is flexibility, as we can configure it to best suit our requirements."
"Can do a lot of things with minimum time and cost."
 

Cons

"It can only be deployed on Oracle Database."
"The user interface needs to be improved. It should be more user-friendly."
"One area for improvement in Oracle APEX is its workflow orchestration capabilities."
"Oracle Application Express would be improved if you could use it on a mobile platform."
"Apex has effectively incorporated new market trends into its features. The platform's user-friendly nature is notable, guiding developers through the development process. While advanced customization of the user interface with HTML and CSS is possible, the out-of-the-box options often suffice, providing 80-90% of the required functionality. The IDE is commendable, yet an enhancement in the Page Designer to allow a real-time preview of layout changes would be beneficial. Currently, running the page is necessary to visualize layout adjustments, but an immediate preview during the design phase would be a valuable improvement."
"Maybe there are other technologies that offer what APEX cannot."
"There is a bit of a learning curve involved when first using the solution."
"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."
"In the next release of Pega BPM, they should add more ways to do the customer interaction fields in the portals."
"Currently, there isn't any feature I want to be added in the next release of Pega BPM because Pega always adds new features that my team welcomes and looks forward to learning. One area for improvement in the solution is the long learning curve, but after that, you'll find Pega BPM easy to use."
"There is a scarcity of resources who have worked with this solution before."
"The unit testing needs to improve, as well as the user interface."
"The licensing cost is very high."
"Pega is claiming they're into low code but as per Gartner Magic Quadrant, Pega is not there now."
"The training aspect of Pega BPM requires significant enhancement. There should be more opportunities for third-party training and engaging events, such as hackathons where individuals can share their expertise. Additionally, the training structure itself should be more organized, as I have received feedback from my colleagues in the COE that the current training approach is overwhelming and requires excessive referencing to obtain accurate information. Another area for improvement would be the user experience with regard to RPA. Simplifying the IDA for citizen developers would make it easier for them to adopt the RPA tool."
"The solution's pricing model or licensing model could be a little better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is free."
"The tool is not expensive."
"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."
"Pricing is expensive, overall on an enterprise system but we consider that it gives corresponding value in the product."
"It is expensive, but I don't know what the licensing cost is."
"I believe that the solution's pricing is high."
"The solution is free if you are using on Oracle database."
"The solution is cheap. It's a free solution. I rate the solution's pricing a six or seven out of ten."
"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."
"It is cost-effective for medium enterprises. It is cheaper than ServiceNow."
"Users have to pay a yearly license cost for Pega BPM, which is expensive."
"The solution could be less expensive according to my customers. However, I think the price of the solution is fair."
"The price of Pega BPM is in the middle range compared to other solutions."
"Pega BPM is expensive because it's a leading product, but it also delivers a good return on investment (ROI)."
"The price of this solution, including installation and configuration, is comparable to competing vendors."
"The product pricing is considered reasonable compared to other solutions in the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
26%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

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 Business9
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise68
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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: September 2025.
872,869 professionals have used our research since 2012.