HCL Domino vs Oracle Application Express (APEX) comparison

HCLSoftware and Oracle are both solutions in the Rapid Application Development Software category. HCLSoftware is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.7, while Oracle is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4. HCLSoftware holds a 0.6% mindshare in RADS, compared to Oracle’s 7.6% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Oracle users who would recommend it.

HCL Domino

Read 22 HCL Domino reviews

2,425 Views
752 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Oracle Application Express ...

Read 60 Oracle Application Express (APEX) reviews

8,575 Views
8,146 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

HCL Domino

Oracle Application Express ...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

HCL Domino and Oracle Application Express (APEX) compete in the enterprise application development and deployment sector. Oracle APEX holds an edge for rapid application development and ease of use in data-driven user interfaces.

Features: HCL Domino provides robust security with data encryption and multifactor authentication, versatile integration, and supports multiple platforms such as AIX, Windows, and Linux. It serves as a centralized messaging and application solution with extensive functionalities. Oracle APEX facilitates rapid application development, focusing on low-code solutions and data-driven UIs. It offers easy deployment directly on the Oracle database, emphasizing portability and speed.

Room for Improvement: HCL Domino users note the need for better integration with third-party applications like Microsoft 365 and a more modern interface to enhance user-friendliness. Oracle APEX could improve with more robust workflow capabilities and a reduced learning curve for less technical users. Security handling of passwords and reporting features are areas needing enhancement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both HCL Domino and Oracle APEX support on-premises and private cloud deployments. Oracle APEX extends options to public and hybrid clouds, offering broader flexibility. HCL Domino is commended for responsive customer service, despite some complexity in technical support. Oracle APEX experiences vary, with some users desiring improved customer service interactions.

Pricing and ROI: HCL Domino's pricing is considered high for small and medium businesses but offers reasonable value. Licensing is often based on user count, with ROI noted by some users. Oracle APEX is bundled with Oracle database licenses, described as expensive, but APEX itself is free within this context, presenting cost-effectiveness for those already using Oracle products.

To learn more, read our detailed HCL Domino vs. Oracle Application Express (APEX) Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HCL Domino vs. Oracle Application Express (APEX)

July 2025

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Helped 865,295 peers since 2012

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

HCL Domino

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

17th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Oracle Application Express ...

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Development Platforms (2nd), Low-Code Development Platforms (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of HCL Domino is 0.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Application Express (APEX) is 7.6%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rapid Application Development Software

Featured Reviews

FrederickLim

Technical Service Manager at Top Level Corporation Limited

Provides mobile email systems with solid stability and easy deployment

The initial setup is easy. You need to sign up. It depends on the scope. It will take longer if there are more than one or more applications. The project usually includes infrastructure and deployment may take anywhere from one month to six months. I rate the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

Read full review

Rodrigo-Mesquita

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The email system is the most valuable feature."

"HCL Domino is the best product from a security point of view."

"We have been able to set up a portal using a special XPage application that gives our customers access to this system."

"For workflow applications or general applications, the rapid development capability is what we value most."

"They offer good support and provide a roadmap."

"It is an excellent solution."

"The full-text searching capabilities are great."

"I find the HCL Domino server scalable."

More HCL Domino pros

"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."

"It has many ready modules that can be used and developed."

"We set up the HTTP server and installed the Apex Xamarin DB using the Mark Hill SQL packages for an older version. That's the extent of our configuration."

"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."

"The solution can efficiently translate from English to another language including Arabic using the XLIFF format."

"One of the most valuable features is the ability to build very fast data-driven UIs."

"The most valuable applications within the organization are primarily data forms and extended reports."

"With only a browser, it is very easy to develop in a web environment."

More Oracle Application Express (APEX) pros

Cons

"Scalability needs to be improved to be on the level that's required. Support could also be enhanced."

"HCL Domino needs to be more user-friendly."

"The solution is expensive."

"For me, the one thing missing is a really good reporting engine."

"When you compare with Microsoft Exchange, the UI could be more user-friendly."

"An area for improvement in HCL Domino is security. New enhancements in the IT industry mean that security should be improved. The HCL Domino GUI also needs improvement."

"The product's user interface is one of its shortcomings since it is outdated, making it an area for improvement."

"They should provide its integration with other AI applications."

More HCL Domino cons

"The solution could provide more AI functionalities or AI assistance."

"It would be highly beneficial if APEX were an all-in-one platform capable of handling all aspects of application development."

"Currently, APEX doesn't have a building workflow engine. I think that's the most important improvement that could be made at this point."

"The user interface needs to be improved."

"Maybe there are other technologies that offer what APEX cannot."

"The format is not recognized by Microsoft Word products."

"We would like to see tighter integration with the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure."

"Regarding features, the solution lacks the ability to integrate with different databases. Also, I feel that Oracle Application Express (APEX) is exclusively designed for other Oracle tools."

More Oracle Application Express (APEX) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price is reasonable compared to the other solutions."

"My company's customers need to make monthly or yearly payments towards the license charges of the product."

"We chose to pay for our licensing fees annually."

"The license for Domino is yearly. The price is high."

"HCL Domino's pricing depends on the number of users, but its license is not cheap."

"For 30 licenses, we pay $1,500 every year. It is not an expensive product."

"The pricing is individually determined. For us, in our current deployment, we pay $12.50 Canadian per month per user."

"We pay annually for the use of this solution and it is only a standard fee."

More HCL Domino pricing and cost advice

"There is a trial version available that can be used free of charge."

"The solution is free with your Oracle license or database and that is a good value."

"It is expensive, but I don't know what the licensing cost is."

"The tool is free with the Oracle Database license."

"Pricing is expensive, overall on an enterprise system but we consider that it gives corresponding value in the product."

"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."

"The product is completely free of cost."

"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."

More Oracle Application Express (APEX) pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Government

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HCL Domino?

The most valuable features of the solution are security and integration.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HCL Domino?

The Notes client is very expensive, costing around $105 per client. Overall, HCL Domino is a costly product.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HCL Domino?

One challenge I faced with HCL Domino was fully understanding its capabilities because initial use may lead to misconceptions based on simpler platforms. Exploring and comprehending what is possibl...

See all answers

What do you like most about Oracle Application Express (APEX)?

The product is fast.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Exchange vs HCL Domino

Compared 35% of the time

HCL Notes vs HCL Domino

Compared 13% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs HCL Domino

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Power Apps vs HCL Domino

Compared 9% of the time

More HCL Domino Competitors

Microsoft Power Apps vs Oracle Application Express (APEX)

Compared 21% of the time

Salesforce Platform vs Oracle Application Express (APEX)

Compared 19% of the time

OutSystems vs Oracle Application Express (APEX)

Compared 9% of the time

GitHub CoPilot vs Oracle Application Express (APEX)

Compared 9% of the time

Mendix vs Oracle Application Express (APEX)

Compared 6% of the time

More Oracle Application Express (APEX) Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCL Domino

August 2025

Download HCL Domino product report

Buyer's Guide

Oracle Application Express (APEX)

August 2025

Oracle Application Express (APEX) report

Download Oracle Application Express (APEX) product report

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino

Oracle APEX

Overview

HCL Domino (formerly IBM Domino) is a secure, enterprise-grade, application development platform. From IT to business, HCL Domino is the only low to pro-code application development platform that allows your business to build robust applications to solve workflow and process challenges fast. HCL Domino powers businesses around the world with 15,000 customers and 10 million apps built on our platform. HCL Domino has always been a secure, rock-solid, and proven solution.

Low cost of ownership - minimizing administration needs through automated installations, policies and monitoring helps staff focus on higher value tasks.
Minimized infrastructure - reducing costs by using less power, memory, data storage, network bandwidth and servers.
Rich application environment - supporting workflow-driven and people-oriented applications that help a wide variety of business operations deliver enhanced results.
Security-rich - helping protect your critical business assets. You can control information access, protect information and guarantee document authenticity.
High availability - featuring advanced clustering, replication, server fault recovery and automated diagnostic tools.

HCLSoftware

Oracle Application Express (APEX) is a low-code development platform that enables users to build enterprise apps securely and scalably. APEX, which offers world-class features, can be deployed anywhere. As part of the Oracle Database, developers can develop superior apps 20x more quickly by using all of the tools provided in a single, extensible platform.

Oracle APEX, a cloud platform that has been around for over 20 years, eliminates complexities associated with app building while delivering results faster and at a lower cost. The low-code aspect offers developers a visual approach to app development that accelerates the development process. Oracle APEX also provides a lively, global, and growing community of developers that can connect and share resources with each other.

Features of Oracle Application Express (APEX)

App building requires complexities and expert knowledge in vast web technologies. With Oracle APEX, these complexities involved with multi-faceted applications are reduced, and developers are provided with the rich features they need to fix business problems and create solutions. These features include:

Data: Oracle APEX offers revolutionary functionality to enable developers to turn data into information, no matter where that data is from. Under this functionality, you can display, chart, manipulate, and process data effortlessly and accurately.

Accessibility: Developers can build highly accessible and inclusive web apps for users with various abilities and requirements. Oracle APEX aims to provide a good user experience for everybody, with accessibility bug fixes and continuous improvements of their testing strategies.

Globalization: Oracle APEX provides the ability to create a framework to maintain well-performing applications in multiple languages and environments.

Smart Filters and Search: users can rapidly reduce searched data and remove clutter with search terms and filter suggestions for a more simplified user experience.

Security: Oracle APEX empowers web application builders to develop apps without compromising on security. Despite the constant increase of attacks and modification of web standards, developers can stay focused on their tasks without leaving applications exposed.

Monitoring: Monitoring and logging are built into Oracle APEX, which provides valuable insight into how users interact with your applications, as well as any hacking attempts, application errors, and performance issues.

User Interface: Developers can build modern web applications that are responsive, easily customizable, highly accessible, and simple to maintain with Universal Theme, a user interface for Application Express.

Reviews from Real Users

Oracle Application Express is a favorite among developers looking to create web applications quickly and securely for many reasons, which include its ease of use and the ability to quickly create public applications

A senior database developer at a tech services company notes, "This is a good application for quickly creating public applications."

Alvaro L., an intelligence coordinator at Grupo Orbis, writes, "Oracle Application Express is easy to use, people don't have to be developers to use it."

Oracle

Sample Customers

A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil

Hepart AG, pharmasol, SATLOG, Collège Bois-de-Boulogne

Buyer's Guide

HCL Domino vs. Oracle Application Express (APEX)

July 2025

Free Report: HCL Domino vs. Oracle Application Express (APEX)

Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Domino vs. Oracle Application Express (APEX) and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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