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HCL Domino vs Oracle Application Express (APEX) 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

HCL Domino
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
17th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
22
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
60
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (2nd), Low-Code Development Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 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 7.5%, 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)7.5%
HCL Domino0.6%
Other91.9%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

Jason Levine - PeerSpot reviewer
A tool that offers great security and integration capabilities
The solution facilitates our company's workflow automation needs since it is a platform that allows users to build whatever workflows they want. The product is used for application development in our organization for our customers, as we operate as consultants. The features of the product that I found to be beneficial for the productivity of my company's team stems from the fact that it can be integrated directly into HCL Notes email so that you can manage your workflows there, and you don't have to change contacts a go to a separate application to deal with a document approval process since it can be done directly from emails. HCL Domino is one of the leading products in the industry, so it is definitely ahead of the other tools in the market. In our company, some departments use HCL Domino for emails rather than other solutions because it is more secure. The tool has an impact on the management of sensitive data in our company. My only suggestion to those who plan to use HCL Domino is that they should not be daunted by the old UI it offers. The collaboration tool of HCL Domino has affected the internal communication processes in our organization. The collaboration tool of HCL Domino is something that the solution has been offering from the time it was introduced in the market as an expensive product. The impact or value on our company from the use of the product can be proven by the fact that with the solution, it is possible to automate processes or workflows while ensuring that there is consistency, lack of human errors, and efficiency. Earlier, I would have rated the tool eight out of ten. Presently, considering the increase in the number of integrations that the product allows and its movement to meet industry standards, I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.
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

"I find the HCL Domino server scalable."
"This solution can be used for workflow application so that applications can be easily developed."
"They offer good support and provide a roadmap."
"HCL Domino is the best product from a security point of view."
"I like that HCL Domino is stable. It's a great product. I also like that HCL Domino is a mature product under IBM, which is why many companies use it."
"The pricing is excellent."
"The most important benefit is security. The security architecture is very good. It's the best part of the solution."
"The full-text searching capabilities are great."
"I like how we can actively develop and customize APEX because it's on the same database."
"This product will speed up development time with helpful production aids."
"A user interface is relatively simple to create."
"It's fairly easy to make a user-friendly interface."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"What's most valuable in Oracle Application Express (APEX) is its secure coding functionality, and the solution also has good features."
"One of the most valuable features is the ability to build very fast data-driven UIs."
"The autonomous database is valuable and provides the main structure for code development."
 

Cons

"HCL Domino could have a better interface."
"From the Domino side, it should support DKIM and DMARC."
"The speed of the Notes client is an area that could be improved."
"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."
"HCL Domino could improve by having integration with other solutions, such as Microsoft 365."
"When you compare with Microsoft Exchange, the UI could be more user-friendly."
"The client version of this solution could be faster and be made simpler for non-IT users. You will need to have some knowledge of Notes to correctly install this solution."
"They should provide its integration with other AI applications."
"I don't like the URL syntax."
"Occasionally when trying to un a page, I would be faced with an error number; however, not much information would be provided on the error itself outside of the programming language. It would be nice if more information could be provided."
"The workflow engine should be embedded in the solution."
"The user interface needs to be improved."
"Source control could be stronger in Oracle Application Express (APEX). It needs some work."
"The solution could provide more AI functionalities or AI assistance."
"The format is not recognized by Microsoft Word products."
"It has been reported that the technology is very hard to learn, and the service is expensive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We're happy with the price of our license — it's pretty standard."
"We chose to pay for our licensing fees annually."
"Customers have to pay for a license for the Notes Client, not for the Domino database. There is a quarter license that we use."
"The pricing is individually determined. For us, in our current deployment, we pay $12.50 Canadian per month per user."
"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."
"While I don't have precise pricing information at hand, my understanding is that it tends to be on the higher end."
"The license for Domino is yearly. The price is high."
"We pay annually for the use of this solution and it is only a standard fee."
"I rate the product's price as ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price."
"Pricing is expensive, overall on an enterprise system but we consider that it gives corresponding value in the product."
"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."
"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."
"The solution is free."
"Oracle Application Express (APEX) comes with Oracle. The Oracle price itself. I do not know the exact cost. Oracle is flexible on its price. If you overspend on your hardware, then I don't think you will overpay. I heard that Oracle is more expensive than other databases, but when you consider Oracle is the best traditional relational database out there. You get what you pay for."
"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."
"The tool is free with the Oracle Database license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise28
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HCL Domino?
The most valuable features of the solution are security and integration.
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.
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...
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

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino
Oracle APEX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil
Hepart AG, pharmasol, SATLOG, Collège Bois-de-Boulogne
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Domino vs. Oracle Application Express (APEX) and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.