--- title: "Altium Develop Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is Altium Develop the right Engineering CAD solution for you? Explore 197 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/175058/Altium-Designer/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" publication_date: "2026-10-21" --- Altium Develop 4.6 (197) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated October 21st, 2026 # Reviews of Altium Develop Ease of use 4.3 Customer Service 4.2 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews DM Derese M Electronics Design EngineerElectrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “What I like the most is its interactive cloud based design showing feature, which avoids opening Altium Designer every time I want to open my designs.“ May 14, 2025 KA Karl A PCB Designer, Embedded Hardware EngineerComputer Hardware, Self-employedUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “The fact that some readily available extensions, like PDN and SI Analyzer by Keysight, are NOT available to standard (perpetual license) customers like me.“ December 18, 2024 JD Jon D Configuration Systems EngineerElectrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “Altium Designer is an intelligent and user-friendly PCB design platform that has enhanced my company's design capabilities tremendously.“ December 10, 2024 KA Kamal A Sales and Technical coordinatorAutomotive, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “The BOM files aren't updated according to the schematic, for instance by updating the BOM doc, you will face some troubles.“ December 18, 2024 AA Ashenafi A Technical Supervisor and Hardware EngineerElectrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “It allows me to access my designs anytime through web based interactive interface.“ June 6, 2025 MB Maya B Design and EngineeringRenewables & Environment, Self-employedUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “Lack of generic symbol libraries and having to build up your own libraries before you actually can get down to your design.“ December 10, 2024 NA Nick A FounderAutomotive, Self-employedUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “As a small tech startup we don't have the resources and man power that a large company may have, yet Altium Designer has enabled us to move very quickly.“ December 17, 2024 PM Petros M Junior Technical EngineerTelecommunications, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “What I liked the least about Altium 365 is the learning curve, which is a little difficult for beginner designers“ June 25, 2025 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 197 available reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use R Reviewer HW Engineer Used the software for: 1-3 years ### "Best in class PCB software in my opinion " October 30, 2026 5.0 I'm really happy with it, access to manufacturer part search is great and the software is pretty stable. Pros The full Altium like before but for a way more reasonnable price. All the functions are available, As I'm working mostly alone or at two I do not use any team function. Cons The licence management is somewhat strange, from Altium webserver you see the licence as free, but you are unable to force the software to check again. Review Source R Reviewer IT Manager Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "decent upgrade from prior platform" October 30, 2026 5.0 overall experience has been good, we had little option when needing to expand our team from the previous altium on prem platform (as the product/licensing had been deprecated). Team enjoys the platform and it's functionality Pros in terms of switching from the prior on prem product to this, the ease of deployment to team/manageability. customer support has been very good & easily communicative Cons Security is slightly lacking, I would like for there to be the ability to restrict what WAN IP it can accessed from Review Source R Reviewer Computer Engineer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Altium's Advantage: a PCB Wonder Tool." October 30, 2026 5.0 Altium is the greatest all-in-one design tool. It has everything you need to create PCBs from start to finish and wonderful documentation tools to keep everything organized. Pros Customer support is quickly responsive, cloud-based customizable component libraries are a dream to work with, and the interface and tool locations are super intuitive. Cons Scripting only supports older out-of-date languages. Also, as a smaller design team, our cloud getting marked for deletion every six months is extra overhead that can be frustrating. Review Source AN Alex N. Hardware Engineer Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "Excellent entry level ECAD tool" October 30, 2026 5.0 Pros \-I've found the Develop interface easy to use -Being able to properly create, manage, and version components and projects in one place increases visibility -Team integrations like comments and tasks improves the review process Cons \-It would be nice to be able to revert components to previous versions -It can take quite a long time to regenerate large projects when there's a new push Review Source R Reviewer Engineer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Altium Review" October 30, 2026 4.0 Very positive experience overall. I would recommend the application as a intuitive ECAD design tool. Pros Significantly easier to use than OrCAD. I especially like the 3D modeling, ease of creating drawings and output files. Much of it automated, saving time and repeatability. Cons Application crashes often when modifying pane polygons or disconnecting and reconnecting workstation. I work around this by saving often and closing Altium before removing PC from the docking station. Review Source R Reviewer Founder Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Collaboration meets performance" October 29, 2026 5.0 With AD, we orchestrate diverse needs within a single, connected solution. Our libraries and projects stay in sync, and customers are part of this ecosystem. When everything stays in sync, everyone has the latest designs, BOMs, and CAD files. We also love Design Assistant, which accelerates prototyping, and it's accessible from any browser. Pros Altium Develop combines desktop processing performance with the cloud's collaboration features. Our clients join the development process with real-time comments, and we convert the feedback into tasks. Cons We're satisfied with all the ecosystem's features. It's constantly evolving, so even if we run into issues, they get fixed in the next month's update. Review Source R Reviewer Manufacturing Electronic Engineer Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "Essential Cloud-Connected Platform for Modern PCB Design and Team Collaboration" October 29, 2026 4.0 Overall, Altium Develop is a powerful, well-rounded environment for hardware engineering. It strikes a great balance between professional-grade PCB layout tools and modern, cloud-connected collaboration. By uniting schematic entry, board layout, active supply chain visibility, and ECAD-MCAD integration into a single ecosystem, it significantly streamlines the hardware development lifecycle from early concept to final manufacturing handoff. Pros Unified Cloud & Desktop Collaboration: Live project sharing, web-based design review/commenting, and seamless integration between desktop CAD and cloud repositories eliminate legacy version-control head-aches. Active BOM & Supply Chain Insights: Real-time component availability tracking and automated BOM generation save significant time when sourcing parts or managing alternate components. Native 3D & MCAD CoDesign: The ability to push and pull design updates directly with mechanical engineers minimizes clearance errors early in the design phase. Cons Shortcut Inconsistencies: Slight discrepancies in mouse and keyboard shortcut mappings between the desktop app and web interface can be frustrating when jumping back and forth. Support Responsiveness: Direct technical support response times can occasionally feel slow during complex software edge-case inquiries. Initial Setup & Onboarding: Setting up permissions, custom library structures, and workspace rules for optimal team workflow requires upfront effort before team productivity peaks. Review Source JH Jonas H. Hardware Design consultant Used the software for: 1-3 years ### "State-of-the-art performance for a good price" October 27, 2026 5.0 Altium Develop enables me as an hardware design consultant to be competative and design complex hardware designs for my customers. Pros Altium Develop provides state-of-the-art performance and features for a very competitive price. The software is also continuously getting better with frequenct updates. Cons The user experiance of the software do benefit much from running on newer and more high end hardware, especially for complex designs. Review Source R Reviewer EE Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "altium develop review" October 26, 2026 4.0 Pros What i liked the most about altium develop is that it seems (up to now) that it is cheaper than altium designer for similar functionalities Cons I felt that the billing was more complicated for someone who doesn't control the company credit card Review Source Janne S. Specialist, electronics Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "Affordable and easy to use." October 22, 2026 4.0 Overall I'm pleased to be able to use Altium as my primary ECAD tool. Ease of use and support ar very good. Pros Easy to use, creating files for order is pretty simple. There is also a pretty comprehensive library of components available. Cons Some settings are a bit hard to find. Also sharing certain designs with external users is not that simple. Review Source R Reviewer engineer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Discover the Power of Altium Designer: A Comprehensive PCB Design Solution " February 1, 2023 4.0 Pros The best quality of Altium Designer software is its comprehensive and integrated approach to PCB design. It offers a range of advanced features and capabilities, including:User-friendly interface and intuitive design flowAdvanced schematic capture and component managementHigh-performance, multi-layer PCB layoutRobust design verification and analysis toolsSeamless data management and collaboration with team membersExtensive libraries and components databasesIntegration with popular industry tools and standards.These features and capabilities make Altium Designer a highly effective and efficient solution for PCB design, delivering exceptional quality and reliability. Cons The worst thing about Altium Designer software is its high cost compared to some other similar products in the market. It is a premium solution and the pricing may not be attractive for organizations with limited budgets or for hobbyists and makers who are just starting with PCB design. Additionally, the software may have a steep learning curve for some users, especially those who are new to PCB design or electronics. Some users may also find the software to be resource-intensive, requiring a high-performance computer with ample memory and storage. Finally, some users may experience technical issues or compatibility problems with certain hardware or software platforms. Review Source R Reviewer Embedded hardware engineer Used the software for: 1-3 years ### "Altium 365: A tool every hardware designer should know" June 6, 2025 5.0 Overall Altium 365 is a great tool and everyone in the field of hardware design should use it. It helped me starting from my academics projects and now for professional projects. Pros What I liked the most is that its feature of being able to share design files instantly with team members, view changes live, and comment on specific parts of the PCB layout saved us a lot of time and eliminated version control issues. It brought true cloud-based hardware design to our workflow. Cons What I liked the least about Altium 365 is that it is hard to learn the full functionalities. While the platform is powerful, setting up permissions and navigating between design, BOM, and documentation tools could feel overwhelming at first without proper training. Review Source R Reviewer Director of Engineering Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "If they can solve tech support responsiveness issues, this is a great tool" December 12, 2024 3.0 All good except tech support is slower than I've ever experienced. Pros Industry acceptance, good integration, active BOM feature Cons Tech support responsiveness has been abysmal Review Source R Reviewer President Used the software for: 1-3 years ### "Develop - same as Pro at Half Price" August 22, 2026 5.0 Good. It works. Minimum 100 characters?? OK. Good. It works. Good. It works. Good. It works. Good. Pros I've been a long-time user of Altium Designer Pro since around 2009. I had a perpetual license up until 2021 or so when it was discontinued and moved to the Annual Subscription model. When it was time to renew, Develop had just been released. I was surprised Develop had ALL of the same features I was already using, and for less than half price. Cons The onboarding was a disaster. The sales team told me my A365 would be unchanged, but in reality they gave me a new workspace and disabled access to the old. I had one revision that I had not transferred and it's lost forever. It still struggles with some of the same recent issues that plague other current versions. Mainly, the selection algorithm stops choosing some components. Restarting fixes it, but it shouldn't be happening at all. This is not Develop's fault - this is an admin issue. I don't think I need to elaborate. Review Source R Reviewer Senior electronic hardware design engineer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "What a great design tool: Altium 365" June 16, 2025 5.0 Overall Altium 365 is a greate cloud based collaborative design platform and it helped me throughout my career. I love this tool. Pros The thing I liked the most about Altium 365 is that its feature of online accessibility of designs and design collaboration features. Cons The thing I liked the least is that availability of free resources to learn the tool is not abundant Review Source R Reviewer Electronic Engineer Used the software for: 1-3 years ### "Design together with Altium 365" June 1, 2025 5.0 Overall I'm good using Altium 365, starting from day one it helped me a lot through my professional projects. Pros I like its seamless cloud-based collaboration. Unlike traditional design environments that rely on file-based sharing and manual version control, Altium 365 allows real-time access and editing of PCB projects from anywhere. Cons The thing I don't like about Altium 365 is that the pricing for subscription is a little expensive. It could make it unaffordable to beginner designers. Review Source R Reviewer Electromechanical Engineer Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "Altium 365 and its use" May 21, 2025 5.0 I am good using it, I mean it helped me a lot since day one. It allowed me to collaborate with my team in a single workspace while doing projects. Pros I like Altium 365 feature of automatic Bill of Materials (BOM) generation, I also liked the interactive web based design viewing and storage capability of Altium 365 Cons Some of the features are hard to learn at first glance since there aren't plenty of free resourses to learn about it. So it might be hard to understand for beginners Review Source R Reviewer Lead Electrical and Computer Engineer Used the software for: 1-3 years ### "Altium 365 and its great features" March 17, 2025 5.0 I'm quite happy using it and hope it would be like this in the future too Pros The features are really great. Its collaboration feature along with being cloud based, it makes the tool very useful. Cons I like everything about this great tool , and there's nothing I could hate Review Source R Reviewer Embedded Systems Engineer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "A tool everyone should know: Altium 365" June 24, 2025 5.0 Overall Altium 365 is a great tool, it makes most things easier. I have a good experience using it and for sure it continues this way Pros The thing I liked the most from the features of Altium 365 is that its ability to create a web based collaborative design workspace Cons The thing is that when the subscription period passed we couldn't have access to our workspace, so we shoud have an active subscription inorder that our data stays there Review Source R Reviewer Electronics Engineer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "What I liked and be disappointed about Altium 365" June 12, 2025 5.0 Overall Altium 365 is a great web based design collaboration tool and it helped me a lot. But it would be great if the subscription fee is reduced a little or include a version with limited features and lesser price. Pros The tool Altium 365 is a great tool with incredible features. Its automatic generation of Bill of Materials (BOM) made my designs time efficient Cons The learning curve is somehow difficult and it’s hard to get free resources on it. So it’s hard to get started and be familiar with its features. Review Source R Reviewer Electronics Engineeer Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "A great tool for your projects, Altium 365" July 15, 2024 5.0 As an electronics engineering student Altium 365 is a great tool for me. I could do projects in collaboration with my colleagues and then my professor could provide me feedbacks. And that makes my learning easy and effective. Pros What I like the most about Altium 365 is the way it allows users to collaborate in a given project and give real time feedback. Cons Some of its features may not be beginner friendly and I found it a little complex to learn at first. So what I liked the least about Altium 365 is that its complexity to learn the tool. Review Source R Reviewer DESIGNER Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Tuckers\_review" December 20, 2023 5.0 I generally like using Altium compaired to Allegro. Pros Everything is nicely integrated into a project which makes keeping track of everything easy. Cons No direct Solidworks output. Ecad/Mcad has to be done in the cloud. Review Source R Reviewer Hardware Engineer Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "What a great tool, Altium 365" March 9, 2025 5.0 I have a good experience of using Altium 365 and it helped me a lot on my projects. Pros It has a great future on cloud based interactive interface for our designs. Cons Its interactive future and allowing team members on a project to collaborate joining the workspace. Review Source Saravana K. ENGINEERING MANAGER Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Engineering manager review for Altium for PCB Design" December 24, 2024 5.0 Simple tool easy to learn and use ,we are using for PCB design its helping a lot Pros E CAD Connectivity is good and integration with other software is good. Cons it will take lot of time to understand some of the features. Review Source R Reviewer Electronics engineer Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "Altium 365 allows fast collaboration and ease of project management and sharing" October 23, 2023 5.0 Overall, I am happy with Altium 365, using some of its features profoundly, while trying to circumnavigate the things that are unclear. I hope to be able to learn how to use all the features in the future. Pros I love the commenting, the ease of project sharing between colleagues and especially the ability to view the design files in a browser, without having to install Altium Designer. Also I like the workspace component libraries, although I probably do not understand how they work and how they integrate with a design project completely. I also like the ability to pick any version of the project, and the ability to compare two versions of the design project files. Cons I feel that it is sometimes unclear how the projects in the cloud are connected to the local copy of the project. And because of that, I feel discouraged to use the functionality, being afraid to mess up the project structure or the project files either in the cloud or on the local machine. Also, the relation between the workspace vs local vs project component libraries seems convoluted. It would be nice to have all components used in all projects listed in a shared workspace library, available to use in other projects, while maintaining a local library of per-project customized components within the project. While I feel that there is all the functionality there, sometimes it feels overwhelming. 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