# Page 3 | Altium Develop Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Page 3 - Is Altium Develop the right Engineering CAD solution for you? Explore 181 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/175058/Altium-Designer/reviews --- Altium Develop 4.6 (181) 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 March 13th, 2026 # Page 3 - Reviews of Altium Develop ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 51-75 of 181 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use AC Abera C. Maintenance Engineer Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Altium 365 for maintenance engineers" July 22, 2024 4.0 Overall I am happy using Altium 365. It is a great tool with great features and user friendly interfaces. Pros I liked the feature that allows my supervisors could see what I am doing and they give me a real time feedbacks and assistances. Also me and my coworkers could work in one workspace and help one another during our projects. Cons I am disappointed by the pricing of subscription. It requires a lot of money to use this great tool, and this is not affordable by beginner designers like me and my coworkers. Review Source ML Mickael L. Emmbedded hardware engineer Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "the best Electronic design tool i ever used" May 29, 2024 5.0 I use Altium every day on very simple PCB and also very complicated ones, and for me it is really the best CAD tool. Pros Altium is a must have regarding electronic design. Easy to search parts and create BOM from them. Simulation tools are really good and natural to use. Altium also have a big community and lots of online resources to solve all issues that you could have. Cons A little bit hard to understand how to create component library, but once you get used to it, it works really fine. Some difference in the component drawings and foot print when you search component directly on the manufacturers database, but this is due to the fact that all manufacturers do not use the same standards to draw schematics symbols and foot prints. Review Source NE Natnael E. Electrical and Electronics Engineer Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "A great cooperative workspace, Altium 365" June 26, 2024 5.0 I am very happy with its features, as a student I found it greate when my professors could review my projects Pros I like the most its feature of cooperative workspace, where coworkers can engage in. Cons Its price of subscription, as it may not be affordable for some users Switched from [KiCad EDA](https://www.capterra.com/p/10006638/KiCad-EDA/) Due to the greate features Altium and Altium 365 provides Review Source VR Valentina R. Electronic Engineer Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "a little review" July 4, 2024 5.0 Pros I can design not only on my workstation, but on every computer Cons Nothing yet. It's a bit complicated because I'm still learning how to use Altium, but everything is going well Review Source OS Owen S. Electrical Engineer Defense & Space Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Better than competetors" June 27, 2024 4.0 Pros Ease of use and versatility with designs, including being able to work anywhere due to the online-nature. Cons Cost and sometimes performance issues with very large assemblies and models. Review Source SI Stefano I. Electronics engineer Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A very good container" June 5, 2024 4.0 Altium 365 is a very good container for all my Altium Designer projects. It allows projects and component management, mechanical CAD integration and has useful sharing features, so that all designers in my company can access all projects and components. Pros Great overview of my projects: all boards are in one screen, and it's very easy to look at one of them in order to open it and look for its details. Components management, including supplier management: all my components are there, and I have a high level overview of them. Integration with Mechanical CAD: I never used this feature, but it's good to know it's there. Free of charge, at least in the basic version included with Altium Designer. Cons Some features are not present in the free version. I think that full component management should be, as it is a very useful feature but I don't think it's worth paying for. Reason for choosing Altium Develop It was integrated (for free) in my Altium Designer license, so I started to use it. Review Source SS Saulius S. Electronics engineer Consumer Electronics Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Altium 365 allows fast collaboration and ease of project management and sharing" October 20, 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. Review Source NA Nawaf A. RADAR Engineer Military Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "What an Experience! " July 2, 2024 5.0 Pros Very helpful yet simple interface! Also, will add value to my experience. Cons Everything is fantastic and professional! Switched from [KiCad EDA](https://www.capterra.com/p/10006638/KiCad-EDA/) I needed a more professional setup for my hardware designs. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Electrical Engineer Industrial Automation Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Altium 365: Ultimate ECAD tool " October 3, 2023 5.0 Altium is an extremely useful and intuitive ECAD tool that allows users to create customized processes, design complex boards accurately, and produce great documentation and PCBAs. It also allows teams from different disciplines to work together and visually explore circuit designs. Pros The 3D view and ability to interface with Solidworks (and other CAD tools) allows complicated electromechanical designs to be created accurately. Cons Due to the large amount of features, the program is buggy at times. The grid system could also have finer resolution. Review Source ES Ed S. Electrical Engineer Oil & Energy Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Altium Designer Review" December 21, 2023 5.0 Overall I have had a good experience with Altium Designer. It was relatively easy to migrate from another major schematic capture/PCB layout package. Both packages had their pluses and minuses which pretty much balanced out, but Altium's lower cost tends to make it stand out. Pros The ability to work from one software program is nice and seamless. The ability to view show others the assembled PCB in 3D is also quite nice, as well as easily being able to create unique instances for multiple board versions. Cons Other PCB design packages easily allow displaying components and nets in user selectable colors by selecting the components or nets to be colored from the schematic which is great when grouping parts for placement and for verifying specific nets do not stray from where they are supposed to be. Reason for choosing Altium Develop I chose to stay with Altium because it was already in place at my new place of work, and it was very capable of producing quality work. Not only was it more cost effective per seat, but the initial seat was already paid for. It did so well that we later invested in a second license. Switched from [Cadence](https://www.capterra.com/p/215564/Cadence/) Altium was in use at my latest job. I could have switched to Cadence OrCAD/Cadence Allegro which I was more familiar with, but Altium Designer was more than capable to produce equivalent work, so it made sense to stick with it which prevented having to deal with legacy files including viewing and maintenance, and the need for the additional software to do so. Review Source PS Paul S. Electrical Engineering Manager Consumer Electronics Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Altium Designer" December 19, 2023 5.0 Easy to use and create designs. From concept to manufacturer with add much or add little detail wanted. Pros Ease of use with top notch abilities. 3D CAD abilities were easy to use also. Cons Extra cost for additional analysis add ons. Alternatives considered [KiCad EDA](https://www.capterra.com/p/10006638/KiCad-EDA/)[OrCAD X](https://www.capterra.com/p/10015795/OrCAD-X/) Reason for choosing Altium Develop Ease of use and great overall package. My engineers picked it up fast and created designs quickly. Switched from [OrCAD X](https://www.capterra.com/p/10015795/OrCAD-X/) Ease of getting up and running with all my engineers and me. Review Source PL Pedro L. pDr E-Learning Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "2 years with Altium 365" June 26, 2024 5.0 Pros After 2 years with Altium 365, I'm addicted to its collaboration features and the 365 portal. Cons some customizations can be difficult to setup. Switched from [KiCad EDA](https://www.capterra.com/p/10006638/KiCad-EDA/)[Cadence](https://www.capterra.com/p/215564/Cadence/) Altium provide free licensing to students and teachers. Review Source H S Younes B. engineer Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Discover the Power of Altium Designer: A Comprehensive PCB Design Solution " January 31, 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 PC Paolo C. Design engineer Consumer Electronics Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A good tool for simple to complex tasks" April 20, 2023 4.0 My overall experience is very good; after some learning, you can be very proficient and the help system will help you to deal with things you still cannot do, making it very easy to learn new things. Pros The best thing about Altium is that there is very tight interaction between schematics and layout tools. The communication between the two environments allows you to easily implement modifications one way or the other, thus applying changes very effectively. Furthermore, the online help system is very effective, providing you an answer to almost all your questions. Cons There is room for improvement in track polishing, in the sense that too often pieces of tracks remain hidden underneath other tracks and make it more time consuming to clean up projects. I suggest a function which analyzes tracks and regenerates proper ones so that the outline of copper is maintained with the minimum number of elements.In addition, sometimes Altium does not seem to be able to understand at all what you are trying to do, both in schematics and in layout. Review Source BC Berin C. Electronics Design Engineer Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 2+ years ### "How the Mighty Have Fallen" September 29, 2022 2.0 I was once a huge fan of this software, going so far as to be evangelical about it. Now, it's reputation lies in ruin due to corporate greed getting in the way of good engineering. Which, for an engineering software, is unforgivable. Pros Altium has always been a very easy software to learn and has had a rich suite of features suitable for basic to quite high-level design. Cons The new cloud functionality, which nobody wanted, is so poorly implemented. It is treated as a cash-cow for the greedy "business" people in charge of the company and doesn't add anything of real value - even with the more expensive license. If anything, given how buggy it is, and how there are still bugs from 10 years ago in the product, it can be said to be detracting from the product Review Source SC Stephen C. Electrical Engineer Medical Devices Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy to get into for new users, but with many powerful features to get into as needed" April 19, 2023 4.0 It used to be that Protel/AD was not very well established, so recruitment of experienced people wasn't easy. Now it's pretty much the industry standard, which is great. I look forward to using AD, and actively enjoy using it. Pros Integration between schematic and PCB, MCAD integration and 3D, library management and online component data. Cons The price! Apart from that there is little that I don't like. Reason for choosing Altium Develop More powerful, easier to use, 'prettier'! Review Source LG Lou G. Senior Electronics Engineer Industrial Automation Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Altium Designer-It is the best I've used so far." October 18, 2023 5.0 We recently solved high voltage clearance issues, differential signal routing issues, and 22 layers. Wow! Pros Everything works. Most of it is self explanatory, and easy to find. Since I have only been using it for a few years, I've recently had to learn it. Given that I have used three of its competitors, I know a little about these platforms. Altium is far and away the best and most comprehensive. Cons I would have to say that the complexity of the software, and its integration with schematics, BOMs, CAD, etc, make it more difficult to learn initially. Alternatives considered [KiCad EDA](https://www.capterra.com/p/10006638/KiCad-EDA/)[Cadence](https://www.capterra.com/p/215564/Cadence/) Reason for choosing Altium Develop Reliability and comprehensive. Switched from [KiCad EDA](https://www.capterra.com/p/10006638/KiCad-EDA/) New JOb Review Source Sven S. Hardware Developer Medical Devices Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great tool for HW development" June 3, 2024 5.0 It's a good tool to develop electronics and create reliable and complete manufacturing data. It has good review and commenting features. Pros intuitive use, modern UI, cooperative features Cons component creation got a lot more complicated in the last years. Review Source Patrick R. Component & Sustaining Engineer Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Simply the Best." September 27, 2023 5.0 Pros I have used about a half a dozen design platform during my career and Altium 365 seems to have adopted the best features of all of them and combined them into one easy to use platform. Cons When you have multiple windows and projects open the panels tab is only active for one screen at a time which is a bit annoying and slows things down significantly. Review Source MBS Mubarak Basha S. Hardware Engineer Consumer Electronics Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good tool for CAD deisgn" September 4, 2023 5.0 Overall this product is good Pros It has several features that I like.1. Reviewing the CAD and designing is easy.2. Also it has integrated simulation tools to simulate3. ECAD and MCAD integration is easy Cons File storing and updating and SVN repositories should made a bit easier, and user-friendly Review Source JD Josh D. Principal Electrical Engineer Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "My Preferred Design Tool" January 2, 2024 5.0 Pros I like the efficiency that I get from AD. Having been a Cadence user for several years with a previous company, the component library and parts creation was incredibly inefficient and error-prone. Altium has streamlined my workflow tremendously. The seamless integration from schematic to layout is also a huge advantage for AD, as well as the mechanical design workflow with MCAD CoDesigner. Cons There have been occasional buggy issues with the software and extensions. I sometime feel like releases happen too often and the user becomes a Beta tester. Paying customers should only get a fully vetted release and the frequency of new versions suggests otherwise to me. Review Source IJ Inge J. Senior Development Engineer Airlines/Aviation Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "My first schematic design with ALTIUM" July 3, 2024 5.0 Very good. Support co-operation between Schematic design and PCB layout excellent. Pros Easy to use. Good integration between schematic and PCB layout. Support reviews with comments directly in schematic. Cons Schematic: Many menus. Some functions could be tricky to remember the path to. Switched from [PADS4](https://www.capterra.com/p/66174/PADS4/)[NX](https://www.capterra.com/p/232212/Siemens-NX/) Ease to use. PCB layout support. Schematic symbols availability. Review Source AM Andy M. Director of Hardware Engineering Consumer Electronics Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Altium Designer" December 21, 2023 4.0 Have used for about 15 years and three companies. Pros Full featured, fairly easy to use. Have always been able to do the things we need it to do. Has extensive scripting capability if you take the time to learn it. Cons There are some parts of it that are not great (signal integrity simulation, draftsman). You have to learn what is and stay away from the things that aren't. Reason for choosing Altium Develop Cost, and other tools seemed to do better with more infrastructure (e.g. dedicated parts librarian.) Review Source BB Bobby B. Systems Engineer Medical Devices Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Altium365 Review" January 3, 2024 4.0 Love being able to effortlessly save and manage components to 365 that can be later used on any device or project instead of having to manage local libraries that must be shared between many projects and have to manage directories and file links to import correct parts when switching between workspaces. Pros Free add on to our current Altium Designer suite and accounts so managing and maintaining is much more efficient than a standalone solution. Cons Can be difficult managing between local and 365 content and syncing between the two to ensure the latest version is being saved to 365 for later use and revisioning. Review Source AO Andre O. PCB Layout Engineer Design Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great tool" September 27, 2023 5.0 Pros What I like most about Altium 365 is its seamless collaboration and accessibility features. The platform provides an excellent environment for teams to work together on electronic design projects regardless of their physical location. The real-time collaboration tools make it easy to share and edit PCB designs, schematics, and other project files with colleagues or clients, fostering efficient teamwork. Additionally, Altium 365's cloud-based approach ensures that I can access and work on my projects from anywhere, which greatly enhances flexibility and productivity. Overall, Altium 365 is a game-changer for electronic design collaboration. Cons One of the few things that still leaves something to be desired is the fact that Active BOM shows stocks of components from American distributors and not from the country I work in (UK) even though prices are set in Pounds. Review Source ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Talk to a Capterra advisor for free and get results within 15 minutes.