# Page 4 | Altium Develop Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Page 4 - 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 4 - Reviews of Altium Develop ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 76-100 of 181 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use GD Georgiy D. Pcb design Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A professional and comprehensive tool for aspiring designers" September 26, 2023 5.0 Pros I like the completeness of the tools offered to design a professional PCB. I also enjoy the simple UI and cleanliness of the software. It is easy on the eye. Altium also sets a standard for quality which makes it easier to learn other software if needed. Cons There are occasional bugs that are only resolved upon restarting the software. Additionally, the pricing is only affordable for large profitable corporations, but Altium is generous with sponsorships and free versions for students. Alternatives considered [KiCad EDA](https://www.capterra.com/p/10006638/KiCad-EDA/) Reason for choosing Altium Develop We received a sponsorship in the form of yearly licenses. Altium is simply more professional and comprehensive. Review Source yM yibeltal M. Electrical Engineer Computer Hardware Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "A great electronics design tool for professionals and students" May 6, 2024 5.0 as an electrical engineer especialising on electronics design I found Altium designer the most necessary designing tool for every professional pcb designer and for academic purposes Pros It is an industry standard designing tool and it provides great features for schematics simulation and pcb designing Cons It might be a little expensive for beginner designers to afford it Switched from [KiCad EDA](https://www.capterra.com/p/10006638/KiCad-EDA/) because of the industry standard features altium designer provides and the markets need for design engineers who use altium designer Review Source JA Javier A. Senior PCB Designer Consumer Electronics Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Altium 365 - The Lord of EDA tools " September 26, 2023 5.0 Pros Because make easier and faster my PCB Designer job. Cons The point I think should be improved is the 2D CAD edition tools in PCB Editor. It should be more similar to nanoCAD, AutoCAD, or something like that. Reason for choosing Altium Develop We prefer Altium because is easier to use and it is easier for us to find engineering that work with Altium Review Source RG Ray G. Senior Principal Engineer Pharmaceuticals Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Altium is the future of ECAD design" October 12, 2023 5.0 Amazing Software! Pros It covers all aspects of design and is in the cloud. Cons There are a few quirks in some specific menus. Review Source GF Guilherme F. Hardware Engineer Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "If you work alone, 365 its not for you" September 26, 2023 5.0 Pros It gave ume the ability to colaborate with my colleagues so much easier, that I dont imagine a scenario wich I dont use 365. Cons User experience can always be improved, although we are all engineers it should be made in way that everyone could use it. Review Source BS Bertin S. Sr. PCB Design Engineer Telecommunications Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Overall a good tool with some room for improvement." March 21, 2024 3.0 Overall I like the program, I'd say it is the easiest ECAD tool I have used thus far. Pros Easy to set up. Easy to manage licensing. Great tool to work anywhere. Cons Some features are kind of slow and the enterprise edition is kind of hard to "get it" at first (not so intuitive). Alternatives considered [OrCAD X](https://www.capterra.com/p/10015795/OrCAD-X/) Reason for choosing Altium Develop It was easier to set up and I was able to install it in my desktop and laptop and save everything on the cloud and it was easy to share projects with my customers. Review Source DS Daniel S. Lead Electrical Engineer Oil & Energy Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Review Altium designer from electrical engineer " December 19, 2023 5.0 Pros Easy to use and well documented. I like the video that show how to use the software. Also, almost all companies we are affiliated use Altium, so make it easy to integrate. Cons Couple of bugs here and there. I wish the vault will have more components. Otherwise good. Switched from [Canva](https://www.capterra.com/p/168956/Canva/) We needed to do rigid Flex design, and Circuit studio was not make it. Review Source DS Domas S. Student Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great software " March 22, 2024 4.0 Definitely is important to have, easy to check your projects and do small changes. Pros Able to work from different devices, without the need to move my license from/to devices. Cons Can get slow, buggy. Altium designer feels way better and more comfortable. Review Source JC Joe C. Electronic Engineer Medical Devices Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent implementation" January 17, 2023 5.0 Excellent, would recommend to anyone. Pros Excellent from start to finish. It makes designing, reviewing and publishing of electronic products so much easier than other software. From an admin side it's proved very useful to give people didn't privileges and roles in the process, managing libraries is made much easier and reviewing can be done on the internet from anywhere. The electronic and mechanical design are also top notch. Cons The vast capabilities of the software does lead to it being quite a lot of options which can be quite overwhelming. Reason for choosing Altium Develop Far superior and a better, more professional sales pitch Review Source MS Murugesha S. PCB design Engineer Design Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A user-friendly PCB design tool " August 23, 2023 4.0 Pros It has a simple UI and environment which allows engineers to design the schematic to gerber, also easy to learn PCB design tool for freshers Cons The hardware requirements for the Altium designer is at higher end as it requires more memory and process speed for it 3D operations Review Source GK Greg K. Electronics Engineer Mining & Metals Used the software for: 2+ years ### "One of the best electronics engineering design suites available on the market. " October 26, 2023 5.0 I am using Altium 365 to design numerous Electronics Circuit Boards. Track hardware revisions and changes Pros Ease of use, and ability to track and handle multiple electronics designs. Cons It is a little pricey. It would be nice to have a lower cost option. Review Source JT Jaakko T. Senior electronics specialist Automotive Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Impressions after 4 months of using Altium after PADS" June 16, 2023 4.0 It does seem to give more than PADS even that I miss some functions in PADS. Pros Components can be imported directly from cloud and internet with loader. It has many configurations to adjust basically everything, but sometimes can be a bit confusing. Cons I have not been able to find how to highlight a net, so that it would be visible in both schematics and layout.Also when selecting a component in layout, it does not automatically go to correct schematic page, but I need to browse thru the pages to see, where the selected component is. Review Source CG CHARLES G. PCB DESIGNER Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Used the software for: 2+ years ### "SENIOR PCB DESIGNER" December 20, 2023 5.0 Pros Ease of use. Schematic and board design linking. Cons Too many hidden options. Many options are not used because of visablity. Switched from [Nero 9](https://www.capterra.com/p/93206/Nero-9/) Altium replaced PCAD. We still import legacy PCAD designs into Altium for conversion. Review Source Saad Ahmed K. Manager Consumer Electronics Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A complete Electronic design automation (EDA) software for professionals as well as for academia " February 6, 2021 5.0 I used Altium designer as a professional as well as a student. I developed several research projects using this software, that includes the development of electronic power converter, ECG machine, Weather station, and Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU). Moreover, as a professional, I used this software for the development of UV sterilizer, Renewable energy converter, Robotic Arm, and IOT switchboard. Pros The best thing about this software is that it is a complete suite that includes Circuit simulator, Schematic Capture, PCB designer, MCAD for 3D modelling, and many more functions required for an electronics design process. The best thing about this software is that it is the oldest EDA suite therefore, it has the largest component library covering every electronic part and a lot of help is available for this software online. Cons It is the most expensive Electronic design automation (EDA) software, therefore, a small firm cannot afford it. Reason for choosing Altium Develop We choose the Altium Designer because there is a lot of help available for this software which makes the switch easier for us while minimizing training cost of our staff Review Source AB Albert B. SR. RF Engineer Semiconductors Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Altium Designer" June 22, 2023 5.0 I have had a very favorable view of Altium, I would highly recommend it Pros It is a great Schematic PCB design tool that lets you generate complex designs with access to a pre-made library so one can start ECAD immediately and is inexpensive Cons More Mechanical CAD features, import/export designs from other vendors to translate everything over to Altium Review Source GB Giancarlo B. Head of Engineering Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Altium 365: the only tool you need for PCB Design !" March 16, 2024 5.0 Is a very simple-to-use but sophisticated tool that helps you to complete Schematic and PCB design in a fast and reliable way, generating all the required documents and support for manufacturing. Pros All the features are useful, but mostly the simplicity and fastness of how I can do the Schematics and PCB design, together with the documents I can generate for the Engineering department and manufacturing process. Cons Nothing that I recall. There may be some small issues with configuring the licenses, but finally all is good! Review Source ND Nicholas D. Owner Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Usefulness for small companies" December 10, 2020 4.0 Overall it has been possible to get designs completed but has taken much more time because of the massive user interface and poor documentation of the program. Pros Altium DXP is a sophisticated program which would work for larger organizations where there are many people working on a product. Cons Altium Designer is a complex program really intended for large enterprises with many collaborators working on projects. Also integrating all areas of manufacturing from sourcing components to mechanical integration. Much of this is not useful for a small company and even a hindrance. The cost of a subscription is high so if you don't subscribe and update every few years you may end up with a version which has bugs or only partly implemented new features. Also using their database is partly dependent on having a subscription so you may be cut off from this at any time in the future since they are moving to a cloud based setup. So safer to copy the components to your own local component library. Also there are many newer components (eg. microcontrollers) which are not in the database and also not necessarily available from manufacturers and setting up new components correctly along with 3D models takes time and skill. Also for example if you wanted a 3 pin right angle header with 3D model you would need CAD software to take say a 10pin header and cut down. Not so simple. Overall it is a very capable piece of software but probably not the best choice if you are designing a few PCB's per year. Also for two sided mixed analog digital boards the autorouting isn't capable of routing. Probably works fine for complex digital multilayer boards but the constraints of two sided are beyond its capabilities. Review Source gT giuseppe T. Telecom Engineer Industrial Automation Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Altium Designer ''Friend''" June 16, 2023 4.0 I started with Protel 99, after I switched to DXP and finally to Altium Designer. The most important value of Altium is the continuous improvement of the feature, tooling menu, visualiazation 3D, multiboard experience. Pros Altium is very simple to learn, very performant tool, easy to use and very precise and fast routing. I like the 3D mode, new features added into 3D mode viasualization. Very easy to perform design rules check. Tool is quite stable and crash are very very few. It is good to work with git repository and A365. Cons It is appreciated to add a PANEL FOR TESTPOINT management. We use a loto of ICT test point and the information in one side panel in real time is a VERY VERY important and accelerate the design of the boards. Reason for choosing Altium Develop Quality/price ratio Review Source EK Ekrem K. Principal engineer Semiconductors Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great product" December 20, 2023 5.0 Pros Ease of use and it’s very intuitive for the comers Cons It crashes time after time which causes frasturation Review Source SM Stuart M. PCB Designer Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Good product if you need the features" May 30, 2024 4.0 Pros Sharing files with non-users, giving them the ability to review them without loading project files. Cons The interface when files are accessed by multiple users is clumsy and requires a specific sequence to insure files are not stepped on by another user. Review Source Llyr R. Electronics Design Engineer Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The industry standard for electronics design" April 20, 2023 5.0 Great, we could not create such good products without this tool. Pros Altium Designer has become the industry standard for electronics design. The feature set and rate of improvement are impressive. Cons The product is very expensive and sometimes unstable. The stability has improved over the years. Review Source RK Riku K. Senior RF Engineer Telecommunications Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Happy about it but needs some improvements" March 18, 2024 3.0 Pros 3D models, MCAD, lot of community designs already done for Altium, chance for scripting / ruling. Impedance calculator is very good. Cons Bugs. There is lot of bugs especially in component importing from file based libarires to A365 cloud. Review Source RV Richard V. Electrical Engineer Airlines/Aviation Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Altium Hates Engineers" January 6, 2024 1.0 I have 6 years experienc usign Altium, but now I NO LONGER have the skills to use it because of that STUPID Integrated Component Library that's too difficult to use. I HATE Altium! Pros Nothing. I have it SHOVED in my face every time. Cons That STUPID Integrated Component LIbrary has RUINED my experience. I'm going to QUIT my job to get AWAY from this LOUSY tool. I HATE it! Review Source MB Maciej B. Electrical Team Leader Automotive Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Altium Designer review - PWR Racing Team" April 18, 2023 5.0 Pros Altium 365 is a very useful feature for development of a variety of projects as well as storage space. Version control is a great way to keep track of the product development. Cons Rendering of the PCBs in 3D View would be an awesome feature to make great visualizations of the finished products. PCBs exported to CAD formats lack traces thus resulting in lacking result. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer RF Engineer Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "PCB layout made less difficult" January 22, 2019 4.0 I use Altium to layout (not simulate) PCB for both prototyping and production. The software does a great job simplifying line and via placement, including it's push features. The rule system is robust if often frustrating and can be very useful helping to catch various board requirements (think differential pair lengths). Overall I find Altium to be very useful and infinitely better than old school layout methods, but it can also be very frustrating with various features broken in updates. Pros Altium simplifies PCB layout with a very useful set of features and easy customization of icons and hotkeys. Cons Every update (and they come regularly) breaks something new. And once something you used to like finally gets fixed, something new will break. Also, how to add/change polygon pour vertices changes all the time and it drives me nuts. 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.