Altium Designer review
A broad PCB design environment for teams that need connected electrical and mechanical workflows.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Altium Designer is a Windows-based electronic and PCB design environment for engineers and hardware teams. It brings hierarchical and multi-channel schematic capture, interactive PCB routing, SPICE simulation, design-rule management, component libraries, native 3D visualization, BOM workflows, manufacturing outputs, and release processes into one product. Web access supports cloud workspace functions for project, library, review, and component-data management, while the listed deployment model is hybrid.
Its strongest fit is for organizations that need electrical and mechanical design to stay connected. ECAD-MCAD bidirectional synchronization works with SOLIDWORKS, PTC Creo, PTC Onshape, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Fusion, and Siemens NX. Electrical design workflows can also connect with OrCAD, LTspice, and KiCad. The combination of constraints, 3D mechanical validation, shared workspaces, integrated libraries, and manufacturing releases gives teams a broad path from schematic through production documentation.
The published plans show Altium Develop with one Altium Designer Author, one Workspace for shared projects, libraries, and collaboration, unlimited Workspace Users for review, commenting, task management, and BOM access, and ECAD-MCAD CoDesign. An Additional Altium Designer Author plan adds another author seat to an Altium Develop team. Access is paid, with a 30-day trial rather than a permanent free plan. Choose Altium Designer when an end-to-end PCB environment and broad CAD integration matter more than a lightweight or free tool. Teams seeking a permanent free plan or more advanced electrical simulation may prefer an alternative.
Altium Designer pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Combines schematic capture, PCB layout, SPICE simulation, and 3D validation
- Supports ECAD-MCAD synchronization with major CAD platforms
- Covers libraries, constraints, BOMs, and manufacturing releases
- Where it doesn't
- Paid product with no permanent free plan
- The listed desktop platform is Windows
- Electrical simulation is categorized as basic
Altium Designer fact sheet, pricing and score →
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