Freedom251 › Electrical Design Software
Altium Designer
What Altium Designer is
Altium Designer is an integrated electronics design tool for professional PCB projects, covering schematic capture, board layout, simulation, analysis, documentation, and manufacturing files. Its design environment supports interactive routing, constraint management, HDI, rigid-flex, multi-board, and harness work. Simulation includes SPICE, power issue resolution, and signal integrity analysis. With Altium 365 applications, teams can work simultaneously on different PCB areas, keep version-controlled project history, and visually compare schematics, layouts, bills of materials, and Gerbers. Supply-chain providers contribute component pricing, availability, and risk information. Listed ECAD-MCAD integrations include SOLIDWORKS, PTC Creo, Autodesk Inventor, Fusion 360, and Siemens NX. Altium 365 Workspace supports configurable PLM integrations. The product is offered for web and Windows, with Windows 10 or newer specified. The Altium Designer 25 plan starts at $460 a month, and a 30-day trial is available.
Who it suits
It is aimed at professionals handling PCB designs from basic circuits through complex systems, including avionics, who need design, simulation, collaboration, and manufacturing workflows.
What it does well
- Covers schematic capture through manufacturing files
- Supports HDI, rigid-flex, multi-board, and harness design
- Includes SPICE and signal integrity analysis
- Version history and visual design comparisons
- 30-day trial available
What to know first
- No free plan
- Starts at $460 a month
- macOS and Linux are not supported
- On-Demand licensing requires internet access
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Altium Designer 25 | Starting at USD 460/month · Price shown as a starting rate; plan details not stated on the opened page | $460 a month |
As altium.com lists them, read 9 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
Altium Designer brings board design, simulation, collaboration, supply-chain data, and integration into one environment. Its professional scope and starting price make it a paid tool for substantial PCB projects.
Facts from Altium Designer's own pages
- Collaboration
- Paired with Altium 365 applications, Altium Designer supports collaboration and simultaneous work on different parts of one PCB. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- Data management
- Altium Designer with Altium 365 provides version-controlled project history and visual comparisons of schematics, layouts, BOMs, and Gerbers. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- Free trial
- The product page offers a free trial with immediate full-feature access. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The product page presents Altium Designer for professional PCB projects ranging from basic circuits to complex systems, including avionics. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- License requirement
- On-Demand licensing requires signing in to an Altium Account and internet access to the Altium Portal; a roamed seat can be used offline for its specified period. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- MCAD integration
- Altium says its ECAD-MCAD integrations include SOLIDWORKS, PTC Creo, Autodesk Inventor, Fusion 360, and Siemens NX. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- Platform
- An Altium comparison page lists Windows 10 and newer as supported and says macOS and Linux are not supported. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- PLM integration
- Altium 365 Workspace supports configurable PLM integration with Windchill, Arena, Oracle Agile, Aras Innovator, and Siemens Teamcenter, with additional setup for Teamcenter. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Altium Designer is an integrated electronics design tool covering schematic capture, PCB layout, simulation, and analysis. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- Routing and complexity
- Features include interactive routing, constraint management, HDI, rigid-flex, multi-board, and harness design. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- Security and trust
- Altium's Trust Center provides information on security, reliability, privacy, compliance, and its vulnerability disclosure program. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- Simulation
- The product supports SPICE simulation, power issue resolution, and signal integrity analysis. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- Supply chain
- The product provides real-time component pricing, availability, and risk information from supply chain data providers. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- Support
- Altium lists documentation, a knowledge base, ticketed support cases, training, and community forums as support resources. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
- Unified workflow
- The unified design environment supports electronic designs from schematic capture through design documentation and manufacturing files. · altium.com, 9 Oct 2026
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