Altium Designer® vs. KiCAD EDA®
The Ultimate Comparison Guide
Compare Altium Designer® vs. KiCAD EDA®
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Provides advanced product design, collaboration, and PCB design tools required by large teams or professionals designing complex devices, yet easy to use for new designers and students.
An open-source platform built by a community of experienced developers. KiCAD is a popular first choice for newer ECAD software users and beginner engineers. Learn More
Schematic Capture
Schematic sheet limits
Unlimited
999
Hierarchical schematic capture with integrated analog mixed-signal simulation
Built-in SPICE simulator with model library and migration support for LTSpice/PSpice
PCB Layout
Board size limits
100 in. by 100 in.
84 in. by 84 in.
Signal and plane layer limits
32 signal + 16 plane + unlimited mechanical
32 layers total, signal or plane
Rules-driven design for modern PCB (HDI, Rigid-flex, and Multiboard)
Advanced interactive routing features with built-in signal integrity tools
High speed design and rigid-flex design features included in standard license
Variant management tools for complex projects
Realistic layer stacks and a modern field solver for accurate impedances
Parts placement and routing in 3D
Photo-realistic 3D viewer with real-time clearance checking
Visual DC power distribution analysis in the PCB layout
Requires additional Power Analyzer license
Library Management & Sourcing
Built-in BOM management with real-time supply chain
Unified libraries with symbols, footprints, simulation models, and distributor links
Access to models, parameters, and lifecycle data for millions of components
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Management of lifecycles, in-design validation, templates, and where-used for libraries
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Advanced component data from IHS Markit®
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Library health dashboard to monitor validity, quality, and risk issues
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Outputs & Manufacturing
Built-in fabrication and assembly drawing generation tools
Intuitive interface for manufacturing output creation
Quickly generate ECOs, reports, and documentation
Customizable document templates for drawings
Centralized management for manufacturing packages and communications
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Share and view Gerbers, ODB++ files, and assembly steps in a browser
Product Design
Support for multi-board systems and assemblies
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Multi-board 3D product viewer from any web browser
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Multi-board mechanical integration for SOLIDWORKS® 2020, 2021, and 2022
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Built-in harness design tools
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Cloud Services
View and share renders of design files on any device with a web browser
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Version control, templates, and component libraries stored in cloud
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Built-in task management and commenting for design files and BOMs
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Managed design reuse for schematics, layer stacks, and design templates
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Project history for every change made to a design
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Platform Integrations
Integration with MCAD applications including SOLIDWORKS®, PTC Creo® Parametric™, Autodesk Inventor®, Autodesk® Fusion 360™, and Siemens NX
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Advanced integration with SOLIDWORKS® for MCAD component placement, copper geometry, enclosure exchange, and multi-board/rigid-flex sync
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
PLM integration with Arena® PLM, PTC Windchill, Aras PLM, Oracle Agile PLM, and Teamcenter®
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Multiple importer utilities to convert files from other ECAD platforms
Workflows & Processes
Configurable lifecycle management for design data and components
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Managed workflows for part requests, design reviews, project creation/release, and lifecycle approvals
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
User, role, and group management with support for Single Sign-On (SSO)
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Change notifications and change conflict prevention for design documents
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Centralized control over design environments, document templates, and output files for every team member
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Maintenance & Support
Current version
Monthly releases since Nov 2021 (active since 2000, formerly Protel 1985-2000)
Last Release October 2022
(active since 1992)
Backwards compatible with files from all previous releases
On-demand training courses, knowledge base, and community forums
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Live chat and support tickets
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Dedicated customer success manager check-ins and onboarding
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Supported Platforms
Windows 10 and newer
MacOS 10.15 and newer
Linux
Pricing
Price
Starting at USD 355 / month
Free
Time-based subscription
Perpetual License options
Multiple Subscription options
Altium Enables the Most Advanced Designs
via a Unified Design Environment Since 1985
- Unify your entire PCB design environment via one platform
- Enjoy the #1 PCB design solution in the world
- Interact and collaborate with mechanical designers like never before
- Access high speed design tools not found in free PCB design software
- Route it your way, faster than ever
- It’s easy to convert projects from other software into Altium’s file format.
- Altium Designer sees the highest demand by employers and industry leaders.
- A complete toolset helps users take products from concept to high-volume production.
- Altium’s design features are the most intuitive and easiest-to-use.
- Individual engineers and large enterprises look to Altium to help them stay at the cutting edge of technology.
Bill Herd,
Electronics Design Legend
Nicolas Furnemont
Mechatronics Engineer
Woodoo
Wang Jianyuan
Technical Director
Bosch Rexroth
About Altium
About teaser: Since 1985, we have been developing, creating, and selling award-winning electronic design tools (software and hardware) that help electronics designers harness the latest devices and technologies, manage their projects across broad design ‘ecosystems,’ and create connected intelligent designs.
Which is better: Altium Designer or KiCAD?
KiCAD was built to satisfy the needs of hobbyists, startup companies, students, and new designers interested in free PCB design software. However, it was built with the same disjointed architecture as many other open-source PCB design programs. Important design features are split into 5 different applications that isolate tasks and capabilities, and the KiCAD EDA suite misses many important features that are demanded by industry professionals. Altium’s mission in developing Altium Designer was to create the most powerful yet easiest to use PCB design application, where all professional design features are available in a single platform.
The biggest advantage Altium Designer offers over KiCAD is the ability to access all the essential PCB design features in a single program. Industry-standard capabilities like CAM tools, a layer stack editor with integrated field solver, high speed analysis features, and many powerful extensions are included in Altium Designers. Large teams and experienced professionals trust the powerful interface and complete set of design tools in Altium Designer for their projects:
- Comprehensive multichannel, hierarchical schematic capture that supports multi-board assemblies
- Altium Designer’s integrated analog mixed signal simulation engine includes SPICE capabilities and IBIS model support
- Schematic capture tools give you access to comprehensive component libraries
- Altium Designer’s layer stack calculator includes a built-in field solver for highly accurate impedance calculations
- Altium Designer’s PCB routing tools provide greater automation than the routing features in KiCAD, which helps you stay more productive
- Access real-time sourcing data for your components and PCB libraries inside Altium Designer
- Collaborate with your team and share design data through the Altium 365™ platform
When you’re ready to move into the realm of professional PCB design, make sure your software helps you stay competitive and productive. Instead of using an outdated application structure in the free KiCAD EDA suite, use the advanced set of design and manufacturing tools found in Altium Designer. A professional interface and soft learning curve can help you elevate your design skills to the levels demanded by industry leaders and professional PCB designers.
Switching from KiCAD to Altium Designer?
Existing KiCAD users can easily make the switch to Altium Designer without losing their old projects. Altium Designer includes conversion tools for importing KiCAD projects and libraries into Altium’s file format with minimal effort, allowing you to start designing from Day 1. All Altium Designer users have access to a free online resource library so that they can learn more about Altium's leading-edge design tools, basic design principles, advanced layout and routing techniques, new platform capabilities, and much more.
If you’re comparing Altium Designer vs. open source KiCAD, invest in the best PCB design software package with advanced layout and project management features. Get access to the easiest to use and most powerful design software by making the switch to Altium Designer.
Try Altium Designer Today!
#1 in Electronics Design