Altium Designer® vs. Zuken CADSTAR™
The Ultimate Comparison Guide
Compare Altium Designer® vs. Zuken CADSTAR™
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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.
A schematic design and PCB layout platform targeting individual designers, small companies, and medium-sized businesses. Learn More
Schematic Capture
Schematic sheet limits
Unlimited
Unlimited
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.
300 in. by 300 in.
Signal and plane layer limits
32 signal + 16 plane + unlimited mechanical
255 total layers
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
Requires additional Zuken product (E3)
Management of lifecycles, in-design validation, templates, and where-used for libraries
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Requires additional Zuken product (DS-CR)
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
Requires additional Zuken program (E3)
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 the 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
Requires additional Zuken product (DS-E3)
Advanced integration with SOLIDWORKS® for MCAD component placement, copper geometry, enclosure exchange, and multi-board/rigid-flex sync
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Zuken DS-E3 does some of this (does not appear to do multi-board through MCAD, does not appear to do copper geometry through MCAD)
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
Requires additional Zuken product (DS-E3)
Managed workflows for part requests, design reviews, project creation/release, and lifecycle approvals
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Requires additional Zuken product (DS-E3)
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
Requires additional Zuken product (DS-E3)
Centralized control over design environments, document templates, and output files for every team member
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Requires additional Zuken product (DS-E3)
Maintenance & Support
Current version
Monthly releases since Nov 2021 (active since 2000, formerly Protel 1985-2000)
16.0.1 (Released January 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
Training and forum only, no free knowledge base like we have at Altium
Live chat and support tickets
Requires an Altium Designer Subscription
Support tickets only, no live chat
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
Multiple perpetual licenses for different features:
Base: USD 4,699
Advanced HS: USD 7,269
Advanced 3D: USD 7,689
Ultimate: USD 10,999
Time-based subscription
Perpetual License options
Multiple Subscription options
Altium Has Been Enabling Engineers
To Unify Their 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
- Control your supply chain: access real-time data from distributors as you pick parts
- 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
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 Zuken CADSTAR?
Altium knows that professional design teams need to stay productive and work in a collaborative, unified design environment. Altium Designer was built with the need of professional designers in mind while also enabling advanced designs and application areas. With a complete set of design and automation features in a single application, users are ready to quickly design simple parts or advanced electronic assemblies from day one.
Zuken CADSTAR was also intended to satisfy the needs of professional designers, ranging from small companies and startups to larger enterprises. However, it was built with the same disjointed architecture as other PCB design applications. Users have to purchase progressively higher subscription levels to access features that are standard in other ECAD software packages. The Zuken CADSTAR suite also misses many important features that are needed to ensure smooth part selection, sourcing, production, and transition to volume manufacturing. Altium Designer overcomes these challenges through comprehensive integration with the electronics supply chain. All this is included in Altium Designer alongside the industry’s best CAD features, board planning and layout features, and much more.
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 Zuken CADSTAR is the ability to access all the essential PCB design features in a single program without buying additional modules. Altium takes professional features to the next level with the best set of professional CAD features for modern electronics.
Industry-standard capabilities like instant manufacturing output generation, CAM tools, a layer stack editor with integrated field solver, high speed analysis features, and many powerful extensions are included in Altium Designer. 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
- A mixed signal simulation SPICE engine with IBIS model support
- The schematic editor gives with access to verified component models and supplier information
- A built-in field solver for highly accurate impedance calculations inside the Layer Stack Manager
- Altium Designer’s PCB routing tools provide powerful automation while still being easy to use
- Access real-time sourcing data and CAD models for your components in your PCB libraries
- Collaborate with your team and share design data through the Altium 365™ platform
When you’re ready to turbocharge your productivity and competitiveness, you need software that helps you design with confidence. Instead of using an outdated application structure in the Zuken CADSTAR suite, use the advanced set of design, sourcing, and manufacturing tools found in Altium Designer. The intuitive interface and instant access to critical data helps you quickly move through the design process and seamlessly transition to market. Stay productive, efficient, and competitive with Altium Designer.
Switching from CADSTAR to Altium Designer?
Existing Zuken CADSTAR users can easily make the switch to Altium Designer without losing their old projects. Altium Designer includes conversion tools for importing Zuken 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. Zuken CADSTAR, 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.
* Zuken CADSTAR™,CADSTAR™, eCADSTAR™ and logo are registered trademarks owned by Zuken, LTD
Try Altium Designer Today!
#1 in Electronics Design