Compare Altium Develop vs. Siemens PADS®
Close All Details Expand All Details
Altium Develop pairs Altium Designer with the Altium 365 cloud workspace, uniting PCB design, requirements, sourcing, collaboration, and manufacturing on one platform.
Siemens PADS® is an established PCB design tool with solid schematic capture, layout, and analysis. Requirements and lifecycle management require additional Siemens products.
Design
Unified Environment for Complex PCB Design
Yes – Altium Develop covers schematic capture, PCB layout, mixed-signal SPICE, high-speed routing, HDI, rigid-flex, multi-board, and harness design in one editor, with constraint-driven DRC and real-time native 3D.
Partial – Siemens PADS Professional (Xpedition-based) covers schematic capture, constraint-driven PCB layout, high-speed/HDI/area-rule routing, rigid-flex, RF, dynamic copper pour, and 3D, with HyperLynx SI/PI and thermal analysis. Dedicated multi-board system assembly and harness design is not included.
Advanced Design Review
Partial – Altium Develop design reviews are browser-based with comment threads and real-time feedback capture. Advanced design review with checklists and audit-ready review logs is available with Altium Agile.
Partial – the Connect cloud app provides browser-based viewing and a Collaboration Panel for markup/annotation with status tracking. No structured managed-review workflow with checklists/approvals.
ECAD-MCAD Collaboration
Partial – MCAD CoDesigner provides bi-directional sync with SOLIDWORKS, PTC Creo, Inventor, Fusion 360, and Siemens NX, including copper geometry and keep-outs. Rigid-flex MCAD sync, MCAD-driven component placement, enclosure exchange, multi-board assembly sync, and harness sync are available in Altium Agile.
Partial – MCADX delivers bi-directional sync with SOLIDWORKS via Intelligent Data Exchange. Other MCAD tools rely on standard IDX/STEP transfer.
Supply Chain
Collaborative BOM Management
Yes – Altium Develop consolidates BOM data with real-time pricing, stock, and lifecycle flags, surfaced inside the design editor and the cloud workspace for procurement collaboration.
Partial – In-design supply chain insights (availability/risk) and basic BOM viewing are supported. No end-to-end collaborative BOM management.
Essential Part Intelligence
Yes – Altium Develop integrates verified specifications, lifecycle intelligence, and technical parameters from Octopart and IHS Markit. SiliconExpert and Z2Data extensions are available.
Yes – Provides part specs, lifecycle, and sourcing data via Supplyframe, Findchips, and PartQuest.
ECAD Connectivity
Yes – Altium Develop ingests BOMs from OrCAD, Allegro, PADS, EAGLE, and KiCad alongside native projects under a shared parts library.
Requirements
Requirements Visibility
Integrated Requirements and Design Data
AI Requirements Assistance
Audit-Ready Documentation
Yes – Altium Develop supports templated export of traceability matrices, verification plans, and compliance documents directly from live requirements/V&V data.
Data Management
Design History & Version Control
Visual Design Comparison Across Schematics, PCBs, Gerbers & BOMs
Unified Component Management
Partial – Altium Develop uses a unified component model with symbols, footprints, supplier links, 3D models, and where-used tracking. Lifecycle states and templates are available in Altium Agile.
Partial – Centralized component library and PartQuest content are supported. No unified lifecycle state management and where‑used across a governed cloud system.
Reusable Circuit Design Blocks
Engineering Management
Engineering Collaboration
Yes – Altium Develop unifies ECAD, MCAD, supply chain, and manufacturing collaborators in a single workspace, with unlimited workspace users included.
Partial – Enables shared access and collaboration via Connect, but cross-discipline workflows are spread across multiple tools rather than a single unified platform.
Configurable Workflows
No – Configurable, diagram-based workflows for approvals, ECOs, and lifecycle handoffs are available within Altium Agile.
Manufacturing
Sharing Version-Controlled Release Packages in Browser
Yes – Altium Develop generates and stores release packages (Gerber, ODB++, IPC-2581, BOM, drawings) with version control; manufacturers view and comment via a browser link, with feedback tied back to the project.
Yes – Siemens PADS generates and stores release packages (Gerber, ODB++, IPC-2581, BOM, drawings) with version control. No browser-based release workflow.
Manual Board Assembly
Yes – Assembly Assistant provides a paperless, sequential, web-based assembly interface for prototype and short-run production, with progress tracking.
Contract Manufacturing
Yes – Altium Develop provides in-platform quoting, manufacturability checks, and direct ordering through Altium's vetted CM network.
PLM Connectivity
No – The PLM Connectors are available within Altium Agile.
Yes – Native integration with Siemens Teamcenter; additional PLM systems supported via connectors.
Learn More
Why Engineers Choose Altium Develop
- One platform from schematic capture to manufacturing
- Shared BOMs with live pricing, stock, and lifecycle data
- Requirements linked to schematics, layouts, and BOMs
- Built-in multi-board and harness design capabilities
- Unlimited workspace users for reviews and sign-offs
- Instant quotes and ordering through a vetted CM network
- Release packages shared with manufacturers in a browser
- BOMs can be managed from PADS and other ECAD tools
- Audit-ready traceability from requirements to verification
- Runs out of the box, priced for small and mid-sized teams
Wang Jianyuan
Technical Director
Bosch Rexroth
Bill Herd,
Electronics Design Legend
Bülent Solan
Co-Founder & CTO
Quarterwave
Nicolas Furnemont
Mechatronics Engineer
Woodoo
Jeremy Blum
Shaper
About Altium
Altium, headquartered in San Diego, California, is a global software company accelerating the pace of electronics innovation. Altium manages the entire electronics lifecycle and connects all stakeholders throughout the creation process, enabling faster development of electronics-based products for companies of all sizes.
Which Is Better: Altium Develop or Siemens PADS®?
The choice comes down to how much of your product development you want one tool to handle.
As a board design tool, Siemens PADS is well established. PADS Professional, built on the Xpedition engine, handles constraint-driven layout, high-speed and HDI routing, rigid-flex, and signal and power integrity analysis with HyperLynx. The differences between PADS and Develop begin when you look beyond the board. Altium Develop pairs Altium Designer, the industry’s most widely accepted PCB design software, with the Altium 365 cloud workspace, so requirements, design, sourcing, and manufacturing share a single connected environment. With Altium Develop:
- Requirements link directly to schematic nets, PCB objects, and BOM line items, with traceability matrices and verification reports generated from live design data. PADS has no native requirements management.
- Invited stakeholders review designs, comment, and approve releases in a browser, with no license required, no installs, and no seats to buy.
- Live component pricing, stock, and lifecycle data from Octopart and IHS Markit sit inside every BOM, shared by engineering and procurement in one workspace.
- Release packages are version-controlled and shared with manufacturers in a browser, with quoting and ordering available through Altium’s vetted CM network.
- Multi-board and harness design are built in.
To cover the same ground, PADS relies on Teamcenter and other Siemens products, each licensed and integrated separately. Altium Develop runs out of the box, with unlimited workspace users, at a price built for small and mid-sized teams.
If you want a strong board tool and are ready to build a Siemens toolchain around it, PADS is a capable choice. If you want one connected platform from requirements to manufacturing, Altium Develop is built for the whole job.
Switching from Siemens PADS® to Altium Develop?
Altium gives Siemens PADS users a supported migration path into Altium Develop, and it’s easier and faster than you might think. Altium Designer, included in every Develop subscription, converts PADS schematics, layouts, and libraries into Altium's file format in minutes. It works from standard ASCII exports (.ASC, .TXT, .D, .C, and .P), and teams preserve much of their existing design work as they move into Altium's environment.
Your team keeps working from day one, supported by free online training, documentation, and an active user community. Because Altium Develop reads BOMs from PADS and other ECAD tools, you can adopt the platform gradually, starting with sourcing and collaboration while designs migrate at your own pace.