Compare Altium Designer® vs KiCAD EDA®
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.
| Schemetic Capture | Altium Designer | KiCAD |
|
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 | Altium Designer | KiCAD |
|
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 Managerment & Sourcing | Altium Designer | KiCAD |
|
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 | Altium Designer | KiCAD |
|
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 | Altium Designer | KiCAD |
|
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 | Altium Designer | KiCAD |
|
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 | Altium Designer | KiCAD |
|
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 | Altium Designer | KiCAD |
|
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 | Altium Designer | KiCAD |
|
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 | Altium Designer | KiCAD |
|
Windows 10 and newer
|
|
|
|
MacOS 10.15 and newer
|
|
|
|
Linux
|
|
|
| Pricing | Altium Designer | KiCAD |
|
Price
|
Request for quote
|
Free |
|
Time-based subscription
|
|
|
|
Perpetual License options
|
|
|
|
Multiple Subscription options
|
|
|
Get your free Altium Designer trial today!
Try out the world's most trusted PCB design platform!