# Altium Develop vs PADS Professional Comparison
---
## AI Generated Summary
- **G2 reviewers report** that Altium Develop excels in providing a unified design environment, allowing users to seamlessly transition from schematic capture to PCB layout. This integration, along with real-time collaboration and version control, significantly enhances team efficiency during the design process.
- **Users say** that PADS Professional offers advanced routing automation and rigid-flex design capabilities, which are particularly beneficial for complex hardware development. The inclusion of AI features has also been highlighted as a time-saver, making it easier for users to streamline their workflows.
- **Reviewers mention** that Altium Develop's intuitive onboarding process and user-friendly interface contribute to a smoother setup experience. Many users appreciate the ease with which they can start building projects, thanks to the extensive built-in libraries and modules available within the platform.
- **According to verified reviews** , PADS Professional is praised for its robust simulation and constraint-driven design capabilities, which help catch potential issues early in the design process. This proactive approach improves overall design accuracy and reduces errors, making it a reliable choice for users focused on precision.
- **G2 reviewers highlight** that Altium Develop's collaborative features, such as the Altium 365 web portal, facilitate easy sharing and collaboration on designs. This ensures that teams are always working with the most up-to-date versions, eliminating confusion and enhancing project management.
- **Users report** that while PADS Professional has a solid reputation for its analysis and simulation tools, it may not match the overall satisfaction and user experience that Altium Develop provides, as reflected in their higher G2 Score and more recent positive feedback.



| | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Star Rating** | 4.5 out of 5 | 4.1 out of 5 | 
| **Total Reviews** | 1,038 | 65 | 
| **Largest Market Segment** | Small-Business (59.0% of reviews) | Small-Business (57.8% of reviews) | 
| **Entry Level Price** | Starting at $1,990.00 Per Year | Starting at $249.00 Per Month | 

---
## Top Pros & Cons

### Altium Develop

Pros:
- Ease of Use (272 reviews)
- Features (218 reviews)

Cons:
- Learning Curve (93 reviews)
- Expensive (91 reviews)

### PADS Professional

Pros:
- Features (6 reviews)
- Simulation Tools (5 reviews)

Cons:
- Complex Interface (2 reviews)
- Difficult Learning Process (2 reviews)

---
## Ratings Comparison
| Rating | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
  | **Meets Requirements** | 8.9 (853 reviews) | 8.3 (59 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Use** | 8.1 (871 reviews) | 7.8 (64 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Setup** | 8.3 (409 reviews) | 7.7 (30 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Admin** | 8.3 (138 reviews) | 8.2 (15 reviews) | 
  | **Quality of Support** | 8.2 (762 reviews) | 8.7 (59 reviews) | 
  | **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?** | 8.5 (132 reviews) | 9.1 (15 reviews) | 
  | **Product Direction (% positive)** | 8.8 (829 reviews) | 8.6 (58 reviews) | 

---
## Pricing

### Altium Develop

#### Entry-Level Pricing

Plan: Altium Develop Pricing

Price: Starting at $1,990.00 Per Year

Description: Altium Develop offers subscription-based pricing starting at $1,990 per year per workspace, which includes one ECAD Design Author seat and a shared collaboration workspace for projects, libraries, and design data. Additional ECAD Design Author seats can be added for $995 per user per year, with support for up to four additional authors per workspace. The platform also includes unlimited free collaborator access for review, commenting, task management, and BOM visibility at no extra cost. This pricing model is designed to help teams scale design capacity through a per-seat subscription while enabling broad cross-functional collaboration without increasing overall costs.

Key Features:
- Unified Workspace & Collaboration: Cloud-based platform (Altium 365) for PCB design, schematics, MCAD models, and BOMs with real-time collaboration across teams
- Component & Library Management: Centralized component libraries with traceability, lifecycle management, and part request workflows
- Advanced PCB Design: Support for high-speed PCB design, HDI, rigid-flex, and 3D-MID using Altium Designer

[Learn more about Altium Develop](https://www.g2.com/products/altium-develop/reviews)

#### Free Trial

Yes

### PADS Professional

#### Entry-Level Pricing

Plan: PADS Professional Term-Based

Price: Starting at $249.00 Per Month

Key Features:
- Additional features and license options may affect price.

[Browse all 2 editions](https://www.g2.com/products/pads-professional/pricing)

#### Free Trial

Yes

---
## Features Comparison By Category

### General-Purpose CAD

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **Altium Develop** | 8.4/10 | 85 |
| **PADS Professional** | N/A | N/A |

#### Design

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Drawing** | 8.5 (77 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Modeling** | 8.3 (74 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Visualize ** | 8.6 (76 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Rendering** | 8.3 (72 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Edit

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **File Import ** | 8.1 (74 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Push/Pull** | 8.1 (67 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Views** | 8.9 (70 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Grips ** | 8.0 (65 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Collaboration

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Annotate** | 8.7 (68 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Documentation ** | 8.5 (70 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Data Extract** | 8.2 (65 reviews) | Not enough data | 

### Product Data Management (PDM)

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **Altium Develop** | 8.5/10 | 50 |
| **PADS Professional** | N/A | N/A |

#### Metadata

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Repository** | 8.5 (42 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Taxonomy** | Feature Not Available | Not enough data | 
| **Types** | Feature Not Available | Not enough data | 

#### Data Management

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Version Control** | 8.5 (48 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Alignment** | Feature Not Available | Not enough data | 
| **Workflows** | Feature Not Available | Not enough data | 
| **Lifecycle** | Feature Not Available | Not enough data | 

#### Generative AI

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **AI Text Summarization** | Feature Not Available | Not enough data | 
| **AI Image-to-Text** | Feature Not Available | Not enough data | 

### PCB Design

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **Altium Develop** | 8.6/10 | 757 |
| **PADS Professional** | 8.2/10 | 59 |

#### Design

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **PCB layout editing** | 9.1 (705 reviews) | 8.3 (56 reviews) | 
| **Schematic editor** | 9.2 (692 reviews) | 8.2 (55 reviews) | 

#### Tools

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **3D modeling tools** | 7.6 (639 reviews) | Feature Not Available | 
| **Component placement** | 8.9 (672 reviews) | 8.5 (55 reviews) | 

#### Library

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Component libraries** | 8.3 (696 reviews) | 8.1 (56 reviews) | 

#### Platform

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Board size** | 9.1 (668 reviews) | 8.3 (56 reviews) | 
| **Layers** | 9.2 (675 reviews) | 8.6 (56 reviews) | 

#### Customization

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Custom interface** | 7.8 (593 reviews) | 7.5 (55 reviews) | 

### Mechanical Computer-aided Design (MCAD)

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **Altium Develop** | 8.2/10 | 27 |
| **PADS Professional** | N/A | N/A |

#### Tools - Mechanical Computer-aided Design (MCAD)

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **3D/solid modeling Tools** | 8.5 (22 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Rendering Tools** | 8.3 (21 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Drawing Tools** | 8.9 (20 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Editing Tools** | 8.7 (21 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Text Editing Tools** | 8.0 (19 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### File Options - Mechanical Computer-aided Design (MCAD)

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Export Files** | 8.7 (22 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Import Files** | 8.3 (21 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **File Interoperability** | 8.2 (19 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Backwards compatibility** | 8.6 (19 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **File size** | 9.3 (18 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Customization - Mechanical Computer-aided Design (MCAD)

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Custom Commands** | Feature Not Available | Not enough data | 
| **Custom Scripts** | 7.5 (17 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Custom Menus** | 7.6 (18 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Custom Interface** | 7.8 (18 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Environment - Mechanical Computer-aided Design (MCAD)

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Hardware support** | 8.5 (19 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Task-based interfaces** | 8.3 (17 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Manage Multiple Profiles** | 8.3 (18 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Command Clarity** | 8.6 (19 reviews) | Not enough data | 

### Requirements Management

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **Altium Develop** | 7.6/10 | 36 |
| **PADS Professional** | N/A | N/A |

#### Requirements Authoring and Structure - Requirements Management

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Structured Requirements Authoring** | 7.2 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Hierarchical Requirements Organization** | 7.5 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Compliance and Governance - Requirement Management

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Regulated Industry Standards Support** | 7.2 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Administration

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Requirements Listing** | 8.9 (32 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Centralized Information** | 8.5 (31 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Traceability** | 8.2 (31 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Collaboration and Review - Requirements Management

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Review and Approval Workflows** | 7.5 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Role-Based Access Control** | 8.1 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Communication

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Stakeholder Communication** | 6.7 (31 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Internal Communication Enablement** | 7.3 (30 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Role-Based Access Co - Requirements Management

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Baselining** | 8.1 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Procedural

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Automated Creation & Testing** | 5.9 (25 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Traceability - Requirements Management

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Bidirectional Traceability** | 7.2 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Impact Analysis** | 7.2 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Traceability Matrix Generation** | 7.2 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### AI Traceability - Requirements Management

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Suspect Link Detection** | 7.5 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Integration - Requirements Management

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **ALM and Project Management Tool Integration** | 7.2 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Change Management and Version Control - Requirements Management

| Feature | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Complete Audit Trail** | 8.1 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 

---
## Categories
**Shared Categories (1):** [PCB Design Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/pcb-design)

**Unique to Altium Develop (4):** [General-Purpose CAD Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/general-purpose-cad), [Product Data Management (PDM) Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/product-data-management-pdm), [Mechanical Computer-aided Design (MCAD) Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/mechanical-computer-aided-design-mcad), [Requirements Management Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/requirements-management)



---
## Reviewer Demographics

### By Company Size

| Segment | Altium Develop | PADS Professional | 
|---|---|---|
| **Small-Business** | 59.0% | 57.8% | 
| **Mid-Market** | 28.9% | 32.8% | 
| **Enterprise** | 12.1% | 9.4% | 

### By Industry

#### Altium Develop

- **Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing:** 21.8%
- **Automotive:** 10.8%
- **Consumer Electronics:** 10.0%
- **Medical Devices:** 6.6%
- **Aviation & Aerospace:** 6.2%
- **Industrial Automation:** 4.0%
- **Research:** 3.3%
- **Computer Hardware:** 3.1%
- **Higher Education:** 3.1%
- **Design:** 2.5%
- **Other:** 28.8%

#### PADS Professional

- **Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing:** 17.2%
- **Automotive:** 7.8%
- **Design:** 7.8%
- **Computer Software:** 7.8%
- **Consumer Electronics:** 6.3%
- **Medical Devices:** 6.3%
- **Defense & Space:** 6.3%
- **Semiconductors:** 4.7%
- **Airlines/Aviation:** 4.7%
- **Industrial Automation:** 4.7%
- **Other:** 26.6%

---
## Alternatives

### Alternatives to Altium Develop

- [Autodesk Fusion](https://www.g2.com/products/autodesk-fusion/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (520 reviews)
- [AutoCAD](https://www.g2.com/products/autocad/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (1936 reviews)
- [Onshape](https://www.g2.com/products/onshape/reviews) — 4.7/5 stars (712 reviews)
- [SOLIDWORKS](https://www.g2.com/products/solidworks/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (643 reviews)
- [Designcenter Solid Edge](https://www.g2.com/products/designcenter-solid-edge/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (613 reviews)
- [Designcenter](https://www.g2.com/products/designcenter/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (628 reviews)
- [Inventor](https://www.g2.com/products/inventor/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (440 reviews)
- [SketchUp](https://www.g2.com/products/sketchup/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (1327 reviews)
- [ZWCAD](https://www.g2.com/products/zwcad/reviews) — 4.6/5 stars (352 reviews)
- [Teamcenter](https://www.g2.com/products/teamcenter/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (1309 reviews)

### Alternatives to PADS Professional

- [KiCad EDA](https://www.g2.com/products/kicad-eda/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (69 reviews)
- [Autodesk Fusion](https://www.g2.com/products/autodesk-fusion/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (520 reviews)
- [Allegro X PCB Designer](https://www.g2.com/products/allegro-x-pcb-designer/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (30 reviews)
- [SOLIDWORKS](https://www.g2.com/products/solidworks/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (643 reviews)
- [Onshape](https://www.g2.com/products/onshape/reviews) — 4.7/5 stars (712 reviews)
- [Autodesk EAGLE](https://www.g2.com/products/autodesk-eagle/reviews) — 4.0/5 stars (77 reviews)
- [Altium CircuitMaker](https://www.g2.com/products/altium-circuitmaker/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (110 reviews)
- [OrCAD Capture](https://www.g2.com/products/orcad-capture/reviews) — 4.2/5 stars (34 reviews)
- [OrCAD PCB Designer](https://www.g2.com/products/orcad-pcb-designer/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (15 reviews)
- [DipTrace](https://www.g2.com/products/diptrace/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (45 reviews)

---
## Top Discussions

### Altium Develop

- Title: [Who uses Altium?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/who-uses-altium) — 3 comments *(includes official response)*
  > **Top comment:** "Altium Designer is used mainly by those who create and work with printed circuit boards or PCBs. All electrical products, computers, toasters, remotes, and..."
- Title: [Is Altium Designer free?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-altium-designer-free) — 3 comments
  > **Top comment:** "No, Altium Designer is not free but there is a free viewer that can be downloaded. "
- Title: [What is Altium Designer used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-altium-designer-used-for) — 3 comments
  > **Top comment:** "Altium Desinger is a complete PCB (Printed Circuit Board) design software package, which includes Schematic Capture, PCB Layout, Libraries, Manufacturing..."
- Title: [Is there a way to modelize in 3D the Pcb designs?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/36429-is-there-a-way-to-modelize-in-3d-the-pcb-designs) — 3 comments, 1 upvote
  > **Top comment:** "No or Yes, you can only place 3D bodies for components in PCB and get 3D view of your design. I think by placing components are your will. yes you can..."
- Title: [What is Altium 365 used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-altium-365-used-for) — 2 comments
  > **Top comment:** "Create circuit design & PCB Design"

### PADS Professional

- Title: [What is PADS PROFESSIONAL used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-pads-professional-used-for) — 2 comments *(includes official response)*
  > **Top comment:** "PADS Professional is the ideal choice for individual engineers working on the design of complex hardware-based electronic products. It is a fully integrated..."
- Title: [Who makes PADS PCB?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/who-makes-pads-pcb) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "Mentor Graphics. Currently acquired by SIEMENS"
- Title: [Which software is best for PCB design?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/pads-professional-which-software-is-best-for-pcb-design) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "PADS Proessional"

---
**Source:** [G2.com](https://www.g2.com) | [Comparison Page](https://www.g2.com/compare/altium-develop-vs-pads-professional)