--- title: PADS Professional Reviews meta_title: 'PADS Professional Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 64 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how PADS Professional works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.1 review_count: 64 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-08-05' parent_category: name: CAD url: https://www.g2.com/categories/cad --- # PADS Professional Reviews **Vendor:** Siemens Digital Industries Software **Category:** [PCB Design Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/pcb-design) **Average Rating:** 4.1/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 64 ## About PADS Professional PADS Professional PCB software is a comprehensive electronic design automation (EDA) software suite developed by Siemens Digital Industries Software, formerly Mentor Graphics. It provides advanced tools for designing, simulating, verifying, and manufacturing printed circuit boards (PCBs) and electronic systems. ## PADS Professional Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users value the **advanced automation and simulation features** of PADS Professional, enhancing design accuracy and efficiency. (6 reviews) - Users value the **advanced simulation tools** of PADS Professional, enhancing design accuracy and streamlining hardware development. (5 reviews) - Users value the **comprehensive PCB design tools** of PADS Professional, enhancing efficiency and collaboration in engineering projects. (4 reviews) - Users value the **high accuracy** in design achieved with PADS Professional's simulation and advanced layout tools. (3 reviews) - Users recognize PADS Professional for its **comprehensive PCB design tools** , making it ideal for high-speed and complex layouts. (2 reviews) - Collaboration (2 reviews) - Users find PADS Professional to be **user-friendly** , with an intuitive GUI that enhances their design experience. (2 reviews) - 3D Visualization (1 reviews) - Automation (1 reviews) - Cloud Storage (1 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users struggle with the **complex interface** of PADS Professional, making navigation and learning time-consuming and frustrating. (2 reviews) - Users find the **difficult learning process** of PADS Professional overwhelming, particularly for beginners navigating its extensive features. (2 reviews) - Users find the **steep learning curve** of PADS Professional challenging, requiring significant time to master its features. (2 reviews) - Users find the **complex design process** of PADS Professional slow and lacking essential features for advanced PCB projects. (1 reviews) - Users emphasize the need for improvements in **component management** , particularly regarding back-annotation and errors in the Decal Editor. (1 reviews) - Error Messages (1 reviews) - Users find PADS Professional to be **too expensive** , especially considering its outdated interface and prevalent bugs. (1 reviews) - Not Intuitive (1 reviews) - Outdated Software (1 reviews) - Poor Navigation (1 reviews) ## PADS Professional Reviews ### 1. User Friendly and Very Intuitive interface **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Nandini G. | UI/UX designer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 03, 2023 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** The best thing PADS is its his interface and it is very user friendly. Ease of use and implement very fastly. **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** The user flow of this software is very poor. It can be improve a bit. **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** So intial day we are using poor software because of that our growth and revenue is so low but after using PADS we have seen a graduall increment in our revenue. **Official Response from Yolanda Dong:** > Thank you for your feedback with PADS Professional, Nandini! We're delighted to hear that you find PADS' interface user-friendly and appreciate its ease of use. Your insights are valuable, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your positive experience! ### 2. Pads professional review **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Bhavit J. | Associate Product Manager, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 05, 2023 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** 1. User interface is upto the point 2. State of the art tools to ease the processes 3. Especially liked the on demand learning **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** Learning curve can be challenging for some users but that's about all **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** Helped me a lot with the on-demand learning. Access to real time component sourcing was a game changer . Sharing details with the stakeholders have become easier **Official Response from Yolanda Dong:** > Thanks for sharing your experience, Bhavit! We’re thrilled to hear that you appreciate the state-of-the-art tools in PADS Professional, making processes smoother for you. Your support means so much to our team, and we appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It’s a big help to others! ### 3. User friendly interface and easy to use **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Avinash p. | Product Designer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 27, 2023 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** Very intuitive software and its so easy to use and have increase my business by 30%. **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** I have recently used this but I haven't get any issues in this for now. **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** Many people having problems using other softwares that are not intuitive and couldn't increase my product quality but after using this I found Its useful for my product **Official Response from Yolanda Dong:** > Thank you for sharing your success with PADS Professional, Avinash! We're thrilled to hear that the software has proven to be intuitive and easy to use, contributing to a significant increase in your business. Your positive feedback means a lot to us, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. ### 4. Amazing software **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Avinash P. | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 04, 2023 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** The Number of Features in PADS which are very helpful and easy to use. **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** User interface of PADS is poor it can be improve more. **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** The no. of users are becoming less day by day in our initial phase but after using PADS the no. Pf users their productivity increases drastically. **Official Response from Yolanda Dong:** > Avinash, thank you for highlighting the numerous features in PADS that you find helpful and easy to use! We're thrilled that the range of capabilities is meeting your design needs effectively. Your positive feedback is greatly appreciated! ### 5. I did PCB Design and It's really easy to use and interactive **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Akanksha J. | Freelance Graphic Designer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 27, 2023 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** It is delivering high quality results, great user interface, and is quick for electronics hobbiests **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** As of now, I haven't experienced any such negatives, but colors can be more appealing. However tool set is very good **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** Helps me in delivering my work fast and has increased my productivity in electronics peojects **Official Response from Yolanda Dong:** > Thank you for sharing your experience, Akanksha! We're thrilled to hear that our product is delivering high-quality results for your electronics hobbyist projects. Your positive feedback is greatly appreciated! ### 6. Best animation and user experience **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mamta C. | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 06, 2023 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** The ease of and the number of features that PADS PROFESSIONAL are providing. Its made our Implementation so easy. **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** The user flow and processing time can be increased. **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** Increase productivity and growth in our company **Official Response from Yolanda Dong:** > Thanks for sharing your experience, Mamta! We're thrilled to hear that the ease of use and the multitude of features in PADS Professional have made your implementation process so smooth. Your support means a lot to our team! ### 7. It was great !! So much useful **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Yash C. | SDET - Product TCM, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 26, 2023 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** User centric design and ease of use i like the most **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** No as such i still need to work hard to find cons for now it is very useful **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** Bussiness problems and lot of clutter i had earlier which is now fixed **Official Response from Yolanda Dong:** > Thank you for sharing your experience, Yash! We're thrilled to hear that you appreciate the user-centric design and ease of use in PADS Professional. Your feedback means a lot to us! ### 8. Very good tool for electronics hobbiest and professionals **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Yash C. | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 27, 2023 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** Highly effective tools set along with good ux and design **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** Nothing as such however there could be more fewtures can be added **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** Solving pcb design complex issues and able to experiment various things on it **Official Response from Yolanda Dong:** > Thank you, Yash, for sharing your experience with PADS Professional! We're delighted to hear that you find the toolset effective and have a positive user experience. Your feedback is valuable, and we appreciate your support! ### 9. Very good application Convenient to use!! **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Hardware | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 09, 2023 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** PADS professional is a great software with detailed instructions to use and it is very user friendly tool for PCB design **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** I didn't have any dislikes for this application yet as it is surving my all the needs **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** Detailed and complex structure of pcb can be created very easily, user can create big PCB design in compact size **Official Response from Yolanda Dong:** > Thanks for sharing your experience! We're delighted to hear that you find PADS Professional to be a great software with detailed instructions, making it a very user-friendly tool for PCB design. Your feedback is valuable to us, and we appreciate your support! ### 10. The complete pcb design solution for engineers and work group **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rajesh L. | Graduate Engineering Trainee, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 28, 2023 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** The exposed region of metal on a circuit board that the component lead is shouldered to **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** About lisences and little proceses A,b,c **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** Easy to design PCB ### 11. Very useful for my business **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Entertainment | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 27, 2023 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** It is a very easy to use along with good interface. I have started using it just a while ago & it has made my working very sorted. Thanks **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** There's not so much to dislike but uses so much of data & ram **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** I design hardware & electronics for my product hence it is helpful **Official Response from Yolanda Dong:** > Thank you for sharing your experience! We're delighted to hear that PADS Professional has made your work more organized and that you find it easy to use. Your positive feedback is greatly appreciated! ### 12. supporting customers with questions about the product **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Laury W. | Senior Application Engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 29, 2023 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** always a correct component in the library. upfront constraining the design to meet production and electrical requirements (timing/Length) . Placement using groups. Advanced routing capabilities. Integration with Mechanical, and Signal integrity tools. **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** Menganical parts withoud a Pin can not be handeld from the frondend. so requires extra action in PCB to place them as spares. Partquest Qualaty is bad. Missing 3D integration in Library **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** Making PCBs with High-speed requirements first time right. ### 13. Pads professional is a very nice tool for Schematic & pcb design **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Udit A. | Team Leader-PCB Design, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 13, 2021 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** Routing and error free design as it does not allow any changes without the flow we follow for PCB. It has a specialized router which makes routing easier and faster with advanced options. Its layer stack-up design using hyperlynx is good. it does not allow any directly change in pcb without ECO or by entering in ECO mode. **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** Less user friendly, so it difficult for any new joiner to learn, it will take time initially to learn. Also need to create part separately , logic decal as well as pcb decal, you cannot assign any footprint directly to any sch part, need to change in library part first. Polygon creation for layers is not much impressive. Pads stack is not that good, as we have to add soldermask and past for every component, there is not option to derive it from rules in component setup in library. **Recommendations to others considering PADS Professional:** 4 stars. It is strongly recommended in case you have a good time to learn and want to have a error free design. **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** PCB design of small to high speed complex designs. It is more error free as compared to other tools. Routing signals is easy with multiple short cut commands. impedance requirement using hyperlnx. ### 14. Good tool for Professional PCB Designers **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Automotive | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 10, 2021 **What do you like best about PADS Professional?** PADS is powerful software & has features of auto-routing, copper pouring. 2D shapes, differential pair design, Design rule check, netlist generator, DFM check. Customized colours for each layer. Signal integrity & power Integrity are unique add-ons that help to analyze design before production. **What do you dislike about PADS Professional?** PADS is a complex tool and needs a lot of practice to understand all the features and efficiently use them. This software is mainly based on the Database & all the components data stored in the Central database. If the link to the database is missed, we get many warnings and errors, and it's tough to resolve all these errors. The design takes a lot of time if you get stuck with such errors. I need to connect with the support team frequently for such issues. Many times license issue is observed. **Recommendations to others considering PADS Professional:** I recommend this software to PCB professionals only. It is a powerful tool and needs a lot of time to get hands-on it. **What problems is PADS Professional solving and how is that benefiting you?** PCB designer or Layouter tool is used to design the Printed Circuit Board based on the schematic and the mechanical housing. The tool can import the .dxf file, which is helpful to define the PCB outline and components placement based on height and other aspects. It has a feature of 3D view where we can see the actual 3D model of PCB. It gives an idea about actual PCB & step files that can be exported for a mechanical engineer to perform collision tests and flow tests. Gerbes are quickly drawn along with pick and place data. It also supports multiple macros. ## PADS Professional Discussions - [What is PADS PROFESSIONAL used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-pads-professional-used-for) - 2 comments - [Who makes PADS PCB?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/who-makes-pads-pcb) - 1 comment - [Which software is best for PCB design?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/pads-professional-which-software-is-best-for-pcb-design) - 1 comment - [View PADS Professional pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/pads-professional/reviews?page=2§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-06+01%3A19%3A04+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=9d3357c8-b0d6-4a70-8417-750767ae73bb&secure%5Btoken%5D=fa6b8da3c0fddbef9d00c2be3c8530d249f2a403f0e16e2e46c216a5ebfb3777&format=llm_user) ## PADS Professional Features **Design** - PCB layout editing - Schematic editor **Tools** - Component placement **Library** - Component libraries **Platform** - Board size - Layers **Customization** - Custom interface ## Top PADS Professional Alternatives - [Altium Develop](https://www.g2.com/products/altium-develop/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (1,031 reviews) - [KiCad EDA](https://www.g2.com/products/kicad-eda/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (64 reviews) - [Autodesk Fusion](https://www.g2.com/products/autodesk-fusion/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (510 reviews)