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CAD · head to head

Alibre Design vs Altium 365

Alibre Design logo

Alibre Design

CAD

Affordable professional CAD

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Altium 365 logo

Altium 365

CAD

Cloud workspace for Altium Designer PCB projects, now inside Renesas

From
$1990/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Alibre Design perpetual licences do not include updates; maintenance is a separate yearly plan starting at $50 per year for CAD support and updates; Altium 365 the 1,990 US dollar Altium Develop entry price is capped at five authors in total, so a growing team hits a forced migration to Agile Teams with unpublished pricing exactly when headcount is rising.
  • They diverge on capability: Alibre Design covers Parametric modeling, Altium 365 covers Shared workspace.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alibre Design and Altium 365 actually diverge.

Attributes where Alibre Design and Altium 365 differ
AttributeAlibre DesignAltium 365
Starting priceOn request$1990/year
Pricing modelone-timePer user per year
PlatformsWindowsWeb, Windows, Cloud, On-premise
Founded1997Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (CAD).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Alibre Design

  • Parametric modeling
  • Assemblies
  • Sheet metal
  • 2D drawings
  • BOM
  • Rendering
  • CAM software
  • PDM

Only in Altium 365

  • Shared workspace
  • Managed components
  • Browser review
  • Unlimited workspace users
  • MCAD CoDesigner
  • Manufacturing portal
  • Requirements Portal
  • BOM Portal

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Alibre Design

  • Parametric 3D solid modelling for mechanical partsnot Altium 365
  • Producing 2D manufacturing drawings from 3D modelsnot Altium 365
  • Designing parts for 3D printing and small shop machiningnot Altium 365

Altium 365

  • A hardware startup where two engineers draw boards but eight people need to review them, avoiding eight CAD seatsnot Alibre Design
  • A team handing fabrication and assembly data to a contract manufacturer as a versioned release rather than a zip of Gerbersnot Alibre Design
  • A company running board and enclosure design in parallel and needing bidirectional geometry exchange with mechanical CADnot Alibre Design
  • A buyer checking component lifecycle and availability against the live BOM before a design is frozennot Alibre Design

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Alibre Design

  • Perpetual licences do not include updates; maintenance is a separate yearly plan starting at $50 per year for CAD support and updates
  • Sheet metal, PDM data management and rendering are Design Expert only at $1,999
  • Scripting is excluded from the $199 Atom3D edition
  • CAM capability is sold as separate EZ-Mill, EZ-Turn and EZ-EDM products costing up to $2,999
  • A dedicated account manager is excluded from Atom3D

Altium 365

  • The 1,990 US dollar Altium Develop entry price is capped at five authors in total, so a growing team hits a forced migration to Agile Teams with unpublished pricing exactly when headcount is rising.
  • Add-on portals are expensive per seat; BOM Portal has been quoted at around 1,999 US dollars per user per year and MCAD CoDesigner at around 499, so the real cost of a working configuration is well above the headline.
  • It is tied to Altium Designer; there is no meaningful use of the platform for teams designing in KiCad, OrCAD or Allegro, which makes it a lock-in decision rather than a tooling one.
  • Renesas acquired Altium in 2024, and a semiconductor manufacturer owning the design tool used to select competing semiconductors is a conflict some buyers will want addressed in writing before uploading a library.
  • Repeated repackaging, from Altium 365 Standard and Pro tiers to Altium Develop and Agile Teams, has made renewal comparisons difficult and customers have found their previous tier no longer maps to anything on the price list.

Pricing, plan by plan

Alibre Design

On request
  • Atom3D Lifetime License$125/mo
  • Design Pro Lifetime License$630/mo
  • Design Expert Lifetime License$1260/mo
  • Design Pro Monthly$99.9/month

Altium 365

$1990/year
  • Altium Develop$1990/year
    • One Altium Designer author licence
    • One workspace for shared projects and libraries
    • Unlimited workspace users for review, comment, tasks and BOM access
  • Altium Agile Teams$undefined/year
    • For teams beyond five ECAD authors
    • Extended workspace governance and administration
    • Quoted, no published price
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • On-premise or private cloud workspace server
    • Formal ECO and lifecycle governance
    • Quoted, no published price

Which should you pick?

Choose Alibre Design if

  • You need parametric modeling.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want assemblies.
Alibre Design review

Choose Altium 365 if

  • You need shared workspace.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Cloud, On-premise.
  • You also want managed components.
Altium 365 review

Questions people ask

Is Alibre Design or Altium 365 better?
Neither clearly leads. Alibre Design starts at On request and Altium 365 at $1990/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alibre Design or Altium 365?
Alibre Design starts at On request and Altium 365 at $1990/year.
Does Alibre Design or Altium 365 run on more platforms?
Alibre Design runs on Windows. Altium 365 runs on Web, Windows, Cloud, On-premise.
What is Alibre Design best used for?
Alibre Design is most often used for parametric 3d solid modelling for mechanical parts, producing 2d manufacturing drawings from 3d models, designing parts for 3d printing and small shop machining. Of those, parametric 3d solid modelling for mechanical parts and producing 2d manufacturing drawings from 3d models are not what Altium 365 is typically brought in for.
What can Alibre Design do that Altium 365 cannot?
Alibre Design covers Parametric modeling, Assemblies, Sheet metal, 2D drawings. Altium 365 covers Shared workspace, Managed components, Browser review, Unlimited workspace users.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Alibre Design: Does Alibre Design require a subscription or is it a one-time purchase?

Alibre Design offers one-time lifetime licenses or monthly payment plans. Atom3D lifetime is $125, Design Pro is $630, and Design Expert is $1,260. Monthly payment plans spread costs over 10 months.

Source
Altium 365: Is Altium 365 free with Altium Designer?

A workspace is included with a current subscription, but the higher tiers, extra authors and the add-on portals are chargeable. The unlimited non-author users are genuinely included.

Alibre Design: What is the difference between Alibre Design Pro and Design Expert?

Design Expert ($1,260) is the complete design suite with advanced features, while Design Pro ($630) is the entry-level professional 3D/2D CAD software.

Source
Altium 365: What does it cost?

Altium Develop starts at about 1,990 US dollars a year for one author plus a workspace, with extra authors at 995 US dollars each up to four more. Larger teams are quoted.

Alibre Design: Do I need to pay separately for software updates and support in Alibre?

Yes. Annual support and update plans cost $50 per year for CAD software and $100-$200 per year for mill and turn add-ons.

Source
Altium 365: Who owns Altium now?

Renesas Electronics completed its acquisition of Altium in 2024. Altium 365 is therefore a Renesas-owned platform.

Altium 365: Can I keep design data on my own servers?

Yes, through the Enterprise on-premise workspace server, but that is a quoted product and most of the newer portal features assume the hosted platform.

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