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CAD · head to head

Altium 365 vs Aras Innovator

Altium 365 logo

Altium 365

CAD

Cloud workspace for Altium Designer PCB projects, now inside Renesas

From
$1990/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Aras Innovator logo

Aras Innovator

Manufacturing

Subscription PLM platform where every module is included in the seat price

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Aras Innovator has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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Develop entry price is capped at five authors in total, so a growing team hits a forced migration to Agile Teams with unpublished pricing exactly when headcount is rising.; Aras Innovator aras publishes no prices at all, so you cannot sanity-check a quote against a list price and every negotiation starts from the vendor knowing more than you do.
  • They diverge on capability: Altium 365 covers Shared workspace, Aras Innovator covers Model-based configuration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Altium 365 and Aras Innovator actually diverge.

Attributes where Altium 365 and Aras Innovator differ
AttributeAltium 365Aras Innovator
Starting price$1990/yearFree
Pricing modelPer user per yearquote
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, Cloud, On-premiseWeb, Windows, Cloud, Self-hosted
CategoryCADManufacturing

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Altium 365

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

Only in Aras Innovator

  • Model-based configuration
  • Upgrades included
  • All applications in one subscription
  • CAD data management
  • Effectivity and configuration management
  • Community Edition
  • Open REST and OData APIs

What people use each for

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

Altium 365

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

Aras Innovator

  • A manufacturer whose current PLM cannot be upgraded because past customisations would break, and who wants configuration that survives releasesnot Altium 365
  • An engineering organisation that needs requirements, quality and change management under one data model without buying three modulesnot Altium 365
  • A medical device or aerospace firm needing full traceability from requirement to as-built serial numbernot Altium 365
  • A company piloting PLM on a real programme using the free 50-user Community Edition before committing budgetnot Altium 365

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Aras Innovator

  • Aras publishes no prices at all, so you cannot sanity-check a quote against a list price and every negotiation starts from the vendor knowing more than you do.
  • The platform ships as a toolkit rather than a configured process, so a first implementation is typically a six to twelve month engagement with an integrator, and services frequently cost more than the first two years of subscription.
  • The Community Edition is capped at 50 named users, gets only annual releases and excludes Aras-performed upgrades, so it is a genuine free tier but a deliberately awkward place to stay.
  • Configuration flexibility invites over-customisation; organisations that model every local exception end up with a system only two internal people understand, which is the same trap they left their previous PLM to escape.
  • CAD connectors are not all equal in maturity, and some are excluded from the base subscription, so a shop standardised on a less common CAD tool should confirm connector scope in writing before signing.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Aras Innovator

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Up to 50 named users
    • Core product data platform
    • Yearly release cadence only
  • Subscription (Standard, self-hosted)$undefined/year
    • Named-user subscription
    • All applications included
    • Quarterly releases
  • Subscription (SaaS)$undefined/year
    • Aras-hosted and operated
    • All applications included
    • Quarterly releases

Which should you pick?

Choose Altium 365 if

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

Choose Aras Innovator if

  • You need model-based configuration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Cloud, Self-hosted.
  • You also want upgrades included.
Aras Innovator review

Questions people ask

Is Altium 365 or Aras Innovator better?
Neither clearly leads. Altium 365 starts at $1990/year and Aras Innovator at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Altium 365 or Aras Innovator?
Aras Innovator has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $1990/year for Altium 365 and Free for Aras Innovator.
Does Altium 365 or Aras Innovator run on more platforms?
Altium 365 runs on Web, Windows, Cloud, On-premise. Aras Innovator runs on Web, Windows, Cloud, Self-hosted.
Can I use Aras Innovator for free?
Yes. Aras Innovator has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Altium 365 starts at $1990/year.
What is Altium 365 best used for?
Altium 365 is most often used for a hardware startup where two engineers draw boards but eight people need to review them, avoiding eight cad seats, a team handing fabrication and assembly data to a contract manufacturer as a versioned release rather than a zip of gerbers, a company running board and enclosure design in parallel and needing bidirectional geometry exchange with mechanical cad, a buyer checking component lifecycle and availability against the live bom before a design is frozen. Of those, a hardware startup where two engineers draw boards but eight people need to review them, avoiding eight cad seats and a team handing fabrication and assembly data to a contract manufacturer as a versioned release rather than a zip of gerbers are not what Aras Innovator is typically brought in for.
What can Altium 365 do that Aras Innovator cannot?
Altium 365 covers Shared workspace, Managed components, Browser review, Unlimited workspace users. Aras Innovator covers Model-based configuration, Upgrades included, All applications in one subscription, CAD data management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Aras Innovator: Is Aras Innovator open source?

No. The source is not open. The Community Edition is free of licence fee for up to 50 named users under a revocable licence, which is not the same thing.

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.

Aras Innovator: Can I buy a perpetual licence?

No. Aras sells subscription only. If a perpetual PLM licence is a procurement requirement, Aras is out.

Altium 365: Who owns Altium now?

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

Aras Innovator: Do upgrades cost extra?

No, and that is the central commercial claim. Aras performs upgrades of subscriber environments, including customised ones, as part of the subscription.

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.

Aras Innovator: How many modules do I have to buy?

One subscription covers all applications. Some CAD connectors are the exception, so confirm yours is in scope.

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