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CAD · head to head

Altium 365 vs OpenBOM

Altium 365 logo

Altium 365

CAD

Cloud workspace for Altium Designer PCB projects, now inside Renesas

From
$1990/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenBOM logo

OpenBOM

Manufacturing

Cloud bill of materials and part catalogue management priced per seat, with free read-only users

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only OpenBOM 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Develop entry price is capped at five authors in total, so a growing team hits a forced migration to Agile Teams with unpublished pricing exactly when headcount is rising.; OpenBOM pricing has three axes, editing seats plus data record count plus per-seat CAD add-ins at $25 to $45 each, so the real annual cost is well above the advertised per-seat figure.
  • They diverge on capability: Altium 365 covers Shared workspace, OpenBOM covers Multi-level BOMs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Altium 365 and OpenBOM actually diverge.

Attributes where Altium 365 and OpenBOM differ
AttributeAltium 365OpenBOM
Starting price$1990/yearFree
Pricing modelPer user per yearPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, Cloud, On-premiseWeb, Windows, macOS, API
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 OpenBOM

  • Multi-level BOMs
  • Part catalogue
  • CAD add-ins
  • Change management
  • Free read-only users
  • REST API

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 OpenBOM
  • A team handing fabrication and assembly data to a contract manufacturer as a versioned release rather than a zip of Gerbersnot OpenBOM
  • A company running board and enclosure design in parallel and needing bidirectional geometry exchange with mechanical CADnot OpenBOM
  • A buyer checking component lifecycle and availability against the live BOM before a design is frozennot OpenBOM

OpenBOM

  • A hardware startup replacing a shared BOM spreadsheet before its first contract manufacturing runnot Altium 365
  • A contract manufacturer sharing structured BOMs with customers who should see but not edit themnot Altium 365
  • An electronics team pulling BOMs straight out of Altium and mechanical CAD instead of retyping themnot Altium 365
  • A small manufacturer that needs part numbering and revision discipline but cannot fund a PLM projectnot 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.

OpenBOM

  • Pricing has three axes, editing seats plus data record count plus per-seat CAD add-ins at $25 to $45 each, so the real annual cost is well above the advertised per-seat figure.
  • Paying yearly nearly halves the seat price, from $55 to $30 and $165 to $90, so monthly billing carries an unusually heavy penalty for teams that want flexibility.
  • Change management, revision control and CAD file management are absent from the entry Team plan, so the cheapest tier is a catalogue rather than a working PLM.
  • It lacks the approval workflows, effectivity dating and audit depth that regulated medical and aerospace suppliers need, so companies pursuing ISO 13485 or AS9100 typically migrate away.
  • Record count is metered separately and a large imported part library can push a small team into a higher data tier without adding a single user.

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

OpenBOM

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 2,000 data records
    • Basic BOM and catalogue management
    • Non-commercial and educational use
  • Professional Team$55/month
    • $30 per seat per month billed yearly
    • BOM management, part catalogue, inventory
    • RFQ and purchase orders
  • Company$165/month
    • $90 per seat per month billed yearly
    • Everything in Team
    • CAD file management and revision control
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Single sign-on
    • Custom integrations
    • Private or custom hosting

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 OpenBOM if

  • You need multi-level boms.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, API.
  • You also want part catalogue.
OpenBOM review

Questions people ask

Is Altium 365 or OpenBOM better?
Neither clearly leads. Altium 365 starts at $1990/year and OpenBOM at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Altium 365 or OpenBOM?
OpenBOM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $1990/year for Altium 365 and Free for OpenBOM.
Does Altium 365 or OpenBOM run on more platforms?
Altium 365 runs on Web, Windows, Cloud, On-premise. OpenBOM runs on Web, Windows, macOS, API.
Can I use OpenBOM for free?
Yes. OpenBOM 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 OpenBOM is typically brought in for.
What can Altium 365 do that OpenBOM cannot?
Altium 365 covers Shared workspace, Managed components, Browser review, Unlimited workspace users. OpenBOM covers Multi-level BOMs, Part catalogue, CAD add-ins, Change 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.

OpenBOM: Is OpenBOM free?

There is a genuine free tier limited to 2,000 data records and aimed at non-commercial and educational use. Commercial teams start at $30 per seat per month billed yearly.

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.

OpenBOM: Do I pay for people who only look at BOMs?

No. Read-only users are unlimited and free on every paid plan, which is the main reason the total cost undercuts seat-for-seat PLM tools.

Altium 365: Who owns Altium now?

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

OpenBOM: Are the CAD add-ins included?

No. They are $25 per seat per month billed yearly, $45 monthly, and require an active Team or Company 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.

OpenBOM: Can OpenBOM replace a full PLM?

For a startup, usually yes. For regulated manufacturing needing controlled workflows and full audit trails, no.

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