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CAD · head to head

Altium 365 vs Carlson Software

Altium 365 logo

Altium 365

CAD

Cloud workspace for Altium Designer PCB projects, now inside Renesas

From
$1990/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Carlson Software logo

Carlson Software

CAD

Survey and civil design CAD sold as a perpetual licence with optional maintenance

From
$4450/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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Develop entry price is capped at five authors in total, so a growing team hits a forced migration to Agile Teams with unpublished pricing exactly when headcount is rising.; Carlson Software the perpetual licence is a larger upfront cost than a first-year subscription, which is harder to approve for a practice with tight cash flow even though it is cheaper over five years.
  • They diverge on capability: Altium 365 covers Shared workspace, Carlson Software covers Survey data reduction.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Altium 365 and Carlson Software actually diverge.

Attributes where Altium 365 and Carlson Software differ
AttributeAltium 365Carlson Software
Starting price$1990/year$4450/one-time
Pricing modelPer user per yearOne-time purchase
PlatformsWeb, Windows, Cloud, On-premiseWindows

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 Altium 365

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

Only in Carlson Software

  • Survey data reduction
  • Civil design
  • Hydrology
  • GIS module
  • Earthwork takeoff
  • IntelliCAD engine included
  • AutoCAD compatibility
  • SurvCE field software

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

Carlson Software

  • A small surveying practice that wants to stop paying an annual Civil 3D subscription and own its CAD outrightnot Altium 365
  • A firm running mixed instrument brands in the field that needs data collector software not tied to one manufacturernot Altium 365
  • A civil consultancy doing road, site grading and stormwater design without needing an enterprise BIM environmentnot Altium 365
  • A land development office that renews maintenance only in years when a release actually adds something it needsnot 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.

Carlson Software

  • The perpetual licence is a larger upfront cost than a first-year subscription, which is harder to approve for a practice with tight cash flow even though it is cheaper over five years.
  • It is Windows only, so a practice on macOS has to run virtualisation, and there is no browser or mobile design client.
  • Carlson is a smaller ecosystem than Autodesk, so hiring staff who already know it is harder and training time is a real cost when a new surveyor joins.
  • Skipping maintenance saves money but leaves you on an old release, and when a client eventually sends a file from a much newer version the compatibility gap becomes your problem to solve.
  • Pricing is largely sold through resellers with figures varying by dealer and region, so the published $4,450 Civil Suite price is a reference point rather than a firm quote.

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

Carlson Software

$4450/one-time
  • Civil Suite$4450/one-time
    • Survey, Civil, Hydrology and GIS modules
    • Perpetual licence
    • IntelliCAD engine included
  • Individual modules$undefined/one-time
    • Survey, Civil, Hydrology, GIS or Takeoff purchased separately
    • Perpetual licence
    • Pricing varies by module and reseller
  • Annual maintenance$undefined/year
    • Approximately 10 per cent of purchase price
    • Optional, software continues running without it
    • Provides version updates and support

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 Carlson Software if

  • You need survey data reduction.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want civil design.
Carlson Software review

Questions people ask

Is Altium 365 or Carlson Software better?
Neither clearly leads. Altium 365 starts at $1990/year and Carlson Software at $4450/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Altium 365 or Carlson Software?
Altium 365 starts at $1990/year and Carlson Software at $4450/one-time.
Does Altium 365 or Carlson Software run on more platforms?
Altium 365 runs on Web, Windows, Cloud, On-premise. Carlson Software runs on Windows.
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 Carlson Software is typically brought in for.
What can Altium 365 do that Carlson Software cannot?
Altium 365 covers Shared workspace, Managed components, Browser review, Unlimited workspace users. Carlson Software covers Survey data reduction, Civil design, Hydrology, GIS module.

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.

Carlson Software: Is Carlson a perpetual licence?

Yes. You buy it once and it keeps running. Annual maintenance at roughly ten per cent is optional and only affects updates and support.

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.

Carlson Software: Do I need AutoCAD as well?

No. An IntelliCAD engine is included. You can alternatively run Carlson on top of AutoCAD if your practice already licenses it.

Altium 365: Who owns Altium now?

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

Carlson Software: Does Carlson field software work with other brands of instrument?

Yes. SurvCE supports total stations and GNSS receivers from several manufacturers, which is one of the main reasons firms choose it.

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.

Carlson Software: What does the Civil Suite include?

Survey, Civil, Hydrology and GIS, listed at $4,450.

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