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CAD · head to head

Altium 365 vs COMSOL Multiphysics

Altium 365 logo

Altium 365

CAD

Cloud workspace for Altium Designer PCB projects, now inside Renesas

From
$1990/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
COMSOL Multiphysics logo

COMSOL Multiphysics

CAD

Finite element simulation built around coupling physics, with add-on modules licensed separately

From
On request
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Develop entry price is capped at five authors in total, so a growing team hits a forced migration to Agile Teams with unpublished pricing exactly when headcount is rising.; COMSOL Multiphysics the base licence covers very little on its own and nearly every practical problem needs one or more add-on modules, each priced separately, so the quoted total is typically a multiple of the headline base figure.
  • They diverge on capability: Altium 365 covers Shared workspace, COMSOL Multiphysics covers Coupled multiphysics solving.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Altium 365 and COMSOL Multiphysics actually diverge.

Attributes where Altium 365 and COMSOL Multiphysics differ
AttributeAltium 365COMSOL Multiphysics
Starting price$1990/yearOn request
Pricing modelPer user per yearquote
PlatformsWeb, Windows, Cloud, On-premiseWindows, Linux, macOS

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 COMSOL Multiphysics

  • Coupled multiphysics solving
  • Equation-based modelling
  • Add-on module library
  • Application Builder
  • COMSOL Compiler and Server
  • CAD import and LiveLink
  • Parametric sweeps and optimisation
  • Cluster and cloud computing

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

COMSOL Multiphysics

  • Modelling a device where physics are strongly coupled, such as induction heating that changes material properties which change the fieldnot Altium 365
  • Research work needing custom partial differential equations that no packaged solver in a mainstream tool providesnot Altium 365
  • Packaging a validated model as an app so process engineers can run studies without learning the simulation toolnot Altium 365
  • A department wanting shared concurrent access via a Floating Network Licence, with cluster runs at no extra licence costnot 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.

COMSOL Multiphysics

  • The base licence covers very little on its own and nearly every practical problem needs one or more add-on modules, each priced separately, so the quoted total is typically a multiple of the headline base figure.
  • Perpetual licences renew maintenance at 20% of the then-current price each year, and because that percentage applies to the whole module stack the annual bill grows as your module list does and as list prices rise.
  • No pricing at all is published, so procurement cannot benchmark or budget without a sales engagement, and comparisons against Ansys or SolidWorks Simulation are effectively impossible before that point.
  • Named Single-User and CPU-locked licences do not share, so a team of six that bought individual licences ends up with idle seats while a Floating Network Licence would have covered them, and switching licence type is a commercial renegotiation.
  • Solving strongly coupled systems is memory hungry and slow, and models that look modest in the GUI routinely need tens of gigabytes of RAM, so hardware cost is a real and often underestimated part of adoption.

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

COMSOL Multiphysics

On request
  • COMSOL Multiphysics base licence$undefined/year
    • CPU-locked, Named Single-User or Floating Network licence types
    • Perpetual or term licensing
    • Perpetual includes updates and support for 12 months, then renews at 20% of current price
  • Academic licences$undefined/year
    • Class Kit Licence for up to 30 concurrent users per class
    • Academic Server Licence for up to 300 concurrent app users
    • Quote through the academic sales channel

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 COMSOL Multiphysics if

  • You need coupled multiphysics solving.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, macOS.
  • You also want equation-based modelling.
COMSOL Multiphysics review

Questions people ask

Is Altium 365 or COMSOL Multiphysics better?
Neither clearly leads. Altium 365 starts at $1990/year and COMSOL Multiphysics at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Altium 365 or COMSOL Multiphysics?
Altium 365 starts at $1990/year and COMSOL Multiphysics at On request.
Does Altium 365 or COMSOL Multiphysics run on more platforms?
Altium 365 runs on Web, Windows, Cloud, On-premise. COMSOL Multiphysics runs on Windows, Linux, macOS.
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 COMSOL Multiphysics is typically brought in for.
What can Altium 365 do that COMSOL Multiphysics cannot?
Altium 365 covers Shared workspace, Managed components, Browser review, Unlimited workspace users. COMSOL Multiphysics covers Coupled multiphysics solving, Equation-based modelling, Add-on module library, Application Builder.

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.

COMSOL Multiphysics: Does the base licence include CFD or structural mechanics?

Only limited capability. Serious CFD, structural, RF and acoustics work each require the relevant add-on module at extra cost.

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.

COMSOL Multiphysics: What does maintenance cost?

Perpetual licences include 12 months of updates and support, then renew at 20% of the then-current price per year.

Altium 365: Who owns Altium now?

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

COMSOL Multiphysics: Which licence type should a team buy?

Floating Network if more than a couple of people use it, since it shares concurrency and includes cluster and cloud computing at no extra charge.

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.

COMSOL Multiphysics: Is pricing published?

No. COMSOL publishes licence types but no prices; every purchase goes through a quote.

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