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Research · head to head

Valispace vs Zoo

Valispace logo

Valispace

Research

Requirements and systems engineering for hardware teams, with published per-seat pricing

From
$999/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoo logo

Zoo

CAD

Cloud CAD with a scripting language and a geometry engine exposed as an API

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zoo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Valispace the three-seat minimum means a solo consultant or a two-person startup pays for a seat nobody uses, roughly 3,000 US dollars a year before anyone logs in.; Zoo the geometry engine runs entirely in Zoo's cloud and there is no offline mode, so an aircraft, a customer site with no guest wifi or an outage stops modelling work completely.
  • They diverge on capability: Valispace covers Live requirements, Zoo covers KCL scripting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Valispace and Zoo actually diverge.

Attributes where Valispace and Zoo differ
AttributeValispaceZoo
Starting price$999/yearFree
Pricing modelPer user per yearPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, On-premise, APIWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, API
CategoryResearchCAD

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 Valispace

  • Live requirements
  • Budgets and margins
  • Component tree
  • Verification and validation
  • Python API and Jupyter
  • ValiAssistant
  • SSO and MFA

Only in Zoo

  • KCL scripting
  • Design Studio
  • Design API
  • Zookeeper agent
  • Format conversion
  • Open source client

What people use each for

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

Valispace

  • A small satellite team keeping mass and power budgets live across a design cycle instead of rebuilding spreadsheets before each reviewnot Zoo
  • A drone manufacturer that needs requirement traceability for a certification authority but cannot justify an enterprise requirements databasenot Zoo
  • A university engineering department teaching systems engineering with real traceability under the flat education ratenot Zoo
  • An electronics-heavy hardware startup wanting requirements linked to the PCB design work happening in Altiumnot Zoo

Zoo

  • A hardware startup that wants part models reviewed in pull requests alongside firmwarenot Valispace
  • A software team generating thousands of parametric part variants programmatically rather than by handnot Valispace
  • A SaaS product that needs to render and convert customer CAD files without licensing a geometry kernelnot Valispace
  • An engineer who models occasional brackets and enclosures and does not want a four figure annual seatnot Valispace

Where each one falls short

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

Valispace

  • The three-seat minimum means a solo consultant or a two-person startup pays for a seat nobody uses, roughly 3,000 US dollars a year before anyone logs in.
  • Ownership has changed twice in two years, from independent to Altium to Renesas by way of the Altium acquisition, and the technology has been repackaged as the Altium Requirements Portal, so the standalone roadmap is genuinely uncertain.
  • It is not a certified DO-178C or ARP4754 toolchain component in the way established requirements databases are, so highly regulated aerospace programmes may still need a recognised tool alongside it.
  • The parametric model rewards teams who structure their data properly at the start; teams that import a flat requirement list get a slower version of a document tool and none of the budget automation.
  • Integration depth outside the Altium and Jira world is limited, so linking to an existing PLM or a CAD-driven mass properties source usually means writing against the Python API yourself.

Zoo

  • The geometry engine runs entirely in Zoo's cloud and there is no offline mode, so an aircraft, a customer site with no guest wifi or an outage stops modelling work completely.
  • STEP and SLDPRT import are still labelled experimental, which means the most common way of receiving a supplier or customer model is the least reliable path into the tool.
  • Drawing production, GD&T and tolerance annotation are far behind SolidWorks, Creo and NX, so most users still need a second package to release a manufacturing drawing.
  • Zookeeper is billed in reasoning minutes rather than per seat, so a team cannot forecast next month's bill from headcount the way it can with conventional CAD subscriptions.
  • The open source label applies only to the Design Studio client; the kernel that does the modelling is closed and hosted, so forking the repository does not give you a product you can run yourself.

Pricing, plan by plan

Valispace

$999/year
  • Valispace$999/year
    • Minimum three users
    • Requirements, components, V&V and analysis modules
    • ValiAssistant AI beta
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • On-premise deployment option
    • Staging servers with controlled update timing
    • Advanced support terms
  • Education$1000/year
    • Flat annual rate for an institution
    • Unlimited students and professors
    • Non-commercial projects only

Zoo

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Design Studio access
    • About 20 minutes of Zookeeper reasoning per month
    • Around $10 of API calls included
  • Plus$20/month
    • Roughly 400 Zookeeper minutes per month
    • Pay as you go beyond the allowance
    • Design Studio and API access
  • Pro$99/month
    • Unlimited Zookeeper reasoning
    • Higher API allowance
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose Valispace if

  • You need live requirements.
  • You work on Web, On-premise, API.
  • You also want budgets and margins.
Valispace review

Choose Zoo if

  • You need kcl scripting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, API.
  • You also want design studio.
Zoo review

Questions people ask

Is Valispace or Zoo better?
Neither clearly leads. Valispace starts at $999/year and Zoo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Valispace or Zoo?
Zoo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $999/year for Valispace and Free for Zoo.
Does Valispace or Zoo run on more platforms?
Valispace runs on Web, On-premise, API. Zoo runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, API.
Can I use Zoo for free?
Yes. Zoo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Valispace starts at $999/year.
What is Valispace best used for?
Valispace is most often used for a small satellite team keeping mass and power budgets live across a design cycle instead of rebuilding spreadsheets before each review, a drone manufacturer that needs requirement traceability for a certification authority but cannot justify an enterprise requirements database, a university engineering department teaching systems engineering with real traceability under the flat education rate, an electronics-heavy hardware startup wanting requirements linked to the pcb design work happening in altium. Of those, a small satellite team keeping mass and power budgets live across a design cycle instead of rebuilding spreadsheets before each review and a drone manufacturer that needs requirement traceability for a certification authority but cannot justify an enterprise requirements database are not what Zoo is typically brought in for.
What can Valispace do that Zoo cannot?
Valispace covers Live requirements, Budgets and margins, Component tree, Verification and validation. Zoo covers KCL scripting, Design Studio, Design API, Zookeeper agent.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Valispace: Who owns Valispace?

Altium acquired it in December 2023, and Renesas Electronics acquired Altium in 2024. It is therefore a Renesas-owned product, despite frequent reports elsewhere linking it to defence groups.

Zoo: Is Zoo the same company as KittyCAD?

Yes. KittyCAD renamed itself Zoo; the GitHub organisation is still KittyCAD and the scripting language KCL keeps the old initials.

Valispace: Is it the same thing as the Altium Requirements Portal?

They share a lineage. Requirements Portal is the Altium 365 packaging of Valispace technology. The standalone Valispace product is still sold with its own pricing.

Zoo: Can I use Zoo without an internet connection?

No. The geometry engine is a cloud service, so Design Studio needs a live connection to model anything.

Valispace: What does it actually cost?

999 US dollars per user per year with a minimum of three users, billed annually. Enterprise with on-premise deployment is quoted separately.

Zoo: Is Design Studio free?

There is a genuine free tier with a small monthly allowance of AI reasoning and API calls. Paid plans start at $20 per month.

Valispace: Can it replace a requirements database like DOORS?

For small and mid-sized hardware programmes, often yes. For programmes with contractual tool mandates, no.

Zoo: Can I replace SolidWorks with Zoo?

Not for drawing release, large assemblies or GD&T. Teams typically use Zoo for programmatic part generation and keep an established package for production documentation.

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