Altium Develop vs Alibre Design

AutoCAD

SolidWorks Premium

Inventor

DraftSight

Civil 3D

PaleBlue

Compare Altium Develop and Alibre Design based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2026.

PaleBlue is a cloud-based solution which helps businesses of all sizes manage training processes and streamline workflows using augmented, virtual reality and 3D simulations, enabling users to import 3D models from multiple computer-aided design (CAD) sources to automatically optimize designs.

DraftSight is a 2D CAD drafting and 3D design software for architects, designers, engineers, and builders. The platform allows users to create construction documents, scale drawings, and generate technical illustrations faster. 


Civil 3D is an on-premise engineering CAD software designed to help businesses with surface modeling, construction documentation, and plan production. Managers can create triangulated irregular network (TIN) surfaces, display point cloud data, and create dynamic surfaces.

Altium Develop is a collaborative environment that unifies every stage of electronic product creation, seamlessly connecting requirements, design, supply chain, and manufacturing to streamline workflows, enhance visibility, and accelerate innovation.

2D Drawing

3D Imaging

Access Controls/Permissions

Bills of Material

CAD Tools

Change Management

Collaboration Tools

Compliance Management

Configuration Management

Content Library

Customizable Fields

Data Capture and Transfer

Data Import/Export

Data Visualization

Design Analysis

Design Management

Document Generation

Document Management

Electrical

File Management

Manufacturing Design Data

Mechanical

Mechatronics

Process Control

Project Management

Project Templates

Version Control

Altium Develop

Web-based

Windows

Chief Engineer

Nothing is as unstable and poorly implemented in my opinion as Altium. The fact that they charge so much for it just adds to the insult.

Design engineer 

One of the best tool which is available for the easy of use and good customer support.

PCB Librarian

I work as a librarian and this program is one of my favorite. It's easy to use and the 3d feature is very nice.

Student

I really like the ability to make files of the PCB to send online PCB manufacturing service. Altium supports 3D view and we can clearly see how to fit PCB on my CAD design.

Emmbedded hardware engineer

Simulation tools are really good and natural to use. Altium also have a big community and lots of online resources to solve all issues that you could have.

engineer

The worst thing about Altium Designer software is its high cost compared to some other similar products in the market.

I think it is the best software package available for PCB design. Highly recommend if it's within budget.

I enjoy the ease of use of the features, especially in the drawing schematics.

All the features i need is integrated in the same software which make my work easier. Easy to do nice looking designs.

The routing tools and placement during layout are very, very good.

Electrical Engineer

They're not the first company to have this problem.

Electronic Engineering Undergraduate

As an Electronics Engineering undergraduate, overall design experience with Altium Designer is great. I have used this software to develop many PCBs throughout my academic carrer.

Sr. PCB Design Engineer

Easy to manage licensing. Great tool to work anywhere.

Development Engineering Manager

The suite of products that you can buy beyond the standard schematic capture, layout, and routing, creates ala carte options that nickel and dime you to an annoying degree.

Field Applications Engineer

I would recommend it for both simple designs and also more complex multi layered board designs, it handles everything well and is also very easy to use.

Principal engineer

Ease of use and it’s very intuitive for the comers.

Research assistant

Great PCB designing tool with lot of features.

Easy integration with desktop application and online viewer.

Altium Develop screenshot: 3D View Editor in Altium Develop transforms the standard 2D PCB workspace into a fully interactive, three‑dimensional design environment. Users can toggle between 2D and 3D modes, then zoom, pan, and rotate the board freely.

Altium Develop screenshot: Project History in Altium Develop provides a browser-based, visually chronological timeline of a project's key events such as: creation, commits, releases, clones, and MCAD exchanges offering version control transparency directly within workspace.

Altium Develop screenshot: From schematic capture to PCB layout, routing, and assembly preparation, every step flows seamlessly in one platform. Smart placement and routing features make complex designs faster, easier, and more reliable.

Altium Develop screenshot: BOM Portal is a cloud-native, procurement-focused tool within Altium Develop that transforms traditional Excel-like Bill of Materials (BOM) workflows by integrating live supply chain, compliance, and pricing data.

Altium Develop screenshot: Workspace Projects provide a cloud-native, version-controlled hub within Altium Develop that simplifies electronic project management with centralized storage, collaboration, and built-in Git-based version control.

Altium Develop screenshot: The Requirements Portal is a cloud-native, AI‑enhanced requirements engineering platform within Altium Develop that streamlines the definition, breakdown, and management of technical requirements.

Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Small Business

SolidWorks Premium is the leading 3D design solution in the industry. It seamlessly integrates powerful design tools-including industry-leading part, assembly, and drawing capabilities with built-in simulation, rendering, animation, product data management, and cost estimation. 

SolidWorks will help you get work done faster and easier than before, using innovative phases of product creation to achieve a more productive 3D design experience.

AutoCAD is a design and drafting platform which supports automated design tasks and offers features such as 2D drafting, drawing and annotation, 3D modeling and visualization, and more.

Inventor is a Windows-based 3D CAD software that assists in 3D modelling through mechanical design, documentation, and product simulation tools. Professionals can create custom design configurations and automate repetitive tasks.

Alibre Design is a computer-aided design (CAD) solution designed to help businesses streamline 3D modeling, scripting, rendering, surfacing, 2D documentation, and publication operations. The application allows mechanical engineers to create manufacturing drawings and 3D designs for product development.

3D Design & Modeling

Animation

Annotations

Bill of Materials Management

Component Library

Customizable Templates

Data Synchronization

For 3D Printing

For Manufacturers

Modeling & Simulation

Multiple Format Support

Product Data Management

Projections

Real-Time Updates

Reference Management

Reporting/Analytics

Sketching and Annotation Tools

Third-Party Integrations

Alibre Design

Senior Instructor

The price point is good. The features are very good, assemblies are seamless and fluid.

Mechatronics Instructor

Even though I teach SolidWorks to students, I pitch this software to them when they graduate because it is affordable, effective, the support is top notch with same day(sometimes hour) response.

Owner

Alibre's customer service has also been consistently very good, every question receives careful attention and an immediate helpful response.

I bought Alibre in 2010 and found that it was easy to use and the cost was perfect for me at the time. I liked that at the time it came with many features.

Engineer

I really like the ability to not only create individual parts, but to have the assembly capabilities.

Construction Manager

It is a great product been using it for years. Very functional and powerful.

Engineering director

Lack of structural threads is a massive issues to be able to print on a printer directly. Lack of support for 5 axis cnc generation.

We build custom camera/laser inspection systems for manufacturers to do quality control. It has worked great for our needs so far.

President

Lack of ability to produce models of boat hulls and project a flat pattern for hell shapes.

Another awesome feature is the sheet metal parts that can be created with Alibre. Then there is also the paper space mode where I am able to create detailed drawings for ordering or customer requests.

Product Design Engineer

The user interface is very user-friendly and also easy on the eyes. Also moving from a 3D workspace to 2D drawing is pretty seamless.

The software is full-featured and easy to use. The purchase cost is very affordable for a small business or individual and the software maintenance is minimal.

Ease of use ability to export data for machining.

Unknown

Then an update arrived and ruined the experience. I wrote to rep was on my case almost immediately.

Product Engineer

A couple of times over the years, I've had to completely scrap a design are restart when the software would crash repeatedly.

Manufacturing Engineer

There is a metal simulation portion of the software that is very useful for bending and shaping metal components with decent realism.

Managing Partner

Also helpful during this process was Alibre's customer support team. They were easy to get hold of, and were able to work with us when we got stuck along the way.

In future  I would like to integrate with CAM software, as well as FEM software in future.

Altium Develop vs Alibre Design Comparison (2026)

Altium Develop

Alibre Design

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives