Altium Develop vs ClearCalcs

DraftSight

Civil 3D

PaleBlue

LightningCad

cofaso

Civil Designer

Compare Altium Develop and ClearCalcs 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

cofaso provides complete documentation with all evaluations including cross-references, cable plans, wiring lists, PLC cross-references, terminal diagrams, terminal connection diagrams, device lists, part lists, manufacturer lists, bill of materials, purchase order lists, and panel layout design.

LightningCAD is an online user-guided design platform that is customized to your business. The sophistication of CAD and the simplicity of CPQ, LightningCAD solutions translate your business rules into a dynamic 2D/3D end to end design/configure solution that will help your business scale.

Civil Designer is an integrated software suite for civil engineering that combines modules for earthworks, roads, highways, stormwater, wastewater, and potable water supply design. The platform features a common interface across all modules, allowing engineers to maintain realistic design models while working in a single application. Civil Designer integrates with BIM workflows through IFC export capabilities, enabling collaboration with project stakeholders.

ClearCalcs is a cloud-based structural design and analysis platform, which helps businesses in the engineering sector create and verify design and computations for a range of elements such as beams, columns, retaining walls, concrete footings, and more.

Civil

ClearCalcs

Linux

President

It is a great tool to allow a small engineering firm to do projects that a large firm can't do cost effectively. With some more basic CAD capabilities it would be even better.

Structural Engineer

Occasionally I run into an error mainly with the truss and portal frame wizards. But that is probably because I am trying to do something crazy that is not standard.

Senior Engineer

Rep and the team have been amazingly helpful, any issues are resolved almost instantly, faster than any other commercial calculation software I have used and they actually care.

The software is that it is very robust and I can confidently design just about anything I need for my business.

Principal Engineer

Ease of use, great output and options. Great tech support and response.

Owner 

It is relatively easy to use. There are layers to the program that allow you to transfer over for footings from ridge beams headers, pretty helpful.

This software is affordable with great technical support.

I like how all the files are organized and saved to the browser interface. I am able to most everything I need to do for my small engineering firm.

Owner / Chief Engineer

This program is very easy to use. The printouts are very good.

Civil Engineer

The great aspec of ClearCalcs is how simple and easy it is to use it in order to compute structural analysis calculations.

The customer support is especially good as it seems any issues I have that arise are solved within only a couple of weeks.

I have yet to find another software out there with UI, output, and calculations that are even close to ClearCalcs. I am extremely happy to have found ClearCalcs for my structural calculations.

Director

The fact that it is web based and very much dependent on the speed of the internet connection is a real problem presently.

The features, user interface, and cost easily make ClearCalcs the best and most value for money option out there for structural engineering calcs.

Owner

The learning curb is steep and intimidating to someone who needs answers without taking a semester to figure things out.

Senior Structural Designer

Where and how to enter some data is at times unclear for first time users or beginners in utilizing the software.

Altium Develop vs ClearCalcs Comparison (2026)

Altium Develop

ClearCalcs

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives