Altium Develop vs Creo

SolidWorks Premium

Inventor

CATIA

DraftSight

Civil 3D

PaleBlue

Compare Altium Develop and Creo 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.

CATIA is a cloud-based and on-premise product modeling software, which helps businesses in various industries, such as architecture, aviation, transportation & construction, design, build, and visualize 3D models. Features include team collaboration, simulation, and real-time concurrent designing.

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.

Creo is an engineering CAD software that helps businesses optimize the entire product lifecycle using augmented reality, real-time simulation, additive manufacturing, and generative designing methodologies from within a unified platform.

3D Design & Modeling

Animation

Annotations

Bill of Materials Management

Component Library

Cost Tracking

For 3D Printing

For Architects

For Manufacturers

Modeling & Simulation

Presentation Tools

Reference Management

Reporting/Analytics

Requirements Management

Sketching and Annotation Tools

Supplier Management

Third-Party Integrations

Creo

Controls Engineer

Creo and Windchill allow us to design products with a great level of detail and sophistication with good revision control and change notice processes. It is very powerful once you get used to it.

Manager Technical Design

You have to do trainings to know what great functions this software has. Also, if you know all config options and mapkeys, you can work very quick and comfortable.

Photographer

I love to design parts seamlessly and its really clean. The STL export feature is also very handy.

Sr Engineer

It is a great program and they are ready to help when necessary.

Graduate Engineer

CREO is easy to use, friendly for beginners and the scalability of the software is very high and definitely worth for money.

Design Engineer

It helps me a lot as it has a lot of integrated features like EZ Tolerance Analysis, Creepage and Clearance Analysis, etc.

Graduate Research Assistant

It has some features, which help you to model some parts easier than the others. The drawing module looks good as well.

Sr. Engineer / Business Administrator for CAD/PLM

I also used Standard Rendering and I was able to produce a very effective images for product catalogs. I also used Mechanism and Simulation modules and they are quite capable.

Sometimes the options would get you confused as you work on because there's that much options present.

planning engg

Software user interface is old styled , its confusing to connect with the database , file size of generated model is high.

The best thing I found in this 3D Modeling software as compared to others is; the drawing options and interface is just amazing with respect to other but at the same time not much user friendly.

student

It is little bit difficult to learn because of its advancement.

I wish this software was better about telling you what's wrong in your design. Sometimes overlapping lines may not be something easily identifiable and will cause error when extruding.

Very robust mid-priced package let down by unintuitive quirks.

Director - Partner & Projects

Automation has limitation as it follows less programing /API integartions.

Mechanical Engineer

Plenty functions and easy to work with others, but hard to learn the software interface and hard to use it for curvature surfaces.

Altium Develop vs Creo Comparison (2026)

Altium Develop

Creo

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives