Company Overview
Altium Limited is an Australian software company headquartered in San Diego, California, specializing in electronic design automation (EDA). Founded in 1985 (originally as Protel International), Altium develops PCB design software used by electronic engineers worldwide for schematic capture, PCB layout, and manufacturing output generation.
Altium Designer is the company's flagship desktop product, known for its unified design environment and strong component management. Altium 365 extends the platform with cloud-based collaboration, design review, and supply-chain integration.
Product Ecosystem
- Altium Designer: Professional PCB design tool with schematic capture, multi-layer PCB routing, signal integrity analysis, and 3D visualization (with MCAD integration via STEP export).
- Altium 365: Cloud platform for design collaboration, version control, and component sourcing — connects Altium Designer to manufacturing and procurement workflows.
- CircuitMaker: Free community edition for makers and students, with shared project capabilities.
Products in our knowledge base (1)
Market Position & Strategy
Altium holds a strong position in the mid-to-professional PCB design market, competing with Cadence Allegro and Mentor Graphics (Siemens EDA) at a more accessible price point. The Altium 365 cloud platform extends the desktop tool with version control, design review, and supply-chain integration — a strategy that differentiates Altium from pure desktop EDA tools.
Altium Designer is widely used in electronics manufacturing companies that need professional schematic capture and PCB layout without the overhead of enterprise EDA suites. The unified environment (schematic + PCB + library management in one application) appeals to teams transitioning from entry-level tools like KiCad or Eagle. Users typically pair Altium Designer with MCAD tools (SolidWorks, Inventor) for mechanical-electronic co-design via STEP exports.
Learning Resources
Altium provides extensive learning resources through Altium Education, including free courses for students, the Altium Academy YouTube channel, and live webinars. The AltiumLive community forum is active for design questions and component library sharing.