Altium Designer New! Free Software Jun 2026
: This is a free, community-driven PCB design tool powered by the Altium engine. It is designed for the Open Source Hardware (OSHW) community. The catch is that your projects are publicly visible in the community gallery, making it ideal for makers but not for private commercial work.
Must be enrolled in a technical field (Engineering, CS) at an accredited college/university. altium designer free software
| Feature | Altium Designer (Paid) | CircuitMaker (Free) | KiCad (Free & Open Source) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | $3k+ | Free | Free | | Project Privacy | Private | Public Only | Private | | Learning Curve | Steep | Moderate | Steep (but improving) | | Library System | Cloud Vault | Community Hub | Local & Cloud | | Industry Standard | Yes | No | Growing rapidly | : This is a free, community-driven PCB design
Even if you cannot afford a license, you can become job-ready in Altium Designer using the student license or free educational content. Must be enrolled in a technical field (Engineering,
None of these are the full Altium Designer. But depending on your needs, one might be enough.