Altium Designer is a professional environment for designing electronics. Engineers draw circuit schematics, lay out the physical board with components and traces, check the design against rules for manufacturing and signal integrity, and generate the files that fabricators need. It supports complex, high-speed, and multi-layer boards used in consumer devices, medical equipment, aerospace, and automotive electronics.
Collaboration and cloud tools extend the desktop product. Altium 365 provides a platform for sharing designs, managing components, and reviewing changes with teammates and manufacturers, and integrations with mechanical CAD allow electrical and mechanical engineers to work together. Component libraries and supply chain data help pick parts that are available. Newer features bring in AI-assisted capabilities, such as automating parts of layout or helping with design checks.
Altium Designer is sold by subscription at a significant price, and there are lower-cost options for smaller teams. The learning curve is steep, and projects need careful library management. KiCad is a free open-source alternative that has grown considerably, Autodesk Eagle and Fusion Electronics are used by smaller teams, and Cadence Allegro and Siemens Xpedition serve large companies. Altium suits professional hardware teams.