They took out database library creation, which I wanted to use to make an integrated library. I want to stress how great the program is, even as a stripper Altium Designer. There is nothing on the market even close to the capability of CircuitStudio at this price point. Designer can open CircuitStudio PCB files, but they then get converted to Designer file format. CircuitStudio can open and change Designer schematics, but not Designer PCB files. Maintenance is $150 a year for continuing updates and access to the Vault. For $1000 you get a perpetual license and a year’s updates and access to the Altium Vault of library parts.

I figured I should share the precise user experience of you folks.įor occasional use, CircuitStudio is identical to Altium Designer, which costs over $5k. I didn’t ask for a freebie as a writer for EDN.

After a month of misery being a stubborn guy learning something new, I gave Newark, the exclusive distributor of CircuitStudio, $1000. It’s buggy, slow to load, crashes occasionally, and has a new and infuriating user interface. Last December I downloaded a trial of the Altium CircuitStudio circuit board CAD (computer-aided design) program.

Altium perpetual license cost