Altium Designer vs. SketchUp

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Altium Designer
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Altium Designer is PCB design software for a variety of industries.
$355
per month per seat
SketchUp
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
SketchUp is 3D modeling software with an emphasis on usability. SketchUp is a Trimble product.
$119
per year
Pricing
Altium DesignerSketchUp
Editions & Modules
Monthly
$355
per month per seat
Single Payment
$4,235
one-time fee per seat
Free
$0.00
per year
For Schools (free with G Suite or Microsoft education account)
$0
For Students
$55.00
per year
For Educators
$55.00
per year
Studio for Students / Educators (Desktop version)
$55
per year
Shop
$119.00
per year
Pro
$299.00
per year
Professional
$299.00
per year
Studio (Windows only)
$699
per year
Studio
$1199.00
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Altium DesignerSketchUp
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAltium Designer® term-based licensing allows use of the licensed software for a specified period, for example, a 12-month term. Term-based licenses include a Standard subscription for the latest Altium Designer, and Altium 365®. Additional features and license options will affect price.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Altium DesignerSketchUp
Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Altium DesignerSketchUp
Small Businesses
SOLIDWORKS
SOLIDWORKS
Score 8.1 out of 10
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya
Score 7.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
SOLIDWORKS
SOLIDWORKS
Score 8.1 out of 10
Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises

No answers on this topic

Rhino
Rhino
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Altium DesignerSketchUp
Likelihood to Recommend
7.5
(14 ratings)
7.8
(46 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.4
(2 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
6.4
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
6.4
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
2.7
(1 ratings)
8.5
(14 ratings)
Implementation Rating
2.7
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
2.7
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Altium DesignerSketchUp
Likelihood to Recommend
Altium
It is possible to draw excellent-looking schematic diagrams in any personal style and transfer these to the PCB editor without problems. The library editors are quite easy to use, and as there are many available STEP models for the majority of components, 3D views are also easy to generate. The built-in 3D editor is, however fairly limited and even when fully mastered can only produce rudimentary images.
Read full review
Trimble
Real estate is not really the most likely use for Sketchup, since it has so many choices and possibilities. But, it is an innovative way to differentiate yourself from the competition. The program is very well-suited to the myopic seller or buyer who can't visualize future changes and their effect on value.
Read full review
Pros
Altium
  • Incredible integration between teams. I love using Altium 365 and how I can view, edit, and comment on my team members designs. It is an incredible platform and makes collaborations very easy.
  • Makes it easy to move between different projects, either local or public. I love how I can move between the PCB and schematics of different projects with no downtime.
  • The UI is clean and works well once someone has learned how to use it. Everything makes sense and the integrated shortcuts make it particularly simple and nice to work with.
  • I really love how I can search for any part in Altium Designer. I can source any part and place it exactly onto my PCB, allowing me to use the 3D model feature to see precisely what my designs will look like in real life.
Read full review
Trimble
  • Quickly exploring solutions in 3D: We get a lot of "what if" and "what would that look like" questions. While hand-sketching and hand-drafting can be fairly quick, SketchUp allows me to quickly create 3D and 2D views of a detail or solution, change dimensions and materials in a flash, and show a client or installer the plan in minutes.
  • Creating professional design documents in LayOut: Projects of any scale need good documentation. Using a combination of SketchUp and LayOut, I can create a Design Intent Set, plans for permitting, a set for mechanical trades to mark-up, etc. Having clear, appropriately-scaled drawings with dimensions or notations is a must, and we don't always have the time or budget to get an architect involved!
  • Using live files to guide discussions: Not all clients are "visual" people, so opening their model and orbiting around their space in real time has been extremely helpful. Clients and trades enjoy the perspective views so much that we often include them in the full-sized drawing sets to give a good "overall" view of the project intent. For complex or tight spaces, sometimes un-rendered plans and elevations just aren't enough!
Read full review
Cons
Altium
  • Schematic design has many problems with schematic design GUI
  • Libraries are excessively complex, particularly for low use count
  • Reduction in usability over time. I have been using for 20 years, and like it less and less overtime
  • In my opinion, seemingly continuing efforts to push users to use Altium's cloud features is obnoxious
  • In my opinion, poor menu implementation is frustrating, such as menu items not being in alphabetical order
  • Ongoing stabilities issues
  • Seeming focus on fancy features vs. core functionality
  • In my opinion, lack of online support for simple issues is frustrating
Read full review
Trimble
  • Ability to import Revit files and libraries.
  • Ability to export true curved vector linework. There are some workarounds, needs to be refined.
  • Create an OPEN MAPS connection. Since the split from Google, the source for high-quality aerials is limited.
  • Ability to dock all menus to the master window on a Mac
  • Ability to develop dockable menu trays on a Mac
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Altium
ALTIUM DESIGNER is the reference tool in the electronic circuit design sector, its use is widespread worldwide. Although there are other alternatives, some of them free do not rival ALTIUM DESIGNER in terms of features and reliability. It is also very practical to request quotes with ALTIUM DESIGNER BOM reports since all suppliers are accustomed to using the tool.
Read full review
Trimble
We typically wait a few years in between renewing, as even older versions are powerful tools for modeling, and we make sure the amount of feature changes are worth the re-investment.
Read full review
Usability
Altium
Altium Designer is, by far, the easiest to use ECAD program in existence - and we’ve used a lot (OrCAD, PADS, Xpedition, EAGLE, etc.). Altium Designer has a very intuitive user interface and easy to understand and navigate. Even our project management team, who may not have technical backgrounds, can use Altium Viewer for the purposes of reviewing and handoff to our customers.
Read full review
Trimble
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
Altium
Not very stable. Sudden lack of functionality when the license expires is not indicated clearly and can lead to loss of work.
Read full review
Trimble
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Altium
It is very difficult to find answers to basic functions.
Read full review
Trimble
Sketchup is so intuitive; I can't recall ever looking for official support. However, there are many user forums online that can answer more questions. The usefulness of the online forums is, however, tempered by the fact that there have been many versions of the software under different ownership and support regimes, and thus finding the right information for the right version of the software can be a challenge.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Altium
Overly complex, not designed for small organizations, core functionality poorly implemented to focus on flashy features.
Read full review
Trimble
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Altium
It is certainly easier to get designs up and running with great support and constant software updates. The ability to work with or without the cloud is a great feature. The only downside to Altium Designer is that it does have a cost to it that is not cheap. Overall I think it is worth the investment.
Read full review
Trimble
It's great to give the customer an overview of how a project will look, but it will never replace the information that a blueprint or engineering drawing can convey. SketchUp is great for the casual user or someone who is just getting started in design work. Other high powered software, such as Solidworks or Inventor is more suited for 3D modeling on a regular basis
Read full review
Scalability
Altium
Because, in my opinion, usage for small organization is poor, it is difficult to set up initial configuration to support scaling.
Read full review
Trimble
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Altium
  • Without a doubt, Altium Designer is a highly productive tool, which serves our company very well.
  • We find the pricing structure at Altium Designer to be abhorrent. We are continually sent reminders telling us about price increases on an already expensive product. When looking at the markets, it can be seen that Altium is already an extremely wealthy company. We "only" have 3 licenses, and if we wish to retain a subscription, we must pay for three, at a cost of around 3,000 dollars each, just receive small updates and faster (in theory, but not always in practice) support.
  • Altium has stopped offering upgrades. If we have purchased an older version (we have 2 licenses for earlier versions), Altium will not let us upgrade these for a reduced price but only sell new licenses. This practice was only introduced by Altium a few years ago, and we believe this to be a sign of an unethical company that is mainly interested in revenue and not the customer's pocket.
Read full review
Trimble
  • SketchUp has definitely had a positive impact on the customer experience with our company. The model can be generated to give the owner a good idea of the final product before actually committing the resources to complete the project.
  • Having simple models created before the work gets started in the field means that issues with elevations or odd angles can be ironed out beforehand and solved with the design team. This has greatly reduced the rework on our more complex self-perform concrete structures!
Read full review
ScreenShots

Altium Designer Screenshots

Screenshot of 3D Collision - Altium Designer's 3D PCB editor offers the ability to perform 3D collision testing as well as catching general component-to-component collisions. The user can position one component under another, or test if the loaded board fits correctly into the enclosure.Screenshot of ActiveBOM - A Bill of Materials management editor that brings BOM management tools together with Altium Designer's part information aggregation technologies, helping to manage the component selection challenge.Screenshot of PCB Layout - Altium Designer presents a unified data model to make circuit board design and layout easier. The user can design schematics, use schematic capture to create a new PCB, route printed circuit traces, and prepare for PCB assembly in the program. The PCB layout design features also make component placement and routing easier.Screenshot of Schematic with Properties Panel - The Interactive Properties panel for schematics includes several functional improvements as well as productivity enhancements. The layout focuses on efficiency, icons and graphical previews have been improved over previous versions, and there is now a smart parameters filter both for schematic lists and components.Screenshot of Routing Differential Pairs - Differential pair PCB routing is a design technique employed to create a balanced transmission system able to carry differential (equal and opposite) signals across a printed circuit board. Typically this differential routing will interface to an external differential transmission system, such as a connector and cable. Altium Designer ensures that differential pairs are coupled together whether entering or leaving a pad or just navigating around obstacles on a board.Screenshot of Cross Probe - Cross-probing allows users to jump between and select objects in both the logical schematic and physical layout domains.