Affordable license?

[nth_degree]

How can I get a modern copy of Altium for a reasonable price w/o cracking it? I’m not a student and $355 a month is unaffordable, and a 15 day trial won’t do especially if I have to go through the torture of using windows. Tell me there’s a way!

[Hawaka]

I am not sure there is a way. Altium is expensive no matter the licence, and since (I believe) they have stop selling infinite stand-alone licence there is no more good deal.

Do you have to use Altium?  If so, why isn’t it provide to you?

If not, I would definitively go with KiCad (and you don’t have to use Windows). I use both software and yes, Altium has some nicer features and option, but is it really worth what they are charging you? As long as you don’t plan to do some very complex PCB that you have to rely on a specific features, KiCad should cover it without a problem.

[Pseudobyte]

With the release of KiCAD 7 I was thinking of finally playing around with it for hobby projects. The big thing holding me back was the component management. In the latest KiCAD they now have database libraries which is super exciting.

[nth_degree]

Well I don’t want to invest my time learning a lesser tool and then have to switch. My board is an RF project and fairly complex. It just makes sense to use Altium from day 1. But it looks like I have to use cracked software from Russia(!?) because Altium can’t provide an affordable license. That’s so myopic of them. Surely they -want- users to get hooked on their CAD? Maybe Allegro. If I’m going to be naughty why not steal the most expensive product? But it’s sad because I’d much rather pay and be legit. BTW are there CADs especially for RF PCBs?

[thm_w]

How can I get a modern copy of Altium for a reasonable price w/o cracking it? I’m not a student and $355 a month is unaffordable, and a 15 day trial won’t do especially if I have to go through the torture of using windows. Tell me there’s a way!

You've already answered your own question. Either you get it for free or you don't get it at all, as its not affordable for a hobbyist.
There are also many people using Altium in Wine or vmware here.

Well I don’t want to invest my time learning a lesser tool and then have to switch. My board is an RF project and fairly complex. It just makes sense to use Altium from day 1. But it looks like I have to use cracked software from Russia(!?) because Altium can’t provide an affordable license. That’s so myopic of them. Surely they -want- users to get hooked on their CAD? Maybe Allegro. If I’m going to be naughty why not steal the most expensive product? But it’s sad because I’d much rather pay and be legit. BTW are there CADs especially for RF PCBs?

Now you are just whining.
https://www.cadence.com/ko_KR/home/solutions/rf-microwave-solutions/rf-pcb-design.html

[nth_degree]

Alright I suppose that’s true but if I make an open source design with a cracked CAD the watermark is coming back to bite me. Obviously they add one. But, yea ok I guess it’s like the old days when microsoft intentionally distributed pirated copies of windows to foster adoption in China. They must want us to. I guess

[Hawaka]

Well I don’t want to invest my time learning a lesser tool and then have to switch. My board is an RF project and fairly complex. It just makes sense to use Altium from day 1.

I don't think KiCad is a lesser tool. It is just different. Yes it is less advance, but you can customize about everything. Also it is evolving and getting sensibly better at each release. Altium has some dumb bugs or inconveniences since years and at each update I am more concern about the new bugs that it will bring rather than the new features. It will more rely on your experience level, on how much you need to depend on a specific feature for your design?

Surely they -want- users to get hooked on their CAD? Maybe Allegro. If I’m going to be naughty why not steal the most expensive product? But it’s sad because I’d much rather pay and be legit. BTW are there CADs especially for RF PCBs?

Altium already has a big market share on the enterprise level. DIY and stand-alone people are not really their concern from what I know. And as changing a CAD software is a hug hassle for a company, they know that loosing a customer is on the low side of the probability.

Most expensive doesn't mean the best. Last time I use Allegro in 2012 that software was like going back to the 2000… Anyway it is surely not the most expensive, try something more like Ansys PCB, Siemens EDA or CR-8000 (and I am probably missing some).

[thm_w]

Alright I suppose that’s true but if I make an open source design with a cracked CAD the watermark is coming back to bite me. Obviously they add one. But, yea ok I guess it’s like the old days when microsoft intentionally distributed pirated copies of windows to foster adoption in China. They must want us to. I guess

Main concern is to not allow internet access.
Previous thread: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/altium/sued-by-altium-dont-do-what-i-did!/

[Doctorandus_P]

I wonder how complex your design is. altium sure has more functions, but I don't now much about it because it's completely unaffordable for me. Even if it were affordable, I would not like to pay for it because of the atrocious way that company treats their customers.

And I agree that having to switch to another program does take time, but blindly choosing an expensive tool based solely on perception or reputation is also far from optimal. There should at least be some process to compare your needs with the capabilities of the software you are interested in. It would be a serious waste of money to buy altium, if it turns out that KiCad (or another lower cost tool) is adequate for your purposes.

Especially when you want to make an Open Source project, an Open Source tool Like KiCad has an extra advantage. And KiCad is quite capable. You can have a look at some projects made with KiCad on: https://www.kicad.org/made-with-kicad/

Alright I suppose that’s true but if I make an open source design with a cracked CAD the watermark is coming back to bite me.

As an intermediate solution, you can create a project in altium, and then import the schematic and PCB files made with altium into KiCad. KiCad has completely open and text based data formats, so there is no way to hide a watermark. An from what I remember from that "sued by altium" thread, altium "only" starts suing when it's being used for commercial projects.

I don't know your experience with EDA programs, or the complexity of PCB's you want to make, Therefore I also don't know if KiCad is be the right tool for you. Test driving a program is relatively easy. I made my first PCB in KiCad in the same afternoon that I started evaluating it. But then the "Getting started in KiCad" guide was excellent (but it was KiCad V3 or V4, a long time ago). Getting proficient and being able to use it quickly and efficiently takes a lot more time (maybe a month or so?) But that is not needed to get to know a program good enough for making a decision whether it suits your purposes. I think I tried 5 or more different EDA suites (and each for a day or so) before settling on KiCad.

For testing purposes, I recommend a schematic with about 10 to 20 symbols. A simpler schematic is not enough to get a real feel of a program, while a more complex schematic just takes more time to get though the whole design process. Starting with a known good schematic also helps. It skips the "design" step, so you can concentrate on how the software works. I advise to use the same schematic while testdriving different EDA suites, because this makes it fairer to compare those programs with each other.

[ataradov]

But it looks like I have to use cracked software from Russia(!?) because Altium can’t provide an affordable license.

There was a thread a few weeks ago from someone who was sued by Altuim for using improperly licensed version. And Altium won and OP had to pay a bunch of money.

Cracked software from Russia is relatively safe inside Russia because international law can't make it there. Altium will have no issues getting a hold of you in the US.

[wraper]

But it looks like I have to use cracked software from Russia(!?) because Altium can’t provide an affordable license.

There was a thread a few weeks ago from someone who was sued by Altuim for using improperly licensed version. And Altium won and OP had to pay a bunch of money.

Cracked software from Russia is relatively safe inside Russia because international law can't make it there. Altium will have no issues getting a hold of you in the US.

Altium didn't sue and win. Altium threatened and got a ransom.

[ataradov]

Altium didn't sue and win. Altium threatened and got a ransom.

Same result though. I'm not sure it worth the risk, especially given that free alternatives are available at a cost of a minor inconvenience of having to learn a new tool.

[voltsandjolts]

How can I get a modern copy of Altium for a reasonable price w/o cracking it? I’m not a student and $355 a month is unaffordable, and a 15 day trial won’t do especially if I have to go through the torture of using windows. Tell me there’s a way!

Get CircuitStudio from Altium instead, its about $500. I'll get flamed for suggesting that because it hasn't had an update in years, so it may be end of life. But it works, it has minor bugs but you can do quite complicated boards and it has the same design flow as Altium Designer. That makes you as a student - soon to be graduate - engineer more interesting to a company using Altium. You''ll be up to speed in no time on AD if you've used CircuitStudio.

Edit: Oops, I misread your post, you said your not a student. I missed the not.

[Doctorandus_P]

Get CircuitStudio from Altium instead, its about $500.

What a weird suggestion.
I had a short look, downloaded the "eval" installer, and it won't run on my Linux box ( OP apparently also finds windoze "torturous").

According to the website installing is a simple 3 step process, but they forget to mention reading the 15 page EULA. (Does anyone ever really do that?) On top of that, the installer seems to be some zipped format, and files inside that archive have not been updated after 2019-02-01, and most are from 2017.

[voltsandjolts]

Get CircuitStudio from Altium instead, its about $500.

What a weird suggestion.

What a weird response.
The OP was considering Altium Designer, I suggested CS as a much cheaper alternative that has a very similar work flow. What's weird about that?
And, yes, I did say it hadn't been updated for a long time. And good luck getting AD usable on WINE if that was OP intention (and yes, I am aware an old version has bronze status in WINE).

[jonpaul]

Have used and worked with firms that required Altium Designer for compatibility.

It is the ..gold standard in much of the industry, competitive to Mentor pADs
USA DCMA, and EU penalty for  software piracy can be more than a paid seat licence.
The cost is worthwhile for commercial or professional use.

The many free or DIY/ Consumer CAD make it unnecessary to Crack Altium. the cracked keys or SW have very deep Trojan, malware or viruses in the key, Crack website or code.

Beware

Have a great day!

Jon

[HighVoltage]

The many free or DIY/ Consumer CAD make it unnecessary to Crack Altium. the cracked keys or SW have very deep Trojan, malware or viruses in the key, Crack website or code.

Beware
Jon

That is possible but not necessarily true.

I know of even some larger companies that buy the official software license for all seats as needed but they use cracked keys instead, because they do not want to deal with stupid license server issues.

Especially when using different CAD software packages on one PC, it can be a nightmare, getting all licenses to work. Many times a cracked version is much easier to install and more compatible to other installed software and faster!

I am not sure how legal this is, when you have the paid version laying next to the PC on a shelf.

[jonpaul]

the recent versions of  Altium and other similar CAD, has  liscencing as subscription,charged as a seat ( one WS) per month or year.

the laws for (c), or DRM, generally preclude making, using selling any keys, cracking or circumvention of the DRM, cryptography, keys .regardless of the situation.

The use of telemetry by OS firms make illegal key discovery easy.

A VPN, firewall or tweaking the OS may solve.

Jon

[nctnico]

The many free or DIY/ Consumer CAD make it unnecessary to Crack Altium. the cracked keys or SW have very deep Trojan, malware or viruses in the key, Crack website or code.

Beware
Jon

That is possible but not necessarily true.

I know of even some larger companies that buy the official software license for all seats as needed but they use cracked keys instead, because they do not want to deal with stupid license server issues.

Especially when using different CAD software packages on one PC, it can be a nightmare, getting all licenses to work. Many times a cracked version is much easier to install and more compatible to other installed software and faster!

Indeed! Getting license servers to work in a larger company can be a fulltime job. It is far more efficient to use cracked versions. As long as the licenses are paid for, it is not a problem.

Malware, virusses, etc are just stories. There aren't enough people in the world using professional CAD software to make it worthwhile including a virus in a cracked package. It is like like going to the desert to rob someone.

[voltsandjolts]

Malware, virusses, etc are just stories. There aren't enough people in the world using professional CAD software to make it worthwhile including a virus in a cracked package. It is like like going to the desert to rob someone.

Hmm, I dunno. Relatively few users, yes. But potentially high value targets for industrial espionage. Stuxnet wasn't targeted at the masses.

[PlainName]

There aren't enough people in the world using professional CAD software to make it worthwhile

That would be true if the code needs modifying, but surely decent(!) malware is just a blob you drop in with little effort. Hell, say it's the key generator and it doesn't even need to be for the right product - once it's run you don't care that any output is irrelevant.

[nctnico]

Well, only an idiot would run a piece of software without checking for virusses & checking credentials.

[PlainName]

'Idiots' (who, but for the grace of God, etc) are exactly who they want to snare. Allegedly one reason many phishing emails aren't as convincing as they could be.

[Doctorandus_P]

As far as I now, altium has a yearly revenue of USD150M. And even with their prices that still amounts to a lot of paying customers, and probably 10 times as much who want to buy it but simply can't afford it. And then the trove of students and hobbyists who simply have no intention of paying for software at all.

It does remind me of the "Twilight" CD's from 20 to 30 years ago. They were a big thing in the Netherlands in an age from before the internet. At some point in time they started adding copy protection because their CD's got copied a lot.

[nctnico]

I don't know how the situation is now but 15 years ago I could easely find shops in Asia that had all the major software packages for sale for a few bucks.