It is the full, unadulterated Altium Designer—the same engine used to design NVIDIA GPUs and Tesla battery management systems. You get full schematic capture, unlimited layer PCB layout (yes, 20+ layers), 3D MCAD integration, and advanced routing engines.
However, if you have even a vague dream of turning your project into a business, Designing a product for six months in the Maker License only to realize you cannot ship it without a massive software budget is a painful reality check. altium maker license
| Feature | Altium Maker | KiCad (Open Source) | Fusion 360 (Personal) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Free (Non-Commercial) | Free (Any use) | Free (Non-Commercial) | | Layer Limit | Unlimited | Unlimited | 2 Layers | | Board Size | Unlimited | Unlimited | Limited (80 sq cm) | | Learning Curve | Steep (Pro tool) | Moderate | Moderate | | Export Limits | None (Gerbers fine) | None | Pro-only exports? (Restrictions vary) | | Offline Use | No (Requires phone home) | Yes | Yes | It is the full, unadulterated Altium Designer—the same
It is a demo. It is not a watered-down "Lite" version with component limits. | Feature | Altium Maker | KiCad (Open
For years, the barrier to entry for professional PCB design software has been painfully high. For the solo hardware hacker, the startup founder bootstrapping in a garage, or the engineering student burning the midnight oil, a $3,000+ seat of Altium Designer has always been the "gold standard" just out of reach.
Enter . Promising free, unrestricted PCB design for the "maker" community, it sounds like a dream come true. But before you uninstall KiCad or cancel your Fusion 360 subscription, let’s dive deep into what the Altium Maker License actually is, what it includes, and—most importantly—where its hidden walls are. What Exactly is the Altium Maker License? Launched by Altium to combat the rise of open-source tools (and to capture the next generation of engineers before they enter the workforce), the Altium Maker License is a free, time-limited subscription tier.