BoardRepo vs Altium 365 for sharing PCB designs
Short version: Altium 365 is the native cloud for a team that designs in Altium Designer, plus a free viewer and Personal Space for inspection and persistent sharing. BoardRepo keeps saved hardware source versions, available browser views and context for your own assistant together, alongside projects you continue in KiCad. Altium conversion is for inspection, not a substitute for Altium's native release workflow.
| Capability | Altium 365 | BoardRepo |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is built for | Teams designing in Altium Designer: the workspace is the cloud attached to that tool. A free standalone viewer serves anyone with a supported file. | Engineers keeping hardware source versions, assistant context and browser review together, with continuation in KiCad. Other project formats can be stored within upload limits. |
| What the designer needs | For a workspace, an Altium Designer author subscription. The standalone viewer needs nothing; a free Altium account adds a personal space that keeps uploads permanently. | A free account. Upload a zip, push from KiCad, or import a GitHub repository. |
| What the viewer needs | No Designer licence. A standalone-viewer link expires after 48 hours and, per Altium, may be indexed by search engines; personal-space and workspace shares persist. | No CAD install. Public viewing needs no account; Unlisted requires its complete sharing link, Password also needs a password, and Private requires authorized access. |
| Design tools | Altium Designer projects in the workspace. The standalone viewer also opens EAGLE, CircuitStudio and older-format KiCad files, plus Gerber and ODB++. | KiCad and Altium drawn in the browser; older KiCad, EAGLE and other formats stored, versioned and downloadable. |
| Schematic, PCB and 3D in the browser | Yes: schematic, PCB in 2D and 3D, and a BOM view. | Yes. Schematic sheets with cross-probing, PCB by layer, and an interactive 3D model for KiCad boards. Altium boards are converted for viewing; verify in Altium before a decision that costs money. |
| Bill of materials | Yes, with Octopart pricing in the viewer and supply-chain tooling in the workspace. | Extracted from the source, filterable and downloadable as CSV. Components are indexed and searchable across the public library. |
| Version history and compare | Built-in version control in the workspace, with a Project History and browser comparison of schematic, PCB, BOM and Gerber data between commits and releases. A personal-space upload is a snapshot without history. | Published source versions with downloads and restore; signed-in readers can compare compatible versions with available comparison data and board access. |
| Fabrication outputs | Released from Altium Designer into the workspace. A personal-space upload can also generate Gerber, assembly, PDF and STEP downloads. | Gerbers and drill files generated for KiCad boards. Not generated from a converted Altium board; the author's own outputs are listed and downloadable. |
| Public library and discovery | Not the purpose of the platform: shared viewer links can be indexed, but there is no browsable library. | Thousands of public boards, browsable by component, tag and license, with a markdown twin of every page for assistants and crawlers. |
| Your own AI assistant | Not covered here; see Altium's own documentation. | Ask on the board page, and an MCP server for reading board context. Separately approved save permission lets capable assistants create personal boards or add versions; organization context follows separately approved access and current board permissions. |
| Cost | The workspace comes with an Altium Designer subscription. The standalone viewer and a personal space are free. | Personal core features are free. Team organizations use custom pricing and setup through contact. |
When Altium 365 is the right answer
Altium 365's component management, release packaging, project history and comparisons support teams working in Altium Designer. Keep that native workflow when it fits the team. Reviewers do not all need an Altium Designer author licence. For a one-off look at an Altium, EAGLE or older-format KiCad file, the free standalone viewer is quick and asks nothing of either side.
Where BoardRepo fits
Altium's free Personal Space also gives a snapshot persistent storage and sharing. Choose BoardRepo when you want a project workspace alongside KiCad designs, your own connected assistant and a saved source history. Public and complete share links open the available views without an account; private boards require authorized access. The same workspace holds your current-format KiCad boards and your collaborators' designs from other tools, keeps a numbered history with a visual compare across uploads, sits in a public library when you want it found, and can be public, an unlisted link, password protected, or shared inside an organization you control. A personal space keeps a snapshot; BoardRepo keeps a source version history. Visual comparison requires supported formats and ready renders, as the comparison guide explains. Storing another EDA format does not guarantee rendered views.
The honest caveat is the conversion: BoardRepo converts an Altium project to draw it, keeps the original beside the converted copy, and does not generate fabrication outputs from the conversion. Read on BoardRepo, verify in Altium, order from the outputs you released.
Using both
Keep the design in 365 with the team, and publish the revisions that need a wider audience to BoardRepo: zip the project folder and upload it as a new version. The BoardRepo link stays the same while the versions behind it grow, so the manufacturer, the customer and the firmware team bookmark one address.
How to share an Altium project walks through the upload. See also the other comparisons.