Software Cadence Spectre License
Review of Cadence WMS Software: system overview, features, price and cost information. Get free demos and compare to similar programs.
I contacted the Cadence office as a PhD student and also a faculty member to inquiry their price for an academic license. After 8 emails back and forth I noticed that they are not willing to answer the simple question of how much we have to pay to get access to Cadence Virtuoso software. It surprised me a lot and I felt upset and stopped the email communication. I actually fully understand now why people tend to use pirated software instead of paying for it. I sincerely tried to pay for a license and could not even get a quoted price! Can someone explain here why do we have such secretive behavior? There is no price list on their website and even when you contact them they don't reveal it.
Cadence Spectre Manual
Very strange indeed. Update: To make this a better question and not a rant, I should tailor my question: What other options are available for IC Layout design when Cadence is not an option? Cadence does not make money with educational licenses, however they support universities because they often cooperate with the industry and train future engineers.
Cadence Spectre
Bin Wan
For commercial use license costs depend on the number of licenses you buy and of course can be negotiated. For academic use the license costs are very small and are more like a 'handling fee'. I live in Europe and the prices for academic software can be found. This should give you a rough idea what prices to expect. These academic prices are very low compared to commercial prices, therefore you need to make sure that they are only used for educational purposes. For example you have to keep track of the license usage, the people who have access to the software and keep record of this information for at least five years!
The 'University Software Program' is available in many locations, details can be found So, keep in mind that you are more an academic partner than a customer (unless you are willing to shell out a few 100k for a single seat license package) and give it another try.