Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment gives a vendor more visibility, higher up on the review pages; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in PCB design software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 13 tools, reviewed
#1 DipTrace
Perpetual-license schematic and PCB layout suite · Ukraine · diptrace.com
Perpetual license Published prices Windows and macOS
DipTrace leads because a buyer can read its price and its limits on one page. Five editions run from Starter (300 pins, two signal layers) to Full (unlimited pins and signal layers), and plane layers are unlimited in all of them. Licenses are perpetual, updates within the 5.x line are included, and the vendor says support is free for every user.
- Pricing: One-time license. One-time licenses: Starter €65, Lite €135, Standard €365, Extended €645, Full €925, limited by pin count and signal layers. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Small teams wanting a fixed cost
- Strengths: Schematic capture; PCB layout; Component libraries.
Where it falls short
The caps bite. A board that outgrows 1000 pins or four signal layers forces an edition upgrade, and a move to a new major version costs 25% of the full price. The freeware edition is non-profit only.
Wrong for
A team that needs cloud review, role-based access to a shared part database or a central release workflow.
Visit DipTrace →
#2 Pulsonix
Schematic capture and PCB layout from a UK developer · United Kingdom · pulsonix.com
Rigid-flex support Distributor sales Spice simulation
Pulsonix is the choice for an engineering team that finds the big EDA suites too heavy but wants more than a maker tool. It comes from WestDev Ltd, a UK software company that says it was established in 1997, with a first release in 2001.
- Pricing: Quote only. No list price published; sold through worldwide distributors by quotation, with a free trial limited to 100 component pins. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Teams needing rigid-flex and a vault
- Strengths: Schematic capture; PCB layout; High-speed constraints.
Where it falls short
The price is hidden behind a quote and a regional distributor, so a startup cannot budget before a sales call.
Wrong for
A solo maker or a student who wants a price on the website.
Visit Pulsonix →
#3 KiCad
Open source schematic and PCB suite for professionals · Switzerland · kicad.org
GPL v3 Cross-platform SPICE simulation
KiCad earns third place because it gives a small company everything it needs for a fab-ready board and no bill. The about page says the suite handles schematic capture and PCB layout with Gerber and IPC-2581 output, runs on Windows, Linux and macOS, and is licensed under GNU GPL v3. The project says it puts professional users first when it sets priorities.
- Pricing: Free open source. Free; donations are accepted through the Linux Foundation, and the site lists professional support providers. Free plan: open source.
- Best for: Startups wanting no license fee
- Strengths: Schematic capture; PCB layout; 3D viewer.
Where it falls short
There is no vendor to call and no service-level agreement; help comes from forums, the community or third-party providers.
Wrong for
A company that needs a contractual support line, managed part data and approval workflows out of the box.
Visit KiCad →
#4 Altium Designer
Desktop PCB design with cloud workspace plans · United States · altium.com
Subscription Cloud workspace ECAD-MCAD
Altium Designer is the vendor with the broadest platform story in this list, which is why it opens the group of major vendors at fourth. The vendor now sells it as the engine inside three platforms: Altium Develop for engineers and small teams, Agile Teams, and Agile Enterprise.
- Pricing: Per author / year. Sold within subscriptions: Altium Develop includes one Designer author and one workspace, extra authors are $995 per year each up to five, and Agile Teams is the plan beyond that. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Teams of 2 to 30 designers
- Strengths: Schematic capture; Interactive routing; Multi-channel design.
Where it falls short
It is a subscription: stop paying and you lose access to the tool that reads your project files. The first-seat price rendered client-side on the pages we fetched, so we could not read it.
Wrong for
A solo maker or a company designing a handful of two-layer boards a year.
Visit Altium Designer →
#5 Flux
Browser-based PCB design with an AI assistant · United States · flux.ai
Browser-based AI assistant Team plans
Flux fits the team that wants no install and is willing to let an AI assistant draft part of the work. The pricing page lists an AI hardware engineer for guidance, project planning, simulation, placement and routing in each individual plan, along with schematic and layout. AI usage is metered in Agent Compute Units that replenish monthly, with optional pay-as-you-go top-ups.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Individual plans Explore, Build and Pro, a Teams plan priced per editor, and custom Enterprise. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Startups that work in a browser
- Strengths: Schematic and layout; AI hardware engineer; Simulation.
Where it falls short
After the trial, editing private projects, export and AI use all need a paid plan, so a lapsed subscription locks you out of private work. AI is metered, so cost depends on how much you use it.
Wrong for
A defense or medical team that needs designs kept on its own network, or anyone who wants a perpetual license.
Visit Flux →
#6 Proteus
PCB design combined with embedded circuit simulation · United Kingdom · labcenter.com
Perpetual license Embedded simulation UK vendor
Proteus makes sense when the board and the firmware are designed together. Labcenter combines schematic capture and PCB layout with VSM, which simulates microcontrollers and their peripherals inside the schematic before a prototype is ordered, plus an integrated IDE (VSM Studio). Version 9.2 adds HDI micro-via support, object grouping and an AI-assisted part creation tool.
- Pricing: One-time license. Perpetual licenses in Enterprise, Platinum and Custom packages; the price page renders client-side so figures were not readable, and a demo is available. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Embedded teams that simulate firmware
- Strengths: Schematic capture; PCB layout; VSM microcontroller simulation.
Where it falls short
It is a good simulator attached to a layout tool, and teams with complex high-speed boards may want deeper constraint management.
Wrong for
A team doing dense high-speed or rigid-flex work as its main job.
Visit Proteus →
#7 OrCAD X
Cadence's PCB design suite for mid-size teams · United States · orcad.com
Cadence Channel partners Free trial
OrCAD X is Cadence's offering for engineers who do not need the full Allegro enterprise line, and it is the choice when a company already has Cadence tools further up the chain. The vendor runs a dedicated site with a free-trial page.
- Pricing: Quote only. No public price found on the vendor pages we could read; sold by Cadence and its channel partners, with a free-trial page. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Teams already using Cadence tools
- Strengths: Schematic capture; PCB layout; Constraint management.
Where it falls short
Prices are not on the pages we could read, so a first quote arrives by email or call. Edition names and what each includes need to be confirmed with a reseller.
Wrong for
A buyer who needs prices to compare on a web page.
Visit OrCAD X →
#8 EasyEDA
Free browser PCB editor tied to JLCPCB ordering · Hong Kong · easyeda.com
Free plan Browser-based JLCPCB group
EasyEDA gives away its whole editor: the pricing page promises core features are free forever, including commercial use, with unlimited projects, libraries, teams and members, and both the Std and Pro editions.
- Pricing: Free + paid tier. Free plan with commercial use. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Makers ordering boards from JLCPCB
- Strengths: Standard and Pro editors; Desktop client; Private libraries (paid).
Where it falls short
Libraries are public unless you pay, and the free version shows ads inside the editor. The enterprise tier is marked coming soon on the page we read.
Wrong for
A company that keeps its libraries confidential and wants no tie to one fab house.
Visit EasyEDA →
#9 LibrePCB
Free open source PCB suite with clean files · Switzerland · librepcb.org
GPLv3 Version-control friendly CLI for CI
LibrePCB suits a team that treats hardware like software. Its files are described as human-readable and canonical, so they work in version control without unintended diffs, and librepcb-cli runs checks and exports headlessly in a CI pipeline. The library concept organizes parts by meaning rather than as a pile of graphics.
- Pricing: Free open source. Free, with no costs, restrictions or online account stated; commercial support on request and donations accepted. Free plan: open source.
- Best for: Makers and small teams using Git
- Strengths: Schematic editor; Board editor; Output jobs.
Where it falls short
Development leans on a small core: the project lead says he works full-time on LibrePCB and asks for donations to fund it, so long-term pace depends on that funding.
Wrong for
A team doing high-speed, rigid-flex or very dense boards with a vendor service contract.
Visit LibrePCB →
#10 Fusion Electronics
PCB design inside Autodesk's Fusion subscription · United States · autodesk.com
Autodesk Fusion EAGLE successor ECAD plus MCAD
Fusion Electronics matters mainly for teams that design enclosures in Fusion and want the board in the same project. Autodesk ended EAGLE on 7 June 2026 and tells its users to move here, and EAGLE files are described as fully compatible with the electronics workspace.
- Pricing: Per seat / year. Part of the Fusion subscription (annual or monthly). Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Teams already designing in Fusion
- Strengths: Schematic capture; PCB layout; Autorouter.
Where it falls short
The board tools are one workspace inside a general design product, not a dedicated EDA line. Prices were not readable on the vendor page we could fetch (it blocked automated access).
Wrong for
A team doing high-speed or multi-board systems with formal release control.
Visit Fusion Electronics →
#11 PADS Professional
Siemens PCB tools, steering new buyers to Xpedition · United States · eda.sw.siemens.com
Siemens Reseller sales Existing users
PADS Professional is a mature product that Siemens now frames as a path to something else. The PADS page lists four tiers, PADS Standard, Standard Plus, Professional and Professional Premium, and a table in which Xpedition Standard adds named-user licensing, AI-enabled workflow and 500GB of cloud storage.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote only through Siemens and resellers. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Existing PADS customers
- Strengths: Schematic and layout; Constraint management; Design version compare.
Where it falls short
The vendor tells teams evaluating new solutions to consider Xpedition Standard instead, so a new buyer sits on the product line being transitioned. Prices are not published, and licensing models changed with the move to named users.
Wrong for
A new team choosing its first tool.
Visit PADS Professional →
#12 Horizon EDA
Open source PCB tool built around a part pool · Germany · horizon-eda.org
GPL-3.0 Linux and Windows Part pool
Horizon EDA is a small, careful project built on the idea that part data should be managed in a pool that you maintain and share. Its site describes a streamlined schematic workflow, 3D preview and export of PCB layouts for manufacturing, built on what it calls a modern and legacy-free codebase.
- Pricing: Free open source. Free and open source; no paid tier is described on its site. Free plan: open source.
- Best for: Linux users who value part data
- Strengths: Part pool management; Schematic drawing; PCB layout.
Where it falls short
There is no macOS build mentioned on the site, and the community is smaller than KiCad's on the evidence of its repository. Support depends on volunteers.
Wrong for
A Mac-based team or a company needing contractual support.
Visit Horizon EDA →
#13 Zuken CR-8000
Enterprise PCB design from a Japanese EDA vendor · Japan · zuken.com
Enterprise EDA 3D PCB design Japanese vendor
Zuken is where a large hardware organization with several sites ends up. The company says it has served industrial organizations since 1976, with corporate headquarters in Yokohama, a European headquarters in Munich and a North American one in Westford, Massachusetts.
- Pricing: Quote only. No list price published; CR-8000 is sold on quote, and eCADSTAR has a buy-online option and a page comparing subscription with perpetual licenses. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Multi-site hardware departments
- Strengths: Advanced 3D PCB design; IC package design; Design data management (DS-CR).
Where it falls short
The platform is aimed at enterprises, so setup takes a sales cycle, training and often professional services. No list price is printed for CR-8000.
Wrong for
A small team or maker designing a few boards a year.
Visit Zuken CR-8000 →
Questions and answers
What is the best PCB design software in 2026?
DipTrace ranks first of 13, best for small teams wanting a fixed cost. Pulsonix is second (teams needing rigid-flex and a vault) and KiCad third (startups wanting no license fee). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
Is KiCad good enough for commercial products?
KiCad's own site states the project exists to serve professional electronics designers first, licenses the suite under GNU GPL v3, and lists Gerber and IPC-2581 output. Nothing in the license restricts boards you design from being sold.
What happened to Autodesk EAGLE?
Autodesk stopped selling and supporting EAGLE effective 7 June 2026 and tells users to move to Fusion Electronics. EAGLE files open in the Fusion electronics workspace.
How much does PCB design software cost?
The spread is wide. KiCad, LibrePCB and Horizon EDA cost nothing. DipTrace ranges from €65 to €925 as a one-time license. EasyEDA charges $19.9 per month, billed annually, for its paid tier.
Do I need a subscription, or is a perpetual license better?
A perpetual license such as DipTrace's or Proteus's lets you keep editing old boards if you stop paying, which matters for products with a ten-year life.
Which tool is best for a first board as a startup?
KiCad or DipTrace. Both run on Windows, Linux or macOS, handle multilayer boards, and export fab-ready files. DipTrace has the cleaner cost ceiling; KiCad has the larger user community and a package repository.
Can I use free PCB software to design boards for sale?
Check each license. KiCad, LibrePCB and Horizon EDA are open source under GPL terms. EasyEDA states that boards designed with it are available for commercial use even on the free plan.
Does PCB software include circuit simulation?
Several do. Proteus is built around simulation of microcontroller circuits, with VSM for embedded peripherals. KiCad lists SPICE simulation, PulsonixSim covers SPICE for Pulsonix, and PADS Standard includes PCB simulation in the Siemens lineup.
What is the difference between PADS and Xpedition?
Both come from Siemens. Siemens's PADS page now steers new teams toward Xpedition Standard, which it describes as the next-generation experience with named-user licensing, AI-enabled workflow and 500GB of cloud storage.
Is a browser-based PCB tool safe for confidential designs?
That depends on the vendor's terms and plan. Flux lists hidden workspaces and SOC 2-aligned cloud infrastructure on its Enterprise plan, and EasyEDA offers private libraries only to paid accounts plus on-premises hosting by quote.
When is an enterprise tool such as Zuken CR-8000 worth it?
When boards number in the hundreds, teams sit at several sites and library, constraint and release control must be central. Zuken sells CR-8000 for enterprise PCB and IC package design, plus data management products around it.
