PCB/EDA software list

[Lrv209]

Hello,
I just joined this blog and found your post and can advise the following:
EasyEDA also has a desktop version available for install on Win 10 machines at least.  I have it on my Win10 PC
Autodesk Eagle has now been rolled into Autodesk Fusion360 and is accessed from the Fusion360 GUI.  I believe Eagle is still available as a standalone but expect it will eventually become unavailable as Fusion is Autodesk's preferred application.
Hope this helps and great list by the way.

[www.MKRD.info]

Hi all,
I was looking for PCB software to test and eventually use. This is the list of suppliers I ended up with. Please add what's missing and correct mistakes.


Free/Open source
CircuitMaker (Altium) - http://www.circuitmaker.com/
DesignSpark (RS comp) - http://www.designspark.com/
EasyEDA - http://easyEDA.com/editor (web based)
FreePCB - http://www.freepcb.com/
Fritzing - http://fritzing.org/
gEDA - http://www.geda-project.org/
KiCAD - http://kicad.org/
Minimal Board Editor - http://www.suigyodo.com/online/e/index.htm (English, Japanese)
Open Circuit Design - http://opencircuitdesign.com/
Orcad DOS (old) - http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/OldDosOrcad/
OrCAD Lite (Cadence) - http://www.orcad.com/products/orcad-lite-overview
PCB Elegance - http://www.pcbelegance.com/
PCBWeb Designer - http://www.pcbweb.com/ (Windows only)
Protel (Altium) AutoTrax/EasyTrax (DOS Based) - http://www.altium.com/community/downloads/en/downloads_home.cfm
TCI - http://b.urbani.free.fr/ (French)
ZenitPCB - http://www.zenitpcb.com/Index.html

Limited free version
CADint - http://www.cadint.se/p_free.asp
Cadstar Express (Zuken) - http://www.zuken.com/products/cadstar/downloads/express.aspx
CometCAD - http://www.cometcad.com/
DipTrace - http://www.diptrace.com/
Eagle (Autodesk) - http://www.autodesk.com/products/eagle/overview
Layo1 PCB - http://www.baas.nl/layo1pcb/uk/downloads.htm
McCAD - http://www.mccad.com/index.html
OrCad (Cadence) - http://www.orcad.com
Osmond PCB - http://www.osmondpcb.com/index.html (Only PCB)
TopoR - http://eda.eremex.com/
WinQcad - http://www.winqcad.com/

Commercial
Allegro (Cadence) - http://www.cadence.com/products/pcb/Pages/default.aspx
Altium - http://www.altium.com/
Ariadne - http://www.cad-ul.de/ariadne-eda.html (German)
AutoTRAX DEX 2020 - http://www.dex2020.com, https://kov.com/
Bartels AutoEngineer - http://www.bartels.de/bae/bae_en.htm (English, German)
BoardMaker3 - http://www.tsien.info/index.php#
Board Station (Mentor) - http://www.mentor.com/products/pcb-system-design/design-flows/boardstation/
CADint - http://www.cadint.se/products.asp
Cadstar (Zuken) - http://www.zuken.com/products/cadstar
CIRCAD - http://www.holophase.com/index.html
CircuitCREATOR - http://www.circuitcreator.com/creator/index.htm
Circuit Studio (Altium) - http://www.circuitstudio.com/
Circuit Wizard, PCB wizard - http://www.new-wave-concepts.com/products.html
CometCAD - http://www.cometcad.com/
CSiEDA - http://www.csieda.co.jp/en/csieda/ (Japanese, English)
DipTrace - http://www.diptrace.com/
Douglas CAD/CAM - http://www.douglas.com/software/pro/prolayout.html
Dreamcad - http://www13.ocn.ne.jp/~dreamnet/ (Japanese)
Eagle (Autodesk) - http://www.autodesk.com/products/eagle/overview
Easy-PC - http://www.numberone.com/easypc.asp
EDWinXP - http://www.visionics.a.se/index.html
Expedition Enterprise (Mentor) - http://www.mentor.com/products/pcb-system-design/design-flows/expedition-enterprise/
ICADPCB (Fujitsu) - http://www.fujitsu.com/my/services/software/business/icad_thirdpage.html
Layo1 PCB - http://www.baas.nl/layo1pcb/uk/index.html
McCAD - http://www.mccad.com/index.html
OrCAD (Cadence) - http://www.orcad.com/
Osmond PCB - http://www.osmondpcb.com/index.html (Only PCB)
Pads (Mentor) - http://www.mentor.com/products/pcb-system-design/design-flows/pads/
Pantheon PCB software (Intercept) - http://www.intercept.com/products/pantheon-pcb-design
PollEx PCB/Polliwog - http://www.polliwogeda.com/xe_new/
Proteus PCB Design - http://www.labcenter.com/products/pcb_overview.cfm
Pulsonix - http://pulsonix.com/index.asp
Quadcept - https://www.quadcept.com/en/index.html
Rimu Schematics/PCB - http://www.hutson.co.nz/
Scooter PCB - http://www.scooter-pcb.de/scooter-pcb/index.html (German)
Sprint-Layout - http://www.abacom-online.de/uk/html/sprint-layout.html
SuperCAD/SuperPCB - http://www.mentala.com/products.htm
Target 3001 - http://www.ibfriedrich.com/ (English, German, French)
TINA (DesignSoft) - http://www.tina.com
TopoR - http://eda.eremex.com/
Ultiboard (National Instruments) - http://www.ni.com/ultiboard/
Upverter - https://upverter.com/ (free for open source projects)
Vutrax - http://www.vutrax.co.uk/index.htm
WinCircuit - http://alain.michel13.free.fr/Anglais.html
WinQcad - http://www.winqcad.com/
XL designer (Seetrax) - http://www.xldesigner.com/
Zuken - http://www.zuken.com/en

Free SW for PCB order service (no gerber files export)
ECAD Pro - http://www.pcbdesignandfab.com/ (gerber files $25/board)
ExpressPCB - http://www.expresspcb.com/
Pad 2 Pad - http://www.pad2pad.com
PCB123 - http://www.sunstone.com/PCB123-CAD-Software.aspx (gerber files $100/board)
PCB Artist - http://www.4pcb.com/free-pcb-layout-software/
Target 3001 (PCB Pool edition) - http://www.pcb-pool.com/ppuk/service_downloads.html (gerber with proto)

Schematic Capture
sPlan - http://www.abacom-online.de/uk/html/splan.html
TinyCAD - http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/tinycad/index.php?title=TinyCAD
XCircuit - http://opencircuitdesign.com/xcircuit/

Gerber tools
3D Gerber Viewer (online) - http://mayhewlabs.com/3dpcb
Circuit people online Gerber viewer - http://circuitpeople.com/
DFM Now! - http://www.numericalinnovations.com/pages/dfm-now-free-gerber-viewer
GCPrevue (Graphicode) - http://www.graphicode.com/Download_GC-Prevue_and_Free_Trials
GerberLogix - http://www.easylogix.de/products_detail.php?prog_id=1
gerbv - http://gerbv.sourceforge.net/
McCAD - http://www.mccad.com/FREE_GerberViewer.html
Online Gerber-Viewer - http://www.gerber-viewer.com/
Tracespace - http://viewer.tracespace.io/ (online viewer)
ViewMate - http://www.pentalogix.com/viewmate.php (Free & Commercial versions)
Viewplot - http://www.viewplot.com/
ZofzPCB 3D Gerber Viewer - http://www.zofzpcb.com/

PCB panelizing
CAM 350 - http://www.downstreamtech.com/CAM350XL.html
FAB 3000 - http://www.numericalinnovations.com/fab3000.html

Stripboard/Veroboard layout tools
DIY Layout Creator - http://diy-fever.com/software/
LochMaster - http://www.abacom-online.de/uk/html/lochmaster.html
Stripboard Designer - http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Multimedia_and_Graphics/Misc__Graphics_Tools/StripBoard_Designer.html
Stripboard Magic - http://www.marlwifi.org.nz/other/stripboard-magic
Stripes - http://sites.google.com/site/libby8dev/stripes
VeeCAD - http://veecad.com/
VeroCAD - http://xtronic.org/download/verocad-3-veroboard/
VeroDes - http://www.heyrick.co.uk/software/verodes/

Simulation - Free
5Spice - http://www.5spice.com/ (not free for commercial use)
Cider - http://embedded.eecs.berkeley.edu/pubs/downloads/cider/index.htm
CircuitLab.com - https://www.circuitlab.com/ (Online only)
Circuit Simulator Applet - http://www.falstad.com/circuit/ (iPad/iPhone version available, iCircuit - NOT FREE)
Logisim - http://ozark.hendrix.edu/~burch/logisim/
LTpsiceIV (Linear Technology) - http://www.linear.com/designtools/software/
Mindi (Microchip) - http://www.microchip.com/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=1406&dDocName=en537206
Ngspice - http://ngspice.sourceforge.net/screens.html
Qucs - http://qucs.sourceforge.net/
SimOne - http://eda.eremex.com/ (limited)
Systemvision - https://www.systemvision.com/ (cloud)
TINA-TI (Texas Instruments version) - http://www.ti.com/tool/tina-ti
XSPICE - http://users.ece.gatech.edu/~mrichard/Xspice/

Simulation - Commercial
Advanced Design System, ADS (Keysight) - http://www.keysight.com/en/pc-1297113/advanced-design-system-ads?nid=-34346.0&cc=US&lc=eng
AIM Spice - http://www.aimspice.com/
B2 Spice (Beige Bag) - http://www.beigebag.com/
Circuit Wizard - http://www.new-wave-concepts.com/products.html
EveryCircuit - http://everycircuit.com/ (online or app. limited free usage available)
ICAP/4, etc.. - http://www.intusoft.com/default.htm (Limited Free version available)
Micro Cap - http://www.spectrum-soft.com/index.shtm (Limited Free version available)
NI Multisim (National Instruments) - http://www.ni.com/multisim/
NL5 Circuit Simulator - http://nl5.sidelinesoft.com/
PartSim - http://www.partsim.com/ (online)
Plecs - http://www.plexim.com/
PSpice (Cadence) - http://www.cadence.com/products/orcad/pspice_simulation/pages/default.aspx (Limited Free version available)
SIMetrix - http://www.simetrix.co.uk/ (demo available)
Super Spice (Anasoft) - http://www.anasoft.co.uk/ (Limited Free version available)
TINA - http://www.tina.com/English/tina/start.php
TopSpice - http://penzar.com/topspice/topspice.htm (Limited Free version available)
Via Designer - http://www.viadesigner.com/
WinSpice - http://www.winspice.com/

Other
Openboardview, PCB viewer - http://openboardview.org/
Front panel: Frontdesigner - http://www.abacom-online.de/uk/html/frontdesigner.html
Front panel: Front Panel Express - http://www.frontpanelexpress.com/index.html
CAD: DraftSight - http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/overview/
CAD: Free CAD - http://sourceforge.net/projects/free-cad/
VLSI Design: http://www.staticfreesoft.com/index.html

Where is LTSPICE? It has the most-awful (yep, made that one up) GUI, it is literally THE OPPOSITE of all common sense of all GUIs, but hey, for some reason I use it.

[hammy]

Simulation - Free
LTpsiceIV (Linear Technology) - http://www.linear.com/designtools/software/

Where is LTSPICE? It has the most-awful (yep, made that one up) GUI, it is literally THE OPPOSITE of all common sense of all GUIs, but hey, for some reason I use it.

Strg+F or ophthalmologist

[max.wwwang]

Great list. Are there major feature comparison matrices available somewhere for these different categories (OS/free, commercial, etc.)?

[Doctorandus_P]

The gerber viewer from Ucamco is not yet in the list:

https://gerber-viewer.ucamco.com/

Quite strange, as they are the maintainer of the Gerber format, which implies their reference gerber viewer should be quite good (on compatibility, not on features).

Ucamco also has the standard as freely downloadable pdf's
https://www.ucamco.com/en/gerber

[redkitedesign]

Simulation - Free
LTpsiceIV (Linear Technology) - http://www.linear.com/designtools/software/

Where is LTSPICE? It has the most-awful (yep, made that one up) GUI, it is literally THE OPPOSITE of all common sense of all GUIs, but hey, for some reason I use it.

Strg+F or ophthalmologist

Ctrl-F "ltspice" will never find "LTpsiceIV"...  Eyescan recommended indeed :-)

[Simon]

LTspice is a pain in the arse. but I just designed a nice sub 50ns switch time gate driver in it.

[nigelwright7557]

LTspice is a pain in the arse. but I just designed a nice sub 50ns switch time gate driver in it.

I have found ltspice invaluable for testing circuits without having to build one.
Used it for a few years now.
Some parts are complicated but so is electronics.

[DarkMode]

Add to list: Eric Bogatin Suggestion from article.
Free and Low Cost Tools: https://www.signalintegrityjournal.com/articles/2026-low-cost-and-free-tools-fit-for-an-engineers-personal-budget

Eagle Free Version: Yes it works
https://www.autodesk.com/products/eagle/free-download?plc=F360&term=1-YEAR&support=ADVANCED&quantity=1

[Robaroni]

Eagle is cumbersome and highly overrated. It's free and probably fine for hobbyists.

[DarkMode]

  Yes 1000% agree, great for hobbyists

  Pros and those in schools get better tools, either Almost Free or Cheap.

The only software that displays nicely on my 4K monitor are Free Eagle and KiCad and EasyEDA. I'm still learning (adding to the list of other things I need to learn)
There are others, but out of my league for a newbie. 

Those that pay full price for Commerical software are either in-love (with the software experience)    or making bank 

[Robaroni]

I wonder how many people are using EDA software professionally? I am but not as much as I used to so I didn't renew my LabCenter license this year but I've had the program for over ten years now.

The thing is that there's a learning curve and I find it takes a long time to really master a program. So you invest the time in a program and find it has things about it that aren't great, like I found with Eagle years ago. The good thing was when it came to buying the full program I knew it wasn't worth it for my money. I don't know if LabCenter has a cheap version but it's a polished program without a lot of bugs, the Brits stay on top of it.

Good luck in your search but keep in mind that it's your time you're spending learning these programs.

If your monitor isn't running correctly there's something wrong, check with the makers of the program. They may be able to direct you to settings to fix it. I know in LabCenter there are different parameters and frameworks you can test with your operating system like Open GL.

[DarkMode]

If your monitor isn't running correctly there's something wrong, check with the makers of the program. They may be able to direct you to settings to fix it. I know in LabCenter there are different parameters and frameworks you can test with your operating system like Open GL.

Yes LabCenter has a nice piece of software, Proteus - I've seen a few YT videos on showing off the software. $248 USD for the Starter Kit and $1000+ for the Professional Starter, no subscription required 

  I'm more like, why would I pay for Software that looks pixelated  but hey that's just me  \

Picture is Target3001

[PlainName]

Eagle Free Version: Yes it works
https://www.autodesk.com/products/eagle/free-download?plc=F360&term=1-YEAR&support=ADVANCED&quantity=1

Is that limited to 1 year? Do you then need to either buy or acquire a new (possibly another 1 year) license?

I think it's pretty clear that Autodesk only do stuff that will push you into a subscription. Their calculation is no doubt that after 1 year you'll be locked in enough that a few bob a month won't seem much, and then it's a slippery slope as they ratchet up.

Couldn't find any T&C about this on that page or nearby, so my strong suggestion would be to not give them the benefit of the doubt and instead treat them as the bloodsuckers they normally are.

[3roomlab]

https://librepcb.org/
https://github.com/LibrePCB/LibrePCB

Current version 0.17

[DarkMode]

I have LibrePCB installed, looks fine

[steven236]

One more Online eda tool Here
https://www.pcbx.com/
They are trying to combine PCB design+PCB Manufacturing
A new one with a few bugs but worth trying