What PCB design software should a beginner look at?

[Ranayna]

Hi everyone,

I am starting to dabble in PCB design. As a total newbie to that field, this is quite overwhelming. Even just starting with what software to use seems like an unsurmountable task sometimes.

By now, the only package I have actually done something in, is Diptrace. Since that one follows established windows usability somewhat closely, it was surprisingly easy to get into. If you know hoe to use Microsoft Visio, you essentially know how to use Diptrace (at least the basics)
KiCad, on the other hand (which I tried about a year ago) was such a complex beast in functionality and usability that I could not get anything done. To be honest, that put me off the topic of PCB design for a while.
Regardless of how much I like Diptrace, I have the feeling that I need to look at some of the other packages out there as well. What are recommendations by the community regarding that?
I have a couple of prerequisites that any software I use should follow:

- A free limited version, or at least a free trial available
- If not free, reasonably priced, max 400 euro (I would not really like to pay more for the software than I did for my 'scope)
- No subscription or online only software, free or paid. I do not want to be taken hostage by my software
- For the forseeable future I very much doubt that I will need more than four layers

KiCad is definetly on the list, but I hope that Version 5 comes out soon. I am not really comfortable using a nigthly version of such a software, since I do not know enough about PCB design to spot possible subtle bugs that might appear.
OrCad is on the list as well, there was a interesting promo linked in another tread a few days ago.

What others should I look at?

EDIT: Typo in the title...

[luiHS]

I work with Cadsoft Eagle 7.3 (although I also have 7.6 and 8.3.1), not with the current version that pays for subscription. I also have Altium, but I have been working with Eagle for many years, and now it is difficult to migrate to Altium.

Probably your best option, good product and free, is Kicad.

[voltsandjolts]

You seem to quite like diptrace, so use it and be happy! It's a very capable tool by all accounts.

[DerekG]

You could look at Circuit Studio (by Altium), however I moved from Altium Designer to DipTrace about 3 years ago & have never looked back.

Whilst it is not as powerful as AD, DipTrace makes up for this in being very intuitive which makes you very productive quite quickly.

No doubt some other forum members will have some other suggestions.

[apurvdate]

I was in the same position 1 n half year back.. went ahead and tried lite/trial versions of softwares and some free once too..
I've tried pre-autodesk eagle, diptrace, kicad, orcad-lite, design spark, circuit maker, etc...
Right now i'm working with diptrace & kicad both.. the ease of options/hotkeys/library creation is what affects this decision..
BTW Diptrace had a special offer - 495$ for full version.. check if its still there..

[Gibson486]

I am a huge fan of KiCad. I use Altium as well. I have not used eagle since it was bought by the people who made autocad, but previous to that, it felt like they just updated the looks, but kept everything else the same.

In terms of user friendliness and having people who can help you out, I would say KiCad. Altium has a good user forums as well, but it cost a lot to a non professional. I have never used circuit maker or diptrace, so I cannot comment.

[kerrsmith]

I also recommend trying Kicad, the program is free and without limits.

I have tried a few other free PCB designers but think for me Kicad is the best - I do not like having to remember that my designs need to be limited in size or by the number of pins used etc.  I want to be able to create a design and have it any size I like without needing to adjust it at the last minute because I have hit some arbitrary limit.  It is also entirely off line so you do not need an internet connection to use it, another bonus.

The Kicad forums are very helpful and most people get help really quickly when they ask a question, they are also very friendly to new users and they always get pointed in the right direction.

I would try watching a few videos by Contextual Electronics:

https://www.youtube.com/user/contextualelectronic/videos

These videos really help in getting started with kicad but once you get going it becomes quite straight forward to use.