PCB design software is used to design and create printed circuit boards (PCBs). PCBs are the thin boards that electronic components are mounted on. PCB design software allows engineers to create the schematic (circuit diagram) and layout of the PCB. Once the design is complete, the PCB can be manufactured and assembled.
There are many different PCB design software packages available, ranging from free and open-source software to expensive commercial software. The best PCB design software for you will depend on your specific needs and budget.
Here are a few of the most popular PCB design software packages:
- Altium Designer is a powerful and comprehensive PCB design software package that is used by professional engineers in a variety of industries. Altium Designer offers a wide range of features, including schematic capture, PCB layout, 3D modeling, and simulation.
- Autodesk Fusion 360 is a cloud-based PCB design software package that integrates with other Autodesk software, such as AutoCAD and Inventor. Fusion 360 is a good option for engineers who need to design both PCBs and mechanical components.
- EasyEDA is a free and open-source PCB design software package that is easy to use and has a large community of users. EasyEDA is a good option for hobbyists and students.
- KiCad is another free and open-source PCB design software package that is powerful and has a wide range of features. KiCad is a good option for engineers who need a professional-grade PCB design software package without the high price tag.
When choosing a PCB design software package, it is important to consider the following factors:
- Features: What features are important to you? Do you need a software package that can do everything from schematic capture to simulation to manufacturing? Or do you just need a basic software package for creating PCB layouts?
- Price: PCB design software can range in price from free to several thousand dollars. Choose a software package that fits your budget.
- Ease of use: How easy is the software package to use? If you are a beginner, you may want to choose a software package that is easy to learn.
- Community support: Is there a large community of users for the software package? This can be helpful for getting help with problems and learning new features.
Once you have chosen a PCB design software package, you can start designing your PCB! Be sure to read the software documentation and watch tutorials to learn how to use the software.
There are many PCB Design software available in the market. It is not easy to find list of all software and price information at one place, I have searched online and tried to collect all the information at once place so it is easy reference for you.
Commercial PCB Design Software
| Altium | ~7000$ |
| Altium Student | ~99$ |
| Circuit Studio | ~495$ |
| Cadence Orcad | ~1500 |
| Cadence Allegro | N/A |
| Mentor Pads PowerPCB | ~9000$ |
| Mentor Xpedition | N/A |
| Autodesk Eagle | 100$ / 520$ |
| Diptrace | 75-995$ |
| Zuken CR3000/8000 | N/A |
| Proteus | ~200-6000$ |
| Pulsonix | N/A |
| EasyEDA | 4.9-9.9$ pm |
| Easy-PC | 300-500P |
| Ultiboard | ~2500 |
| SolidWorks | N/A |
| Circuit Wizard | 69-89$ |
| ED WinXP | N/A |
| Pantheon PCB (RF) | N/A |
Design Software on Cloud
Some other useful links to refer:
Which PCB Design Software is the best?
Now the big question, when you have so many choices which one to choose. My advice is if you can afford, go for Altium Designer otherwise KiCad or Autodesk Eagle are the next best options.
One of the biggest reason I propose Altium is, it is very easy to use and it will improve your productivity significantly.
I can guarantee, you can compare it with other available PCB design software in the market. Also, if you see their last couple of years update, all are focused on to improve the productivity and to empower engineers be more productive. Altium Designer allows engineers to focus on their design not to figure out how to implement design aspect using the tool. Just see their draftsman feature, interactive routing, etc. to start with.
Actually, you must try Altium to realize this fact.
If you don’t find a PCB Design software listed here or you have latest price information, please let me know, I will update.
I am currently working as an embedded systems design consultant and helping companies build custom embedded products, develop test automation solution for their PCB or complete product.
If you have any feedback about the blog, you can share in the comments below or you can also contact me directly.
Read more interesting articles on Embedded Systems Design.
Yes I agree, both knowledge about PCB Design and the tool are equally important.
I did try CircuitMaker a while ago and in the end chose to go with Eagle, don’t remember why, but I’ll try CircuitMaker again and see if the present version is better.
Thanks!
I’ve used Autodesk Eagle with a student license all this while. But nowadays I’ve seen a lot of instances of people on the internet switching to KiCad because it is free and open source. I too think the time has come for me to make the move to KiCad. I’m aware of the fact that KiCad has a slightly different workflow than Eagle and is harder to use.
As of now I can’t consider paid options like Altium. So in the long run will expertise in a proprietary or an open source tool be more useful? Which is used more in the industry, Eagle or KiCad?
See in PCB Designing, Tool is one thing and technical knowledge about PCB Design is another. KiCAD is a good option is you cannot afford Altium, another option is the Student version if you are still with a university.
Did you see free options? CircuitMaker is another good tool
Circuit Maker is having lot of serious bugs as June 2022 & company main support fellows says we are still noy able to solve it and working on it. There is limit of 5 projects and you can download project locally and hence delete / publish one project if want to continue with new one. Automating is very slow. Kicad with free autorouting software available on https://www.freerouting.org/ which can be easily interfaced with KIcad is obe of the option for those how want free pcb design software