• 1Free or Open Source Software
  • 1.1KiCad
  • 1.2ExpressPCB
  • 1.3DesignSpark PCB
  • 1.4PCB/gEDA/XCircuit
  • 1.5Fritzing
  • 1.6ZenitPCB
  • 1.7TinyCAD
  • 1.8Osmond PCB
  • 1.9PCBWeb
  • 1.10PCB123
  • 1.11FreePCB
• 2Proprietary or Paid Software
  • 2.1Altium Designer
  • 2.2OrCAD PCB Designer
  • 2.3DipTrace
  • 2.4Eagle
  • 2.5Mentor Graphics Xpedition
  • 2.6Auto TRAX DEX
  • 2.7TINA
  • 2.8Proteus
• 3Web-based Software
  • 3.1Upverter
  • 3.2CircuitMaker
  • 3.3Related Articles

• Add on device drivers
• Rats-nest generation from simple net lists
• Drawing directly on the silk layer
• Netlist window
• Trace optimizer
• Connectivity verification
• Auto router

• The software consists of schematic entry and PCB layout and the link between them is very easy.
• The libraries for components are aligned with RSComponents.
• It can be easily interfaced with other tools like LTSpice, Tina and Eagle. Even though it is free of cost, users must register with the website to unlock all features.

PCB/gEDA/XCircuit

• It is created to allow artists, hobbyists and designers to create their own PCB’s so that non-engineers can also learn, teach and share electronics.
• Fritzing is one of the easiest tool to produce PCB’s and the designed PCB can be manufactured with the help of FritzingFab.

ZenitPCB

• ZenitPCB has a friendly user interface and a huge part libraries.
• It It can be used for personal and hobby projects and the only restriction is it is limited to 800 pins.
• The software consists of two applications: ZenitCapture, for schematic designs and ZenithPCB, for PCB layout.

TinyCAD

• Osmond PCB is a free PCB design software for Macintosh systems.
• There are no restrictions and limitations imposed and boards of any size and shape can be designed.
• Osmond PCB supports multiple copper layers and has libraries for both through-hole and SMD parts.
• Small designs up to 700 pins can be designed freely and is suitable for beginners and hobbyists.
• For larger designs (boards with more than 700 pins), we need to purchase the license to generate and view Gerber files.

PCBWeb

• PCBWeb is another good platform for PCB layout. It is a free software with no restrictions on the copper layers, size of the board and number of components on the board.
• It is currently available for Windows systems and support for other platform is being planned.
• We cannot import files from other CAD tools at present. The software is developed by Digi-Key.
• The schematic capture tool is called SchemeIt and the parts are from Digi-Key.

PCB123

• It is a free and award winning PCB design software.
• A schematic editor can be used to create multi-page schematics or the PCB layout can be directly designed by placing the components and the software will automatically create the schematic.
• PCB123 has 750,000+ predefined parts which can be used while designing.
• Other features include flexible importing of NETLIST, inbuilt DRC (Design Rule Check) and DFM (Design for Manufacturing), user friendly graphical user interface and real time search option to check the availability of components in the market.
• PCB123 is fast and easy to use and got proven from Intel, Texas Instruments, HP, Honeywell etc.

FreePCB

• Free PCB is an open source PCB design software for Windows systems.
• Even though it doesn’t have an auto-router tool, a free web based routing tool called Freerouting can be used for partial or full auto-routing.
• The FreePCB software can support up to 16 copper layers.

Proprietary or Paid Software

Altium Designer

• DipTrace offers everything to create simple or complex multi-layer printed circuit boards.
• The DipTrace software has four modules: Schematic capture, PCB Layout editor, component & pattern editor and 3D modelling of PCB. It supports Windows, Mac and Linux.
• There are different versions like starter, standard and full with DipTrace full version being the ultimate edition will no restrictions.
• There is also a 30-day trial version available for free.

Eagle

• EAGLE stands for Easy Applicable Graphical Layout Editor.
• It is a powerful schematic capture and PCB design software package developed by CadSoft.
• Eagle is a fully integrated tool providing necessary features to create the simplest to complex designs.
• It offers user friendly yet powerful solutions for PCB design with the help of three modules: Schematic Capture, Board Layout, and Auto-router.
• It is available for all the major platforms like Windows, Mac and Linux.
• There are both paid and free versions of Eagle available. The free version has many limitations and is suitable for hobbyists to design small circuits.

Mentor Graphics Xpedition

• Xpedition is a PCB design software from Mentor Graphics.
• It is generally used in FPGA designs. The software comprises of six PCB design tasks: Design creation, Simulation, PCB Layout, Design Collaboration, Library Management and Design for manufacturing.

Auto TRAX DEX

• TINA Design Suite is an integrated circuit simulator for analog, digital and mixed signals and PCB design.
• TINA is available for Windows, Linux and Mac and there is a cloud based online version which can be accessed using any web browser.
• The integrated PCB design software has all the features needed for advanced PCB design like multilayer PCB’s, auto-placement, auto-routing, 3D view of the PCB design, Gerber file output and many more.

Proteus

• Schematic Capture module
• PCB Layout module
• Hardware Accelerated Display Technology
• Global Shape Based Autorouting
• External Autorouter Interface
• 3D Board Visualisation

Web-based Software

Upverter

• Upverter is another web-based EDA tool for PCB layout. The tool is an integration of schematic capture, PCB layout and design review.
• The free version of the software allows up to two projects per registered user with certain restrictions and the professional paid version allows unlimited projects with all the feature unlocked.

CircuitMaker

• Circuit Maker is a web-based schematic entry and PCB design software. It is developed Altium and is free for the open source hardware community.
• There are no limitations on the copper layers and board size. It can be used by students, hobbyists, designers and even professionals for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
• The designs can be shared in the open source community.