We continue with the PCB design section by looking at the main software for PCB design, both paid, free, and Open Source.
We have already seen what a PCB is, its parts, what vias are, and differences between PTH and SMD components, and some of the common components we will find in the design of our projects.
Theory and introduction are all very well. But by now we want to start “playing”, and for that we will need software to carry out our PCB designs.
Following the blog’s philosophy, we are not going to look at one specific software. Firstly, because everyone will have their favorite, secondly because they change constantly, and no less importantly because you will find very good tutorials for all of them.
Instead, we are going to talk about the different alternatives, and about PCB software in general. Because our goal is not to learn to use ONE program, but to learn to design PCBs.
Furthermore, fortunately, they are all very similar (at least in the basics). This is something that also happens in other software (image editing, 3D design, etc.) where, if you know how to use one, you learn the next one quickly.
Obviously, we are going to focus on domestic or “maker” projects. Therefore, we are going to focus on software available for free. Although (to be contrary) we are just going to start the comparison with professional software, as it is the reference and the standard to measure against.
Altium
For many, myself included, Altium is the best professional PCB design software at the moment. It is the market standard, let’s say it’s “the Photoshop” of PCB design.
It has more than enough reasons for its fame. It has the best options, the best routing system, allows for more complex designs, and, in addition, it is the most comfortable to use thanks to its great and well-thought-out interface.
Altium is designed to design PCBs professionally, from small size to large designs like a computer motherboard or a graphics card, for example.
This, logically, means it has a huge number of options and parameters, which can be overwhelming for a novice user. But, despite that, it is actually compensated by its good organization, making it very simple and comfortable to use.
The “negative” point, logically, is that it is prohibitively expensive. We can say that it is only within reach of companies and professionals dedicated to PCB design.
KiCad
We move from the best professional software to the best (and almost only) Open Source PCB design software. A huge and praiseworthy initiative from the community, which is gaining more and more followers.
KiCad is a complete and fully functional software that allows us to design professional boards of any size and number of layers.
As the biggest negative, the user interface. Although it has improved a lot in recent versions, it is still really bad and disorganized, and for me it is its worst flaw.
Other points to improve are library management, which is quite chaotic. Finally, it lacks an autorouter. In version 4 it had one, then it was removed, and at the time of writing this post it is possible through an external script (a mess, and the result is not very good).
Despite these points for improvement, KiCad is one of the best options to consider if you want to design PCBs non-professionally.
Autodesk Eagle
Another favorite option for domestic and community projects, the well-known Autodesk Eagle. Initially developed by CadSoft Computer GmbH, a company that was acquired in 2016 by Autodesk and integrated as its own product.
Autodesk Eagle is not free, but it has a Hobbyist license that allows you to use it legally at no cost, with the limitations that you can only create 2-layer designs and a maximum size of 100 x 80mm.
A program with a long history, which for a long time has been one of the references in PCB design. As a consequence of this history, we get its biggest defect, which is again a very unfriendly and outdated interface. And “as a bonus”, a community of users very accustomed to it and resistant to any change.
Thus, for example, the behavior when moving a group of elements is unintuitive. It’s also hard to understand why no one thought of putting a floating palette with layer control. Or that some commands have to be accessed by typing in the command bar.
If we overlook its interface shortcomings, which are incomprehensible as to why they haven’t improved it, Autodesk Eagle is a very good PCB design program, with practically all the options we could expect for small and medium-sized designs.
Fusion 360 Electronics
The natural successor to Autodesk Eagle is Fusion 360 Electronics. Basically, it is an exact copy of the same software, integrated within the Fusion suite.
Again, Fusion 360 Electronics is not free, but it has a Hobbyist tier that we can use in our domestic projects, with the same limitations as Eagle.
Regarding the interface, it is essentially a carbon copy of Eagle’s with a slight facelift. Although the modernization is appreciated, it has the same shortcomings and limitations as Eagle. In fact, it’s even worse because, for example, element selection has gone from being horrible to a real nonsense where you can barely see the wires you have selected.
Furthermore, at least the hobbyist version, what we are actually seeing is an embedded web page, with the performance problems that this entails. Personally, in the four ‘serious’ attempts I have made, I ended up with crashes and severe problems even opening the design.
As a positive point, its biggest asset is direct integration with Fusion 360 Design (CAD). Something that, in my opinion, does not compensate for the worse performance compared to Eagle.
EasyEDA
EasyEDA is a free-to-use web application, currently developed in collaboration with LCSC and JLCPCB. It has several paid subscription modes, but they basically add technical support and support the project.
One of EasyEDA’s best assets is its excellent user interface. It is the first free-to-use PCB design software designed by someone with a bit of sense.
On the other hand, it has a huge library of components that is continuously expanded thanks to user contributions.
As a negative point, it is still a web page, with all the implications that this entails. Inferior performance, need for an internet connection, and that feeling of not owning your projects and not knowing where they are being stored.
Altium CircuitMaker
We end the comparison with CircuitMaker, a kind of “Altium Lite” that is available for free on the condition that it can only be used for non-commercial projects.
Without going into too much detail, we can say that it is probably the best PCB design software we can access for free. It has no limitations on layers or size, the interface is quite good (although they could have spared us the ribbon).
Frankly, it’s on another level compared to the previous free options. In addition to all the “pro” PCB design options, it incorporates the ability to make annotations, share and review online, and cloud version control.
As a negative point, it is the least known. Therefore, it will be more difficult for us to find tutorials. Also, the official documentation is not entirely up to date, and there are parts that refer to previous versions.
More serious is that it will also be difficult to find libraries and components. Although it is possible to import models from KiCad and Altium, we already know that these imports often do not give a completely “clean” result.
Finally, being a “cloud” solution, again we do not have the files on our hard drive. Instead, they are stored in the cloud, which some of us don’t quite like.
Conclusion
We have seen the main PCB design software and some lesser-known ones, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.
Obviously, if you have access to an Altium license, use it because it is the best you will find. There’s not much more to say in the comparison.
If, as will be normal, you are not that lucky, the two most popular options are Eagle and KiCad. We could say it’s a tie between the two. Mainly because they both have the same defect, a pretty bad interface.
On one hand, KiCad has the advantage of being Open Source. It’s always good to support and promote Open Source developments and their communities. As advantages, it has no layer or size limitations and there is a lot of documentation and tutorials about it.
On the other side, we have Autodesk Eagle. In my opinion, it is somewhat better than KiCad. Mainly because Eagle’s interface is terrible, but KiCad’s is even worse. As advantages, you have a huge number of libraries and components on the internet for Eagle (it’s almost a de facto standard).
Regarding Fusion Electronics, I simply don’t recommend it. It’s Eagle, with a facelift and more problems. Which is a drawback because, surely, at some point they will stop updating Eagle. We’ll have to see if, by that time, Fusion Electronics offers any real improvement over Eagle.
On the other hand, in both cases, Eagle and Fusion Electronics, we have the limitations of the hobbyist license regarding layers and size. Something that is not too big a problem, because they coincide with the limits of the “cheap offers” we can buy from international PCB manufacturers (PCBWay, JCBPCB, etc.).
However, now that 4-layer PCBs have started to (almost) fall within these restrictions for “cheap manufacturing”, the limitations of the free tier are going to start to really hurt. Combined with the fact that, any day, Autodesk could withdraw the hobbyist license, makes one consider stopping using them in the not-too-distant future.
On the other hand, we have seen EasyEDA, a very interesting and well-designed web tool. Above all, I think it is suitable for those who are starting out, or need to design PCBs occasionally, as well as for training and teaching.
Finally, we have also seen CircuitMaker. It is probably the best PCB design software we can access for free, as long as our projects are non-commercial. But, being the least known, it has the problem that you will hardly find any components and you will have to draw them or import them from Eagle or KiCad. Added to the fact that it is a 100% cloud solution, with the “inconvenience” that many of us feel from not having our designs on our computer.
That’s it for this comparison of PCB design software alternatives. But the best thing is for you to try them yourselves and see which one is more suitable for your taste and needs.
And you, which one do you prefer? Are any missing from the comparison? If you want to share your opinion, you can leave us a comment.
