Altium Designer AlternativesTop CAD Software and other similar apps like Altium Designer

Altium Designer is described as 'Unified environment enables schematic capture, PCB layout, mixed-signal simulation, signal integrity analysis, real-time 3D editing, and ECAD-MCAD collaboration' and is a CAD software in the education & reference category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Altium Designer for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Web-based and Flathub apps. The best Altium Designer alternative is KiCad, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Altium Designer are Fritzing, Square Sketch, Autodesk EAGLE and QUCS.

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Alternatives list

  1. KiCad icon

    KiCad

     118 likes
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    KiCad is an open source software suite for electronic design automation (EDA) - designing schematics of electronic circuits and printed circuit boards (PCB). KiCad is developed by Jean-Pierre Charras. And features an integrated environment between schematic capture, bill of...

    59 KiCad alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Docker
    PcbNew - Editor
     
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    29
    Comments about KiCad as an Alternative to Altium Designer
    Michal D.
    Positive
    0

    It's free and provide very good possibilities for circuit and PCB boards design

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Ease of schematic and pcb creating. BOM creation is not very good as excel templates cannot be used so this becomes a largely manual process. Most of the add-on tools cannot be added regardless of what the instructions say. Following the instructions usually ends in some sort of crash. Import/translation tools never install regardless of the instructions. But, with all of that said KiCad is still the best free alternative to Altium Designer.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Altium Designer Icon
    KiCad icon

    • Most users think KiCad is a great Altium Designer alternative.

    • KiCad is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Altium Designer.

    • KiCad is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Altium Designer.

    • KiCad is Free and Open SourceAltium Designer is Paid and Proprietary
    • KiCad is LightweightAltium Designer is not according to our users
  2. Fritzing icon

    Fritzing

     108 likes
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    Open-source initiative aiding designers, artists, and researchers in transforming prototypes to actual products, documenting circuits, sharing, teaching, and PCB manufacturing.

    57 Fritzing alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • AppImageHub
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    Fritzing screenshot 1
     
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    10
    Comments about Fritzing as an Alternative to Altium Designer
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    That's a good scheme creator for arduino developpement, but it's not an alternative for professional designer software.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    fritzinf doesnt allow simulation

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Altium Designer Icon
    Fritzing icon

    • Some users think Fritzing is a great Altium Designer alternative, some don't.

    • Fritzing is the most popular commercial alternative to Altium Designer.

    • Fritzing is Paid and Open SourceAltium Designer is Paid and Proprietary
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Autodesk EAGLE icon
    Autodesk EAGLE

    EDA software that enables PCB designers to connect schematics, position components, route PCBs, and access extensive libraries, with features like SPICE simulation, drag-and-drop functionality, alignment tools, 3D models for encl...

    https://www.autodesk.com
    Learn More
  6. Autodesk EAGLE icon

    Autodesk EAGLE

     34 likes
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    EDA software that enables PCB designers to connect schematics, position components, route PCBs, and access extensive libraries, with features like SPICE simulation, drag-and-drop functionality, alignment tools, 3D models for enclosure fit, and direct links to manufacturers for parts replacement.

    47 Autodesk EAGLE alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Subscription
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Autodesk EAGLE screenshot 1
     
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    15
    Comments about Autodesk EAGLE as an Alternative to Altium Designer
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Cheaper but fully competent, and sufficient for most designs.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Altium Designer Icon
    Autodesk EAGLE icon

    • Most users think Autodesk EAGLE is a great Altium Designer alternative.

    • Autodesk EAGLE is Paid and ProprietaryAltium Designer is also Paid and Proprietary
  7. QUCS icon

    QUCS

     38 likes
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    The Quite Universal Circuit Simulator (QUCS) is an integrated circuit simulator allowing the simulation and graphical presentation of results of large-signal, small-signal and noise behavior in circuits.

    36 QUCS alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    QUCS screenshot 1
     
  8. LibrePCB icon

    LibrePCB

     22 likes
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    LibrePCB is a free EDA software to develop printed circuit boards. It’s currently under heavy development to bring out first stable releases as soon as possible.

    52 LibrePCB alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    LibrePCB screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Comments about LibrePCB as an Alternative to Altium Designer
    dbrgn
    Positive
    0

    The project is still fresh, but very promising. The developers have spent a lot of time thinking about proper a library file format that avoids problems of current open source EDA suites and will make creating and sharing comprehensive parts libraries easier. It is also much better regarding usability than current alternatives like KiCAD.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Altium Designer Icon
    LibrePCB icon
    • LibrePCB is Free and Open SourceAltium Designer is Paid and Proprietary
    • LibrePCB is LightweightAltium Designer is not according to our users
  12. EasyEDA icon

    EasyEDA

     20 likes
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    Schematic capture, Ngspice based simulation, PCB layout, custom PCB manufacturing, for electronic engineers, educators, students and hobbyists.

    54 EasyEDA alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    EasyEDA screenshot 1
     

    • EasyEDA is the most popular Web-based alternative to Altium Designer.

    • EasyEDA is Free and ProprietaryAltium Designer is Paid and Proprietary
  13. Pspice icon

    Pspice

     5 likes
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    Software for Simulating Voltage and Currents of a text file net-list of a electronics components such as Resistors, Capacitors, inductors, transisters, Diodes, Voltage and Current Sources, etc.

    32 Pspice alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Pspice screenshot 1
     
  14. gEDA Project icon

    gEDA Project

     26 likes
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    The gEDA project has produced and continues working on a full GPL'd suite and toolkit of Electronic Design Automation tools. These tools are used for electrical circuit design, schematic capture, simulation, prototyping, and production.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    gschem
     
  15. Coulomb icon

    Coulomb

     2 likes
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    Coulomb is a simple and elegant circuit simulator written using Java, Gtk4 and libadwaita.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Coulomb screenshot 1
     
12 of 50 Altium Designer alternatives