These packages include schematic "capture" and PCB layout. Some include autorouters. The commercial packages also include autorouters, simulation, and other features.
Web-based (run in browser):
Free and budget:
Free limited versions of professional packages:
PCB-vendor-locked (can only be used with one PCB manufacturer):
Professional without free or cheap versions:
If you have personal experience with any (or preferably, several) of these packages, and can provide feedback on their usability, please PM KrisBlueNZ or add a comment in the resource discussion tab. Thanks!
Web-based (run in browser):
| 123D Circuits | http://www.123dapp.com/circuits | - |
| Upverter | http://www.upverter.com | Free for publically visible designs |
| EasyEDA | http://easyeda.com | - |
Free and budget:
| AutoTRAX DEX 2020 | http://www.dex2020.com/ | Free trial; full price USD 49; not related to Protel Autotrax |
| DesignSpark PCB | http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/page/designspark-pcb-home-page or http://www.designspark.com/eng/page/designspark-pcb-home-page | Free (non-commercial and commercial); affiliated with RS Components. Anon: Requires (free) registration; buggy; requires constant internet connection with cookies enabled. Supercap2F: Too hard to use; schematics look terrible; supports large sizes and many layers; has 3D PCB view. |
| DIYLC | https://code.google.com/p/diy-layout-creator/ | Java. For drawing schematics, board/chassis layouts, guitar wiring diagrams, or anything. |
| FreePCB | http://www.freepcb.com/ | Anon: Not maintained since 2011. Supercap2F: I did not like it |
| Fritzing | http://fritzing.org/ | Schematics, PCBs, breadboard and stripboard layouts. Anon: "a toy". |
| gEDA suite | http://www.geda-project.org/ | Posix/Linux and Mac OSX; GPL |
| KiCAD | http://www.kicad-pcb.org/ | Open source. Windows/Mac/Linux. Anon: buggy to the point of being unusable. Supercap2F: Easy to figure out, but slow to use. |
| Open Circuit Design | http://opencircuitdesign.com/ | Linux only |
| PCBweb | http://www.pcbweb.com/ | Windows only. Schematic and PCB. Has some Digi-Key catalog references. 2014-11-08 supercap2F: Very poor UI; very slow; requires Internet access during use; definitely not recommended. |
| Protel Autotrax and EasyTrax | http://techdocs.altium.com/display/ALEG/Freeware downloads | MS-DOS - use DOSBox (http://www.dosbox.com) under Windows |
| Storm DIY layout creator | http://www.storm-software.com/software/freeware.html | Open-source; PCB, perfboard and stripboard. KrisBlueNZ: Didn't run properly under Win7/64 |
| TinyCAD | http://sourceforge.net/projects/tinycad/ | For schematics (includes netlist export) and line diagrams. Anon: Library is extremely limited - there are only 11 microcontrollers. Good reviews on sourceforge. |
| VeeCAD | http://veecad.com/ | Only for stripboard and prototyping boards. Free and cheap versions available. |
Free limited versions of professional packages:
| Bartels AutoEngineer | http://www.bartels.de/bae/bae_en.htm | Windows, Linux, X11/Unix. Schematic is free; PCB has a free demo version |
| Cadstar | http://www.zuken.com/en | 300 pads and 50 components |
| CometCAD | http://www.cometcad.com/ | 10x10 cm and 2 layers |
| DipTrace | http://www.diptrace.com/ | Windows/Mac/Linux. 300 pads and 2 layers. KrisBlueNZ: Produces very nice-looking schematics. Supercap2F: Highly recommended. Huge parts library; 3D PCB view; very easy to use; very well documented. |
| Eagle | http://www.cadsoftusa.com/ | 8×10 cm and 2 layers. Windows/Linux/Mac. Widely used. |
| Layo1 | http://www.baas.nl/layo1pcb/uk/downloads.htm | 200 pads |
| OrCAD PCB Designer Lite | http://www.cadence.com/products/orcad/pages/downloads_verify.aspx | - |
| OsmondCocoa | http://www.osmondpcb.com/index.html | Mac only. 700 pins. Supercap2F: PCB only. Very easy to use. |
| PCB Elegance | http://www.viewplot.com/pcbe_index.html | 200 pads |
| Target 3001 | http://ibfriedrich.com/ | 250 pads and 2 layers |
| VUTRAX | http://www.vutrax.co.uk/index.htm | - |
| ZenitPCB | http://www.zenitpcb.com/ | 800 pads and 2 layers. Supercap2F: Could be good if it had better documentation |
PCB-vendor-locked (can only be used with one PCB manufacturer):
| ExpressSCH, ExpressPCB | http://expresspcb.com | Windows only. Anon: Very difficult and cumbersome to use; moving a component requires manual realignment of all connections to it; very limited library. Supercap2F: Great program, easy to use, produces really nice schematics, but cannot export boards to send to manufacturers other than ExpressPCB. |
| Pad2Pad | http://www.pad2pad.com/download/free-download.htm | - |
| PCB123 | http://www.sunstone.com/pcb-products/pcb123 | Windows only |
| PCB Artist | http://www.4pcb.com/free-pcb-layout-software/ | Windows only |
| PCB Creator | http://bayareacircuits.com/pcb-creator/ | Windows only |
| Target 3001 PCB-POOL edition | https://www.pcb-pool.com/ppus/service_downloads.html | Windows only |
Professional without free or cheap versions:
| Altium | - | Formerly Protel |
| Boardmaker | http://www.tsien.info/ | 3D viewer. KrisBlueNZ: Looks expensive! |
| CIRCAD | http://www.holophase.com/index.html | - |
| EasyPC | http://www.numberone.com/ | Free version can’t save nor generate output |
| EDWinXP | http://www.visionics.a.se/ | Evaluation period is 14 days |
| Mentor Graphics | http://www.digikey.com/product-sear...-BNDL-ND&WT.z_slp_buy=MentorGraphics_Designer and http://www.mentor.com/ | Slightly limited schematic USD 200 and PCB USD 400 |
| Multisim | http://www.ni.com/multisim/ | Schematic capture and SPICE simulation; see Ultiboard |
| OrCAD | http://www.orcad.com/ | - |
| PADS | - | - |
| Proteus | www.labcenter.com/ | - |
| Pulsonix | http://www.pulsonix.com/ | - |
| Sprint-Layout | http://www.abacom-online.de/uk/html/sprint-layout.html | Inexpensive |
| Ultiboard | http://www.ni.com/ultiboard/ | PCB option for Multisim |
If you have personal experience with any (or preferably, several) of these packages, and can provide feedback on their usability, please PM KrisBlueNZ or add a comment in the resource discussion tab. Thanks!
