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About CircuitMaker
CircuitMaker is a free schematic capture and PCB layout tool built on Altium Designer technology. Boards can have up to 16 signal and 16 plane layers with no limit on board size, and there is no non-commercial clause, so designs can be sold.
Components come from a community library of hundreds of thousands of parts backed by the Octopart database. Projects are shared with the community by default, though version 2.0 allows up to five private projects. It suits hobbyists and makers who want professional-grade layout tools at no cost.
Strengths
- Built on Altium Designer technology
- Up to 16 signal and 16 plane layers with no board size limit
- Commercial use allowed
- Large community library backed by Octopart
Limitations
- Only five private projects; others are shared with the community
- Proprietary, unlike KiCad
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree to use, including for commercial designs.
- License
- Proprietary
- Developer
- Altium
- Platforms
- Windows
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Best suited for
- Hobbyists and makers designing circuit boards for free
- Categories
- 3D and CAD
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to CircuitMaker
Compare allSoftware that can replace CircuitMaker for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
KiCad
A full electronics design suite: draw the schematic, lay out the board, view it in 3D, send it to a fab.
KiCad is free, open-source PCB design for Windows, macOS and Linux with no project privacy limits, no board or layer limits, and large bundled libraries.
Altium Designer
Professional PCB design suite covering schematics, layout, and simulation.
Altium Designer is the commercial Windows suite CircuitMaker is built on, adding simulation and full manufacturing workflows, but its licensing is expensive and aimed at professional teams.
EasyEDA
Design electronic schematics and printed circuit boards in a browser.
EasyEDA moves schematic and PCB design into the browser with component libraries on a freemium plan, while manufacturing orders and some services cost extra.
DesignSpark PCB
Schematic capture and printed circuit board layout software with a free plan and paid tiers.
DesignSpark PCB is freemium Windows software whose free plan has no layer or schematic size limits, while some newer features such as length-matching routing need paid plans.
LibrePCB
A free, open-source electronics design suite for drawing schematics and laying out printed circuit boards.
LibrePCB is free, open-source PCB design for Windows, Linux and macOS with no online account and Git-friendly files, but a smaller parts ecosystem.
DipTrace
Schematic capture and PCB layout software with constraint-driven design and interactive push-and-shove routing.
DipTrace is commercial Windows PCB software with push-and-shove routing and real-time rule checking, sold on a perpetual license rather than free with community sharing.
Horizon EDA
Design circuit boards from schematics through manufacturing files.
Horizon EDA is free, open-source board design for Windows and Linux with parts management, interactive routing and design-rule checks, and no requirement to share projects publicly.
OrCAD X
Cadence's commercial PCB design suite for schematic capture, simulation and board layout.
OrCAD X is Cadence's commercial Windows suite combining schematic, simulation and layout, with SPICE analysis in higher editions and commercial licences instead of a free tier.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Fritzing
Document electronics projects with breadboard, schematic and PCB views.
Gerbv
An open-source viewer for Gerber RS-274X, Excellon drill and pick-and-place PCB files.
LTspice
A free SPICE circuit simulator with schematic capture and a waveform viewer, from Analog Devices.
Qucs-S
An open-source circuit simulator interface that drives SPICE engines such as Ngspice.
Proteus Design Suite
Electronics design software combining schematic capture, circuit and microcontroller simulation, and PCB layout.
Lepton EDA
An open-source electronic design automation suite for schematic capture and netlisting, forked from gEDA.
