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CircuitMaker vs Fritzing: catalog facts
CircuitMaker	Fritzing
Best for: Hobbyists and makers designing circuit boards for free	Best for: Document electronics projects with breadboard, schematic and PCB views
Free Free to use, including for commercial designs.	Paid Official compiled downloads require payment. The source is available under GPL-3.0.
Windows	Windows, macOS, Linux
Built on Altium Designer technology Up to 16 signal and 16 plane layers with no board size limit All 4 strengths for CircuitMaker 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	Helps turn wiring layouts into project documentation Includes a PCB design workflow
Only five private projects; others are shared with the community Proprietary, unlike KiCad	Official compiled downloads are paid even though the application source is open.
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-3.0
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for CircuitMaker altium.com/circuitmaker Catalog checked September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Fritzing fritzing.org github.com/fritzing/fritzing-app Catalog checked September 22, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.