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CircuitMaker vs KiCad: catalog facts
CircuitMaker	KiCad
Best for: Hobbyists and makers designing circuit boards for free	Best for: Designing a circuit board end to end without a commercial licence
Free Free to use, including for commercial designs.	Free Free and open source under the GPL 3.0. Donations are handled through the Linux Foundation.
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	Schematic capture, PCB layout, 3D viewer and Gerber export in one suite No limits on board size, layer count or exports All 4 strengths for KiCad Schematic capture, PCB layout, 3D viewer and Gerber export in one suite No limits on board size, layer count or exports Large bundled symbol and footprint libraries, plus a plugin manager Windows, macOS, Linux AppImage and Flathub builds
Only five private projects; others are shared with the community Proprietary, unlike KiCad	A real learning curve; the workflow is unlike a drawing program Simulation is basic next to dedicated SPICE packages All 3 limitations for KiCad A real learning curve; the workflow is unlike a drawing program Simulation is basic next to dedicated SPICE packages Library management trips up most newcomers at least once
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-3.0
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Offline features available
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 KiCad kicad.org kicad.org/download Catalog checked September 21, 2026

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