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CircuitMaker vs LibrePCB: catalog facts
CircuitMaker	LibrePCB
Best for: Hobbyists and makers designing circuit boards for free	Best for: Hobbyists and students designing circuit boards with free software
Free Free to use, including for commercial designs.	Free Free and open source with no paid tier.
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	No cost, restrictions or online account Human-readable file format suited to Git All 4 strengths for LibrePCB No cost, restrictions or online account Human-readable file format suited to Git Structured library concept for symbols and footprints Runs on Windows, Linux and macOS
Only five private projects; others are shared with the community Proprietary, unlike KiCad	Smaller ecosystem of ready-made parts than long-established EDA tools No circuit simulation built in
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Open source
License not stated	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	No account 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 LibrePCB librepcb.org Catalog checked September 23, 2026

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