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Horizon EDA vs CircuitMaker: catalog facts
Horizon EDA	CircuitMaker
Best for: Design circuit boards from schematics through manufacturing files	Best for: Hobbyists and makers designing circuit boards for free
Free The open-source software is available without a license fee. Hosting, hardware and external services are separate.	Free Free to use, including for commercial designs.
Windows, Linux	Windows
Includes parts management, interactive routing and design-rule checks.	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
Desktop builds target Windows and Linux.	Only five private projects; others are shared with the community Proprietary, unlike KiCad
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Not open source
License: GPL-3.0	License not stated
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 Horizon EDA github.com/horizon-eda/horizon github.com/horizon-eda/horizon/blob/master/LICENSE Catalog checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for CircuitMaker altium.com/circuitmaker Catalog checked September 24, 2026

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