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KiCad vs Lepton EDA: catalog facts
KiCad	Lepton EDA
Best for: Designing a circuit board end to end without a commercial licence	Best for: Electronics hobbyists and engineers who want gEDA-style schematic capture
Free Free and open source under the GPL 3.0. Donations are handled through the Linux Foundation.	Free Free and open source under the GPL.
Windows, macOS, Linux	Linux
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	Continues the gEDA schematic and netlisting tools Free and open source All 4 strengths for Lepton EDA Continues the gEDA schematic and netlisting tools Free and open source Includes a symbol library and example projects Command-line tools fit into scripted workflows
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	Schematics and netlisting only; PCB layout needs a separate program Mainly built from source on Unix-like systems
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0	License: GPL-2.0
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for KiCad kicad.org kicad.org/download Catalog checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Lepton EDA github.com/lepton-eda/lepton-eda Catalog checked September 23, 2026

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