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LTspice vs ngspice: catalog facts
LTspice	ngspice
Best for: Electronics engineers, students and hobbyists simulating analog circuits	Best for: Engineers and students simulating circuits from netlists or through a schematic front end
Free Free to download from Analog Devices.	Free Free and open source.
Windows	Command line
SPICE simulation with schematic capture in one program Built-in waveform viewer for inspecting results All 3 strengths for LTspice SPICE simulation with schematic capture in one program Built-in waveform viewer for inspecting results Free of charge	Analog, digital and mixed-signal simulation Accepts PSPICE and LTSPICE device models All 3 strengths for ngspice Analog, digital and mixed-signal simulation Accepts PSPICE and LTSPICE device models Can be driven by third-party schematic tools
Simulation only, with no PCB layout Details could not be confirmed from the official page at research time	No built-in schematic entry Netlist and command-line workflow has a learning curve
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Open source
License not stated	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 LTspice analog.com/en/resources/design-tools-and-calculators/ltspic… Catalog checked September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for ngspice ngspice.sourceforge.io Catalog checked September 23, 2026

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