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LTspice vs Qucs-S: catalog facts
LTspice	Qucs-S
Best for: Electronics engineers, students and hobbyists simulating analog circuits	Best for: Students and engineers who want a graphical front end for SPICE circuit simulation
Free Free to download from Analog Devices.	Free Free and open source, supported by donations.
Windows	Windows, macOS, Linux
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	Graphical schematic entry for SPICE simulation Windows installer bundles Ngspice All 4 strengths for Qucs-S Graphical schematic entry for SPICE simulation Windows installer bundles Ngspice Packaged for many Linux distributions, Windows and macOS Regular releases
Simulation only, with no PCB layout Details could not be confirmed from the official page at research time	Simulation only; no PCB layout macOS install goes through Homebrew
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-2.0
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 LTspice analog.com/en/resources/design-tools-and-calculators/ltspic… Catalog checked September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Qucs-S ra3xdh.github.io Catalog checked September 23, 2026

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