KiCad
A Cross Platform and Open Source PCB Design Suite
A full PCB design suite with schematic capture, PCB layout, SPICE simulation, 3D viewing, and manufacturing-file generation.
About the Project
Why use this?
KiCad is the leading open-source PCB design suite for engineers designing printed circuit boards from schematic through fabrication. It supports hierarchical schematics, electrical-rules checking, an integrated SPICE simulator, interactive PCB routing, differential pairs, design-rule checking, panelization, and Gerber/Drill file export.
Electrical engineers choose KiCad because it combines professional capability with complete data ownership and no license cost. It is suitable for simple hobby boards as well as complex multilayer designs, and its open file formats, Python scripting, plugin ecosystem, and large community make it practical for both individual designers and product teams. [78]
Key Features
- Schematic capture with hierarchical sheets and electrical-rules checking
- Integrated SPICE simulation
- Powerful interactive PCB router and design-rule checking
- 3D PCB viewer with mechanical-fit inspection and realistic rendering
- Gerber, drill, BOM, pick-and-place, and fabrication output generation
- Python scripting, plugins, and extensive symbol/footprint libraries
- Reference / Repo
- https://github.com/KiCad/kicad-source-mirror
- Tool / Hosted
- https://www.kicad.org/
- Replaces / Alternative to
- Altium Designer, Cadence OrCAD, Autodesk Eagle
- Free layer
- open-source