Top Altium Designer Alternatives for PCB Design Success
Altium Designer software is a cornerstone for professional PCB design, offering comprehensive tools for schematic capture, PCB layout, FPGA programming, signal integrity checks, and mixed analog/digital simulation. It excels in ECAD/MCAD integration and team collaboration, helping designers get reliable and cost-effective products to production. However, for various reasons—cost, specific feature needs, or operating system preferences—many engineers and hobbyists seek an effective Altium Designer alternative. This article explores the best options available to meet diverse PCB design requirements.
Best Altium Designer Alternatives
Whether you're a professional looking for a powerful substitute, a student on a budget, or a hobbyist seeking user-friendly tools, there's an Altium Designer alternative out there for you. Let's dive into some of the most compelling choices.
KiCad
KiCad is a standout open-source software suite for electronic design automation (EDA). It's an excellent free and open-source Altium Designer alternative available on Mac, Windows, and Linux. KiCad provides robust features like a 3D renderer, 3D sketching, and a vast component library, making it a powerful choice for designing schematics and printed circuit boards.
Fritzing
Fritzing is a unique and very handy tool for designing circuits and layouts for PCBs, stripboards, or breadboards. While it has commercial aspects, it also offers open-source components and is available on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Fritzing focuses heavily on education and prototyping, making it a great Altium Designer alternative for beginners and those focusing on rapid development.
Autodesk EAGLE
Autodesk EAGLE is a widely recognized electronic design automation (EDA) software that enables seamless connection between schematic diagrams and component placement for PCB design. It offers free personal use options and paid tiers, compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux. As an Altium Designer alternative, EAGLE provides an integrated design environment (IDE) that many designers find intuitive and powerful.
QUCS
The Quite Universal Circuit Simulator (QUCS) is an integrated circuit simulator that allows for the simulation and graphical presentation of results, particularly for large-signal analyses. It's a free and open-source Altium Designer alternative available on Mac, Windows, and Linux, focusing on simulation rather than full PCB layout, making it ideal for circuit analysis needs.
LibrePCB
LibrePCB is a free EDA software dedicated to developing printed circuit boards. Currently under heavy development, it aims to provide stable releases soon. As a free and open-source Altium Designer alternative for Mac, Windows, and Linux, LibrePCB offers 3D sketching capabilities and a promising future for those seeking a robust open-source solution.
gEDA Project
The gEDA project offers a comprehensive GPL'd suite and toolkit of Electronic Design Automation tools. This free and open-source Altium Designer alternative is primarily available for Linux users, providing a complete ecosystem for electrical design for those who prefer an open-source, Linux-centric workflow.
Proteus PCB design
Proteus PCB design combines schematic capture and ARES PCB layout programs into a powerful, integrated, and user-friendly suite for professional PCB design. This commercial Altium Designer alternative is available for Windows, offering a streamlined workflow for engineers seeking a comprehensive solution.
NI Circuit Design Suite Power Pro
NI Circuit Design Suite software enhances the PCB design process by integrating capture, simulation, and layout within a single toolchain, featuring NI Multisim and Ultiboard. This commercial Altium Designer alternative is available for Windows, providing a robust solution for complex circuit design and analysis.
Upverter
Upverter focuses on providing essential tools for hardware engineering, including ideation, schematic capture, PCB layout, design hosting, parts library management, and affordable prototyping. This commercial Altium Designer alternative is web-based, offering a collaborative cloud solution for design and development.
iCircuit
iCircuit is an easy-to-use electronic circuit simulator and designer, making it an ideal tool for students, hobbyists, and engineers alike. This commercial Altium Designer alternative is available across multiple platforms including Mac, Windows, iPhone, Windows Phone, and iPad, and features price alerts and robust simulation capabilities.
The world of PCB design software is rich with alternatives to Altium Designer. From powerful open-source solutions like KiCad to specialized commercial tools and web-based platforms, there's a solution tailored to every budget, operating system preference, and project complexity. We encourage you to explore these options and find the perfect fit for your specific PCB design needs.