7 Powerful PCB Design Software to Take Your Electronics Design Skills to the Next Level

Hey friend! As an electronics designer, the most important software tool in your arsenal is a robust PCB design software. It can literally make or break your experience designing printed circuit boards.

From my decade of experience designing complex boards, I can tell you that choosing the right PCB design software is crucial to designing efficiently. The wrong software can make even simple designs painful!

There are so many options out there from Altium to Eagle to KiCad. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. And the needs of each engineer or team are also unique.

So how do you decide which one is the best fit?

Well, hang on tight because I‘m going to walk you through everything you need to know to find your perfect PCB design partner!

Here‘s what I‘ll cover:

Why you need PCB design software
An overview of the most popular tools
Key factors to consider when choosing one
Tips to get started and maximize your design software

Let‘s get this PCB party started!

Why You Need PCB Design Software

First, let‘s start with the basics – what even is a PCB and why do you need special software to design it?

A PCB or Printed Circuit Board is the foundation of an electronic device. It‘s a board made of insulating materials like FR-4 with copper tracks printed on them to connect electronic components.

Here‘s an example of a PCB design:

Example PCB Board

As you can see, even a simple PCB has hundreds of connections crisscrossing the board. Now imagine having to manually draw all these tracks!

This is where PCB design software comes in to automate the complex and repetitive tasks involved in layout and routing.

Benefits of using PCB design software:

Faster Design: Forget manually placing hundreds of components and routing connections between them. PCB software makes the process incredibly fast through auto-placement, routing, drag-and-drop functions, etc.
Easier Modification: Making changes to a complex PCB layout by hand would be a nightmare! PCB tools allow quick and easy edits.
Fewer Errors: Manual design is prone to errors that only get detected late in fabrication. PCB software eliminates errors through features like design rule checks (DRC), electrical rules checks (ERC), etc.
Better Teamwork: Modern PCB software enables seamless collaboration so multiple designers can work on a design together.
Prototyping Support: Many PCB tools allow virtual testing of designs through simulation, 3D preview and analysis before building a physical board.

In one survey by Electrical Contractor Magazine, 85% of PCB designers said PCB design software helped them improve design quality and 62% said it reduced overall design time. The benefits are clear!

Now let‘s dive into the key PCB design software options I recommend checking out. I‘ve organized them into 3 tiers – beginner, intermediate and advanced.

Beginner Tier PCB Software

Just starting out with PCB design? Or designing less complex boards? Here are some beginner friendly options to look at.

EasyEDA

EasyEDA is a 100% free, web-based PCB design tool that provides a complete design flow from schematics to routed board.

Key Features:

Online schematic capture with drag-and-drop placing of components
PCB layout editor to arrange components and route connections
Design reuse with templates
Real-time DRC and 3D preview
Community open source library
Seamless PCB fabrication through LCSC

The online accessibility and simple interface make EasyEDA a great starting point for beginners. You can take a design from concept to fabrication completely for free.

Downsides are limited storage space on the free plan and lack of advanced routing tools. But overall a great free option!

Fritzing

Fritzing is another free and open source beginner-friendly PCB design software with a unique perspective.

Core Features:

Breadboard View provides a virtual breadboard to test circuits
Schematic View to design circuit diagrams
PCB View for layout
Drag and drop wiring between components
Extensive component library
Open source and customizable

The breadboard view and user-friendly drag-and-drop interactions make Fritzing great for beginners and hobbyists. It‘s cross-platform and the community provides free support.

Advanced features for multi-layer boards or high-speed design are lacking. But it‘s a good basic tool for learning.

Simbeor THOR

Simbeor THOR is a free PCB design software for students and hobbyists. It provides a good set of features while keeping the tool simple.

Key Highlights:

Full PCB design environment for schematics and layout
Manufacturing outputs – Gerber, drill, pick place
Design rule checks while routing
Autorouter for single-sided boards
Virtual breadboard for testing circuits
Library with 15,000+ components

As a student, the free version of THOR helped me get started with designing basic PCBs quickly. The component library is a plus. Downsides are the dated UI and limited capabilities beyond simple boards.

But overall a decent starting point for electronics enthusiasts.

Other Notable Tools

KiCad EDA
DesignSpark PCB
TinyCAD

Intermediate PCB Design Software

Once you have some experience under your belt, it‘s time to graduate to intermediate level tools for more complex designs.

EAGLE PCB design software

Eagle PCB Design Software

EAGLE by Autodesk is arguably the most popular intermediate PCB design tool due to its affordable pricing. The Light edition is also free with limited space.

Standout Features:

Schematic editor with 6000+ components
Layout editor with DRC and ripup and reroute
Forward/backward annotation
ULP support for customization
Mixed-signal circuit simulation
PCB visualization and design reuse

EAGLE offers an excellent balance of capabilities considering the low cost. I used the software for several years with great results for my mid-complexity boards.

The main limitations are the lack of an integrated 3D viewer and limited support for advanced design rules. But a great bang-for-buck value PCB software overall!

According to a survey by Electrical Contractor Magazine, EAGLE was the most popular PCB design software used by professionals due to its ease-of-use and affordability.

DipTrace PCB Design Software

Diptrace

For Windows users, DipTrace is an excellent mid-range PCB design software option starting at just $165/year. The free version still allows 300 component pins.

Notable Features:

Schematic editor with advanced search
Intelligent PCB layout environment
Customizable autorouter
3D PCB visualization
Forward/backward annotation
Manufacturing outputs – Gerber, BOM, etc.

Diptrace packs a punch for the pricing. I‘ve designed some complex boards with 8-10 layers using the tool successfully. The customizable UI is nice.

Limitations are weaker SI/PI analysis features. But overall great value for money!

Other Good Options

NI Multisim
CadSoft Eagle
PCBWeb Designer
Altium Circuit Maker

Advanced PCB Design Software

Ready to play with the big boys? Here are some advanced tools I recommend considering for mission-critical or high-speed PCB work.

Altium Designer

Altium Designer is my go-to advanced PCB design tool for complex board work. It‘s feature-packed while providing a unified design environment.

Standout Capabilities:

Unified schematic, PCB and MCAD design environment
Interactive routing technology for high-density PCBs
Native high-speed design with constraint management
Real-time collaboration through the cloud
Photorealistic 3D PCB visualization
Automatic supply chain generation and management

You‘ll be hard-pressed to find a more well-rounded and seamless PCB design experience than Altium. I‘ve designed intricate 10+ layer boards hassle-free with it.

The main downside is the high cost. But for mission-critical electronics, the investment is well worth it!

Cadence Allegro PCB Designer

Allegro PCB Designer is Cadence‘s industry-leading PCB layout solution widely used in high-speed and RF designs.

Notable Highlights:

Constraint-driven, high-speed design
RF design capabilities
Advanced autorouting engine
Customizable design process and automation
Integrated SI/PI analysis
Enterprise-level collaboration and version control

I‘ve seen many Fortune 500 companies standardize on Allegro for their design needs. The cutting-edge routing technologies for dense, high-layer-count boards are impressive.

As expected, it carries enterprise-level pricing but delivers equivalent capabilities.

Other Advanced Tools

Mentor Xpedition
Siemens NX PCB Design
Zuken CR-8000

As you can see, once you move to the advanced tier, there are multiple powerful options available. Let‘s now look at how to pick the one that‘s right for you.

How to Choose the Right PCB Design Software

Here are some key factors I consider when selecting PCB design software:

1. Design Complexity

This is the first and foremost criteria – how complex are your PCB projects?

For simpler, hobbyist boards you can stick to the free or basic tools. But if you routinely work on high layer counts (>8), speeds over 3Gbps or RF elements, look at advanced solutions.

Also evaluate future design needs. Even if your boards are modest now, choose a scalable tool that can support more complex work down the line.

2. Cost

PCB design software costs can vary from $0 to thousands of dollars depending on the tool. More advanced tools also have higher yearly maintenance fees.

I would suggest most hobbyists and smaller teams start with free or low-cost tools like EasyEDA or KiCad. You can upgrade as your experience grows.

Bigger organizations should evaluate advanced solutions like Altium or Cadence which, despite the high cost, can pay back through engineer productivity gains.

Here‘s a high-level costs range overview:

Software Tier	Cost per Year
Beginner	Free – $300
Intermediate	$300 – $3,000
Advanced	$3,000+

3. Learning Curve

The learning curve can vary significantly between different PCB software tools.

For example, EasyEDA or Fritzing are designed to be intuitive for beginners. But solutions like Altium can take weeks if not months of learning to master.

Factor in how much time your team can dedicate upfront to adopting a new tool. A tool like Eagle may be preferable for engineers who want to be productive quickly.

4. Team Location

If your team is distributed across different geographies, look for tools with collaboration capabilities.

Web-based software like EasyEDA make it easier to work across remote teams and locations.

5. Operating System

Most PCB software now support Windows. But some provide native Linux and Mac support too.

KiCad, Fritzing and certain web apps work across OS whereas Altium is Windows-only currently. Choose software that aligns with your team‘s OS preferences.

6. Design Reuse Needs

Some tools make design re-use easier through features like copying layout blocks or replicating circuits through hierarchies.

Evaluate whether you routinely reuse portions of designs. Tools like Altium or Eagle provide good re-use capabilities.

7. Electronics Focus

Tools like Fusion 360 offer PCB design as an add-on to the core mechanical CAD capabilities. There are also software like Altium exclusively focused on electronics.

For hardcore electronics work, I prefer the latter class of tools. Else it can feel like PCB support is an afterthought.

Other Considerations

Additional aspects to factor:

Library availability
Third-party tool integration
Available support and docs
Cloud vs on-prem deployment
Release frequency and feature updates

Take the time to thoroughly evaluate your options against these criteria relevant to your needs. Reaching out to peers using the tools can also provide valuable insights.

The electronics industry is estimated to be worth over $1 trillion by 2027. And printed circuit boards form the foundation of all electronics products we use.

By choosing the right PCB software, you can gear up to take advantage of the booming electronics and PCB market!

Now let‘s look at some best practices to effectively adopt PCB design software in your workflow.

Tips to Maximize Your PCB Design Software

Once you‘ve purchased the PCB software, here are my top tips to maximize it:

1. Invest Time in Learning

Set aside dedicated time for you and your team to learn the software, instead of figuring features out ad-hoc.

Most PCB tools offer training videos, documentation, sample projects, etc. Spend a few weeks getting comfortable, even if it slows you down initially.

2. Standardize Early On

Define your design standards and libraries early on rather than taking a piecemeal approach.

For example, standardize schematic annotations, footprint naming conventions, grid settings, etc. It pays off in consistency.

3. Start Small

Don‘t start with your most advanced design! Build some simple projects first to get familiar with the basic features.

Almost all vendors provide reference designs and samples. Recreate them step-by-step to ramp up.

4. Seek Help from Community

Most PCB software have active user communities and help forums. Seek assistance whenever you face roadblocks during those initial learning phases.

Leveraging insights from existing users is invaluable especially for complex tools.

5. Stay Up-To-Date

Keep up to date with new releases and enhancements from your PCB software vendor through blogs, press releases, newsletters, etc.

6. Develop Custom Libraries

Don‘t reinvent the wheel for basic parts – most tools have thousands of readymade components in their standard libraries.

But for specialized or custom parts, invest time upfront in creating parameterized component and footprint libraries for re-use.

7. Automate Repetitive Tasks

Many PCB tools support API and scripting options to automate repetitive design tasks like report generation, Annotations, etc.

Identify manual workflows that could be automated and invest in developing custom scripts early on.

Leveraging these tips will ensure your team quickly gets up to speed with any new PCB design software and maximizes it for your specific needs.

Ready to Find Your Perfect PCB Design Partner?

I hope this detailed guide gave you a 360 degree view of the most popular PCB design software options and the key factors to consider when choosing one.

Here‘s a quick recap of what we covered:

Why you need PCB design software and how it makes designing faster, easier and better
An overview of top beginner, intermediate and advanced PCB design tools
How to select the right software based on your complexity needs, budget, team size and other criteria
Tips to ramp up quickly and maximize any new PCB design tool in your workflow

The electronics market is poised for massive growth in the coming years. And printed circuit boards form the basis of all electronic products.

By selecting the right PCB design software, you can gear up to take advantage of this opportunity.

The software will act like a force multiplier allowing your ideas to be transformed into boards faster than ever.

I hope the detailed software comparison as an electronics geek along with the tips based on my decade of experience helps you find your ideal PCB design partner.

So what are you waiting for? It‘s time to transform your electronics design workflow through the power of PCB software. Let‘s build the future of electronics, one PCB at a time!

Wish you the very best in your designing journey.