Free PCB design software
Runs in the browser. No install, no licence key, no seat count — and below is exactly what “free” does and does not include, so nothing here is a surprise once you start.
Last reviewed
Open the editor →What “free” actually gets you
- The 18 free tools need nothing
- Trace width, impedance, resistor and stackup calculators, the Gerber viewer — no account, no email, no limit on how many times you use them.
- Opening the editor needs nothing
- The link below opens the real schematic and PCB canvas with no signup — you can look around and see what it is before deciding anything.
- Generating a circuit needs a free account
- Typing a description and getting a schematic back is the part that costs compute, so it asks for an email sign-in. Not a credit card — an account.
- Export is not paywalled
- Gerber X2, Excellon drill, pick-and-place and BOM, plus native KiCad files. Nothing behind those formats is held back for a later plan.
- A free plan, and paid plans for more
- The free plan includes a monthly allowance of AI credits. Paid plans add more credits, boards with more copper layers and the advanced build modes. Routing, design-rule checks and every export are on every plan, the free one included. See every plan and its price.
Free, open source, and a “free tier” are three different things
Open source means the source code is public and you can inspect, modify and run it yourself — KiCad is the reference example here, and it costs nothing precisely because nobody owns the distribution.
A hosted free tool— PCBEditor, EasyEDA, CircuitMaker’s community tier, Flux’s free tier — is closed-source software you use through the vendor’s browser app at no cost. You get the convenience of never installing anything; you give up the ability to run it yourself or audit the code.
Neither is better in the abstract. If you want a tool nobody can ever discontinue or paywall, open source is the only real guarantee. If you want to open a browser tab and start, a free hosted tool gets there faster.
How PCBEditor’s free plan compares
Pulled from the full side-by-side comparisons — read any of these end to end before deciding.
KiCad
Full comparison →Free and open-source, but a desktop install with a real learning curve.
| Cost | PCBEditor: Free | KiCad: Free |
| Open source | PCBEditor: No | KiCad: Yes |
| Install required | PCBEditor: No | KiCad: Yes |
| AI circuit generation | PCBEditor: Yes | KiCad: No |
EasyEDA
Full comparison →Free, browser-based, and tied tightly to LCSC's parts catalogue and JLCPCB ordering.
| Cost | PCBEditor: Free | EasyEDA: Free |
| Browser-based, no install | PCBEditor: Yes | EasyEDA: Yes |
| AI circuit generation from plain English | PCBEditor: Yes | EasyEDA: No |
CircuitMaker
Full comparison →Altium's free community tool — a real free tier, in exchange for public designs.
| Cost | PCBEditor: Free | CircuitMaker: Free |
| Browser-based, no install | PCBEditor: Yes | CircuitMaker: No |
| Designs private by default | PCBEditor: Yes | CircuitMaker: No |
Flux.ai
Full comparison →A free tier plus a paid editor copilot over a traditional schematic canvas.
| Free tier | PCBEditor: Yes | Flux.ai: Yes |
| Browser-based, no install | PCBEditor: Yes | Flux.ai: Yes |
| Full circuit from a single prompt | PCBEditor: Yes | Flux.ai: Partial |
Altium Designer
Full comparison →The professional standard — and not free. Pricing is per-seat, starting in the thousands per year.
| Cost | PCBEditor: Free | Altium Designer: Paid, per-seat licence |
| Browser-based, no install | PCBEditor: Yes | Altium Designer: No |
Runs anywhere a browser does, including Linux
Most desktop EDA either has no native Linux build or needs a compatibility layer to run one built for Windows or macOS. A browser-based tool sidesteps that entirely, because a browser is the one piece of software every platform already has. The same reasoning is why it works on a Chromebook — which cannot install desktop EDA at all — and on a phone or tablet.
Common questions
- Is PCBEditor really free, or is this a free trial?
- The free plan is free, not a trial with an expiry date. There is no watermark on exports, no per-export fee, and nothing that stops working after a set number of days. It includes a monthly allowance of AI credits, and paid plans add more. The 18 calculator and viewer tools need no account at all; generating a circuit with AI needs a free email account.
- Do I need to create an account?
- Not to open the editor or use any of the free tools. You do need a free account — no payment — to have the AI generate a schematic, chat with it, or save and export a design. This page says so upfront rather than after you have started.
- Is 'free' the same as open source?
- No, and the distinction matters. KiCad is open source: the source code is public, you can inspect and modify it, and it runs on your machine. PCBEditor is free to use but is a hosted service, not open source — closer to how EasyEDA, CircuitMaker's free tier, or Flux's free tier work.
- Is there a paid plan?
- Yes. Paid plans add more AI credits each month, boards with more copper layers and the advanced build modes, and can be cancelled at any time. Routing, design-rule checks and every export stay on every plan, the free one included. Every plan and its price is on the pricing page at pcbeditor.com/pricing.
- Do I have to install anything, including on Linux?
- No. It runs in the browser, which is the one thing every platform has — including Linux, where most desktop EDA either has no native build or needs a compatibility layer. See the dedicated pages for design on a Chromebook or on mobile for the same reasoning applied to those devices.
- Will the exported files work with my fab?
- Yes. Exports are Gerber X2, Excellon drill, pick-and-place and BOM, with presets for JLCPCB, PCBWay and OSH Park, plus native KiCad files if you want to finish the layout there.
Open the editor first and look around — no account needed for that part. Sign in only when you are ready to have it generate a circuit.
Open the editor →