KiCad EDA Reviews & Product Details

KiCad is an open source software suite for Electronic Design Automation (EDA). KiCad handles schematic capture, symbol and footprint library management, PCB Layout with Gerber output and 3d model generation. KiCad runs on Windows, Linux and macOS. KiCad is the most used EDA tool in the world.

Seller

KiCad Project

Discussions

KiCad EDA Community

Languages Supported

German, Greek, English, Finnish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional)

Solution Type

Best-of-Breed

Overview by

Seth Hillbrand

Pricing

Pricing provided by KiCad EDA.

OSS Edition

Free

Custom Feature Design

View More Pricing Information

Top-Rated Alternatives

View All Alternatives

User Insights

Average based on 69 real user reviews.

Perceived Cost

$$$$$

KiCad EDA Integrations

(2)

Integration information sourced from real user reviews.

KiCad EDA Reviews FAQs

Generated using AI

Last updated: Nov 04, 2026

What is KiCad EDA, and what problem is it built to solve?

KiCad EDA is an open-source electronic design automation suite for designing circuit schematics and turning them into printed circuit board layouts. It brings schematic capture and board layout editing together in an integrated environment for hobbyists and professionals.

What languages does KiCad EDA support?

KiCad EDA supports 16 languages, including Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Spanish, and others.

What company sizes and industries is KiCad EDA the best fit for?

KiCad EDA’s strongest user fit is among small businesses, with users also appearing across several electronics-focused fields. The most represented company-size and industry segments include:

Small businesses: Organizations with 50 or fewer employees form the clearest company-size cluster.
Electrical and electronic manufacturing: A prominent industry segment among users.
Consumer electronics and research: Also recurring fields of use.

What customer support options does KiCad EDA provide, and how do users find the overall support experience?

Support options include email/help desk, FAQs and forums, a knowledge base, and chat. The experience is mixed: users value the tutorials and community resources for learning, while some describe limits in commercial support or areas where they would like more assistance.

What features or capabilities could make KiCad EDA even more useful?

The most useful improvements would make component setup and board design smoother, particularly for users managing libraries or working with more demanding designs. Recurring requests include:

Make component, symbol, and footprint libraries easier to find, update, and manage across projects.
Improve autorouting and routing workflows to reduce manual work and cleanup.
Refresh the interface and simplify common steps, including moving from schematic to PCB layout.
Expand and refine 3D visualization and component-model support.

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Sawyer K.

Research and Development Specialist

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4/14/2026

"Easy to Learn and Free, but Project Conversion and STL Export Need Work"

3.5/5

What do you like best about KiCad EDA?

It is very easy to learn and understand even for beginners. I also love that it is free. It is very easy to integrate and design your own footprint. The overall performance of Kicad is also quite good, I never ran into any problems until the newest update where you had to have the newest version if someone had already made a Project with V10. Other than that it is a very nice design software and its easy to get ai to help if you dont know something very well. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about KiCad EDA?

It can be very difficult to convert other types of projects to KiCad projects. For example, if I had an Altium project, I find it difficult to do that and vice versa. It is also not intuitive to create a STL file, and you have to be very precise; otherwise, it will mess up the file, and you will have to redo it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite

Ajay A.

Embedded Software Engineer

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

Updated 6/17/2026

Originally submitted 5/25/2021

"All in one PCB design solution"

3.5/5

What do you like best about KiCad EDA?

What I like most about KiCad is that it offers professional PCB design tools at no cost, which gives great value for money. The UI is simple, and features like interactive routing and the integrated schematic-to-PCB workflow help me finish designs faster and reduce errors. Performance is solid even on larger projects, and it works well with external libraries. There’s also a strong community with a large number of tutorials, so support is great. I haven’t used any AI features yet. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about KiCad EDA?

What I dislike about KiCad is that the library and footprint setup can sometimes feel confusing. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite

Verified User in Automotive

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5/26/2026

"Easy-to-Use, Powerful All-in-One PCB Design with KiCad EDA"

4.5/5

What do you like best about KiCad EDA?

I like KiCad EDA because it is easy to use, provides powerful PCB design tools, and supports schematic design, routing, and 3D visualization in one platform. Being open-source and free is also a big advantage. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about KiCad EDA?

Some advanced features in KiCad EDA can feel less polished compared to premium PCB design software. The interface can be slightly confusing for beginners, and certain large or complex designs may affect performance. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is KiCad EDA solving and how is that benefiting you?

KiCad EDA solves PCB design and schematic management challenges by providing a complete platform for circuit design, routing, and manufacturing file generation. It benefits me by reducing design errors, improving workflow efficiency, and helping complete projects faster with lower software costs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

G2 IconValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite

Verified User in Computer Hardware

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

7/13/2026

"Free, Beginner-Friendly, and Plugin-Rich—Though the New JSON Settings Take Getting Used To"

3.5/5

What do you like best about KiCad EDA?

it's free and easy to use, which helps beginners. good learning material and many plugins Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about KiCad EDA?

that they recently switched project settings to JSON Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Validated ReviewerSource: G2 invite

Verified User in Automotive

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

3/9/2026

"Affordable with Excellent Support for Smaller Projects"

4/5

What do you like best about KiCad EDA?

The absolute best thing is the low price and the support. Since it is free there are many tutorials online which makes it easy to learn. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about KiCad EDA?

The features and tools are not as refined and powerful as a paid software like Altium Designer. This makes it okay for smaller projects but not for massive ones. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Validated ReviewerSource: Organic

Abhishek K.

Co-Founder

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/24/2026

"A Great Tool for Beginners—Easy to Learn and Prototype Anything"

5/5

What do you like best about KiCad EDA?

For beginners this is a god tool. You can design any type prototype, And also very easy to learn Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about KiCad EDA?

Not for bigger project also no cloud sync. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Validated ReviewerSource: Organic

Pere M.

Hw industrialization engineer

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

3/11/2025

"Easy to use for prototyping"

4.5/5

What do you like best about KiCad EDA?

Very easy to launch a prototype or a small pilot run Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about KiCad EDA?

Library management when a design is shared among different stakeholders Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: Organic

Bhanu Prakash N.

embedded Firmware engineer

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

12/23/2024

"Design for Free"

4.5/5

What do you like best about KiCad EDA?

easy to use, Free of cost, Basic understanding, Cross-Platform Support, File Format Transparency, Powerful Design Tools. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about KiCad EDA?

Lacks Advanced Features of High-End Tools, Less Integrated Manufacturing Support, Limited Commercial Support. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Validated ReviewerSource: Thank You page

Manish M.

Co-Founder and CTO

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

9/25/2024

"Best Open Source EDA"

5/5

What do you like best about KiCad EDA?

Fast Updates and vast number of libraries and support Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about KiCad EDA?

No Auto Routing methods. Many small bugs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Current UserValidated ReviewerSource: Organic Review from User Profile

Brunel B.

Jr. PCB Designer

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

11/25/2023

"KICAD, a review from an Altium User"

3.5/5

What do you like best about KiCad EDA?

Kicad is probably the best tool out there for hobbyists and those that cannot afford the exorbitant prices of the likes of Altium, PADS, or ORCAD. It's free, keeps being updated with features, and has a huge community that uses it. It is quite easy to use and get accustomed to. For an everyday Altium and PADs user, I did not need to go through a single tutorial to figure out what I need to do. It is pretty well made and implemented. Most hobbyists have chosen it as their everyday CAD software of choice. It is something I would run to quickly design a pretty good quality prototype. I can easily integrate it into my day-to-day activities. I like that their 3D view is so responsive. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about KiCad EDA?

The interface needs a bit of work. Something that Altium does better than anyone. Also, I could not figure out why I do not have a separate window for the schematic and every time I double-clicked on the schematic to open it, the software complains that it is already open when it clearly is not open. It wasn't obvious right away what the problem was. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.