KiCad
PCB & electronicsOpen-source electronics design automation suite
- Stars
- ★ 3k
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
- Commercial OK
- Gerber
- DXF
Alternative to Altium Designer, Eagle
Free alternatives to OrCAD
Last updated · 3 options
Quick answer: KiCad has the most stars on its repository of the 3 options here (★ 3k), followed by Qucs-S (★ 1.4k). Stars show popularity, not fit, so check formats, platforms and licence for your own work.
Cadence's schematic, PCB and PSpice simulation tools. Here are 3 free options, most-starred first.
Q
Qucs-S
PCB & electronicsCircuit simulator GUI using ngspice, Xyce and other engines
- Stars
- ★ 1.4k
- Licence
- GPL-2.0
- Updated
- Commercial OK
Alternative to OrCAD
N
ngspice
PCB & electronicsOpen-source mixed-signal SPICE circuit simulator
- Licence
- BSD-3-Clause
- Updated
- Commercial OK
Alternative to OrCAD
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Format and fit filters only use details we found in each project's own documentation. A tool that isn't shown may still support it.
FAQ
Is there a free alternative to OrCAD?
Yes. CADAlts lists 3 options: KiCad, Qucs-S and ngspice.
Which OrCAD alternatives are open source?
KiCad (GPL-3.0), Qucs-S (GPL-2.0) and ngspice (BSD-3-Clause).
Which OrCAD alternatives run on a Mac?
KiCad, Qucs-S and ngspice (all of them).
Related categories: PCB & electronics
Check file compatibility before switching. Free tools import STEP, DXF and other neutral formats well, but native SolidWorks, Altium or Revit files, drawing standards and PDM workflows may not carry over cleanly.