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Comparison With Other Tools

It is understandable that people compare LibrePCB to other EDA tools, especially Eagle and KiCad. To help you deciding which EDA tool is best for your needs, here a short overview about the differences between LibrePCB and other EDA tools.

Library Concept

One major advantage of LibrePCB is the powerful library concept. See this talk at FOSDEM (slides here) for details.

LibrePCB vs. Eagle

  • LibrePCB is still actively developed 😉

  • LibrePCB is free of charge — without limitations, even for commercial usage

  • LibrePCB has an integrated library manager, thus it’s much easier to install and update libraries

  • LibrePCB library and project files are better suited for version control

  • The schematic- and board editors of Eagle are currently more powerful (LibrePCB does not yet support hierarchical sheets, buses and more)

LibrePCB vs. KiCad

Library management with LibrePCB is much easier:

  • Easy-to-use library manager to install and update libraries — no knowledge about Git needed

  • LibrePCB does not bundle (possibly outdated or low-quality) libraries together with the application — you have the full control over libraries, and get updated libraries immediately

  • No broken references — you can rename symbols, footprints, pins, pads etc. without breaking other elements or projects

  • LibrePCB organizes parts by hierarchical categories, thus it’s easier and more intuitive to find the part you’re looking for

  • No broken projects caused by updated or removed libraries — LibrePCB projects are self-contained and completely independent of system libraries

  • No configuration (e.g. file paths) needed at all, leading to a consistent organization for all users

Version control of LibrePCB files is more fun:

  • All files of LibrePCB projects and libraries are highly optimized for version control systems

  • User-related settings are strictly separated from project-related settings so you don’t commit annoying, useless changes (like your zoom level or canvas position)

  • LibrePCB has a canonical file format — if you save a project without making relevant changes, no files are modified at all

Netlist synchronization is easier with LibrePCB:

  • Schematics and boards work on the same netlist, so they are always in sync — no manual forward/backward annotation is needed

  • You never have to worry about the pinout of components — LibrePCB stores all connections between symbol pins and footprint pads in the library

LibrePCB generates highly accurate production data:

  • Our libraries already contain MPNs, which are automatically exported to the BOM — no manual, non-standardized MPN specification with properties needed

  • We support highly flexible assembly variants — no need to manually copy & edit BOMs

LibrePCB saves a lot of time:

  • LibrePCB is more intuitive and self-explaining, so you don’t waste time with reading documentation or following tutorials

  • Generating production data and ordering PCBs is much easier and faster thanks to output jobs and fabrication service

  • The schematic editor provides you live part information (livecycle status, availability, price) so you don’t accidentally use obsolete or expensive parts

BUT:

Although LibrePCB has many cool advantages, KiCad is (currently) more powerful. It has an amazing amount of features which allow to design very complex PCBs. LibrePCB is still a rather young software with very limited financial resources and thus lacks many features needed to design complex PCBs.

Also our libraries are not yet as extensive as the KiCad libraries.

So, if you are looking for an intuitive EDA tool to quickly design a PCB, you should give LibrePCB a try. But if you want to design very complex PCBs, LibrePCB is probably not (yet) the tool you are looking for.