Comparison

Best AI PCB design software in 2026

Six PCB design tools compared on licence model, supported platforms, library support, fabrication output and how much of the work AI can actually do. Includes what each tool does better, and no invented pricing.

Last updated 26 September 2026

"AI PCB design" covers two quite different things. One is a chat assistant that answers questions next to an editor you still drive by hand. The other is an agent that actually issues editor commands — placing parts, drawing wires, routing copper — and checks its own work. Tools that sound similar in marketing copy sit on opposite sides of that line, so this comparison asks about it directly.

Every tool here is compared on the same six dimensions, and none of the entries state what another tool costs: prices move, and a stale price is the fastest way for a page like this to become wrong. Where something has not been confirmed, the table says so instead of guessing.

At a glance

The same six questions asked of every tool. Unverified cells say so.

Schema compared with KiCad, Altium Designer, Flux, EasyEDA, ProtoFlow, Trace
Dimension	SchemaOurs	KiCad	Altium Designer	Flux	EasyEDA	ProtoFlow	Trace
Licence / distribution	Proprietary desktop app. Free plan including a monthly allowance of agent credits; further credits sold in packs.	Free and open source, under the GNU GPL. No licence cost, no seat count, no vendor.	Proprietary commercial licence, sold per seat.	Proprietary, browser-delivered, with a free tier.Vendor's claim	Proprietary and free to use, operated alongside the LCSC / JLCPCB supply chain.	Free to start.Vendor's claim	Not verified
Where it runs	Desktop — macOS on Apple Silicon, and Windows and Linux on x86-64 and arm64.	Desktop — Linux, Windows and macOS.	Desktop — Windows.	Browser — nothing to install, works from any OS.	Browser, with an optional desktop client.	Desktop — macOS, Windows and Linux.Vendor's claim	Not verified
Agent command surface	74 documented commands across the schematic and PCB editors, identical for you and for the agent.	A Python API for the board editor. It is an automation interface for scripts rather than a uniform verb set spanning both editors.	A scripting and extension API (DelphiScript, VBScript, JScript) plus a developer SDK.	Not verified	An extension API for the editor, rather than a command vocabulary intended for an autonomous agent.	Not verified	A CLI and a developer API are published as part of the product.Vendor's claim
AI assistance	A natural-language agent that drives the editor through those same commands, then checks its own work with DRC and ERC.	None built in. AI assistance comes from third-party tools that read or write KiCad files.	No natural-language design agent comparable to a prompt-to-schematic flow.	An in-app AI assistant for design help and part selection.Vendor's claim	Not verified	Turns plain-English prompts into editable schematics using catalogue parts, and runs DRC and ERC.Vendor's claim	Not verified
Reads KiCad libraries	Yes — reads KiCad symbol and footprint libraries, and Altium schematic libraries.	Yes — KiCad libraries are its native format.	Not natively. Altium uses its own library formats; KiCad libraries require conversion or an importer.	Not verified	Import paths exist for external libraries; LCSC parts are the native path.Vendor's claim	Exports a KiCad project.Vendor's claim	Not verified
Fabrication output	Gerber RS-274X and Excellon drill, including plated and non-plated splits.	Gerber RS-274X, Excellon drill, IPC-2581 and ODB++.	Gerber, Excellon, ODB++ and IPC-2581.	Gerber export.Vendor's claim	Gerber export, with a direct hand-off into JLCPCB fabrication.	Not verified	Not verified

The tools

1. Schema

Our product

Best for agent-driven design on an existing KiCad or Altium library

A desktop tool where the AI and the human share one command surface — 74 documented commands spanning schematic capture and board layout. The agent places parts, wires nets, routes copper, runs DRC and ERC, and undoes its own work when a check fails. Reads KiCad symbol and footprint libraries and Altium schematic libraries, and exports Gerber RS-274X and Excellon drill. Free plan with a monthly credit allowance. This is our product.

Download Schema

2. KiCad

Best free and open-source baseline

The tool everything else interoperates with, and still the right default for a lot of people. No AI built in, and its Python automation is strongest on the board side rather than spanning both editors — but it is genuinely free, genuinely open, and has twenty years of accumulated answers behind it.

Schema vs KiCad Visit KiCad ↗

3. Altium Designer

Best for professional high-speed and rigid-flex work

The deepest feature set here by a wide margin, particularly for length tuning, impedance control and rigid-flex. Windows only, sold per seat, and without a natural-language design agent. If your board needs Altium-grade constraint management, no amount of AI elsewhere substitutes for it.

Schema vs Altium Designer Visit Altium Designer ↗

4. Flux

Best for browser-based collaboration

Runs entirely in the browser with real-time multi-user editing and an in-app AI assistant. Nothing to install and nothing to keep in sync, which is a real advantage for teams. The trade-off is the one every hosted tool makes: your project lives on their infrastructure.

Schema vs Flux Visit Flux ↗

5. EasyEDA

Best for going straight to a fabricated board

Tied tightly to the LCSC parts catalogue and JLCPCB fabrication, which makes it the shortest path from picking a part to holding an assembled board. Free. That coupling is also its limit — the flow assumes you are ordering from that supply chain.

Schema vs EasyEDA Visit EasyEDA ↗

6. ProtoFlow

Best-known prompt-to-schematic tool

Describes itself as turning plain-English prompts into editable schematics with distributor part numbers, running DRC and ERC, and exporting a KiCad project. We have not independently verified its agent surface or fabrication output, so those rows are marked unverified rather than filled in.

Schema vs ProtoFlow Visit ProtoFlow ↗

7. Trace

Best for programmatic, API-driven workflows

Publishes a CLI and a developer API alongside hosted component libraries, which points at CI-driven and generated-board workflows. We have confirmed less about this one than the others, and the table says exactly which rows those are.

Schema vs Trace

How to choose

The questions that actually decide it, rather than the feature checklist.

Do you need the AI to change the design, or just to advise?

An assistant that answers questions is useful but leaves the work with you. An agent that issues editor commands can do the repetitive placement and routing. Ask whether the tool publishes the commands its AI can issue — if it does not, you cannot tell what the AI is actually able to do.

Whose libraries will you use?

This is the real switching cost. If you have curated KiCad symbols and footprints, a tool that reads them directly saves weeks; one that needs conversion will cost you those weeks and some silent errors. Altium libraries are a separate question again.

Where does the board get made?

If you always order from JLCPCB, a tool welded to that supply chain is an advantage. If you send Gerbers to whoever quotes best, you want neutral RS-274X and Excellon output and no assumptions about the fabricator.

Browser or desktop?

Browser tools remove installation and enable live collaboration. Desktop tools keep large boards responsive and keep project files on your machine. Neither is better in the abstract; it depends on whether collaboration or local control matters more.

How high-speed is your design?

Controlled impedance, length matching and differential-pair tuning are where the mature commercial tools remain clearly ahead. If your board needs that, choose for the constraint engine and treat AI assistance as secondary.

The commands behind the claim

Schema publishes its entire agent surface. Here are some of the 74 commands — the same ones you issue and the agent issues — so you can judge the claim rather than take it.

place_symbolPlace a new symbol.connectPut a pin on a net, landing at the nearest point of it.draw_wireDraw a wire between two pins.place_powerPlace a power/ground symbol driving a named net.validateReport document invariants that no longer hold.netsList every net, its members, and whether its name is unique.search_footprintsFind footprints in the installed libraries by description.route_traceRoute a trace between two pads.begin_routeStart an interactive route at a pad.list_unroutedList the ratsnest — the connections that still need routing.render_boardRender a synthesised image of the board for visual inspection.undoStep the sheet back through its edit history.

All 74 commands · Documentation · Guides

How this comparison was built

We make one of the tools on this page, so here is exactly what we did and did not check.

Schema is our product. We build one of the tools on this page, and we say so at the top rather than in a footnote.
Every claim about another tool is limited to durable, checkable properties — licence model, supported platforms, published file formats, documented automation interfaces.
No page here states what another tool costs. Prices change without notice, and a stale price is the most common way a comparison page becomes wrong.
Where we have not confirmed something, the table says "Not verified" instead of guessing. Vendor claims are labelled as vendor claims.
Every comparison names what the other tool does better, including cases where we would tell you to pick it.
Found a mistake? Tell us at corrections@getschema.dev and we will correct the page and update the date on it.

Last reviewed 26 September 2026. Corrections: corrections@getschema.dev

Frequently asked questions

What is the best AI PCB design software?

It depends on what you want the AI to do. For an agent that actually drives the editor — placing parts, routing copper and checking its own work — Schema is built specifically around that, with 74 documented commands the AI and the user share. For a free and open-source baseline with no AI, KiCad remains the strongest choice. For professional high-speed or rigid-flex work, Altium Designer is still deeper than anything AI-first.

Can AI design a PCB by itself?

Not end to end, and any tool claiming otherwise is overselling. What works today is an agent doing bounded, checkable steps — placing decoupling capacitors, wiring a known bus, routing a net class, running DRC — with an engineer reviewing the result. The important question is whether the tool lets the AI verify its own work; an agent that cannot run a check and undo a bad change will confidently produce a wrong board.

Is there free AI PCB design software?

Yes, with caveats worth reading. KiCad and EasyEDA are free but have no built-in design agent. Schema, ProtoFlow and Flux all have free entry points where the AI features are metered or limited in some way. We cover exactly what "free" means in each of them in our free AI PCB design tools roundup.

Do these tools export standard fabrication files?

Schema exports Gerber RS-274X and Excellon drill files, including plated and non-plated splits. KiCad and Altium additionally export IPC-2581 and ODB++. Check this before committing to any tool — Gerber output is what makes a design portable to any board house.

Head-to-head comparisons

ComparisonSchema vs KiCad ComparisonSchema vs Altium ComparisonSchema vs Flux ComparisonSchema vs EasyEDA ComparisonSchema vs ProtoFlow ComparisonSchema vs Trace

Other roundups

RoundupBest AI schematic generatorsWhich tools turn a description into an editable schematic.RoundupFree AI PCB design toolsWhat "free" actually means in each tool, without the asterisks.

Guides

Try the one that publishes its whole command surface

Free to start on macOS, Windows and Linux. Reads your existing KiCad and Altium libraries, so trying it does not mean rebuilding your parts.