Comparison

Schema vs KiCad

The open-source EDA suite that most of the industry treats as the baseline. Mature, free forever, and the format everything else interoperates with. Here is how the two differ, what KiCad does better, and which one to pick.

Last updated 26 September 2026

The short version

Choose KiCad if…

You want a free, permanent, self-hosted toolchain with no account attached, and you are happy to drive every step by hand or script it yourself.

Visit the KiCad site ↗

Choose Schema if…

You already work in KiCad libraries but want an agent that can do the repetitive placement, wiring and routing while you review it.

At a glance

Schema compared with KiCad
Dimension	SchemaOurs	KiCad
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.
Where it runs	Desktop — macOS on Apple Silicon, and Windows and Linux on x86-64 and arm64.	Desktop — Linux, Windows and macOS.
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.
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.
Reads KiCad libraries	Yes — reads KiCad symbol and footprint libraries, and Altium schematic libraries.	Yes — KiCad libraries are its native format.
Fabrication output	Gerber RS-274X and Excellon drill, including plated and non-plated splits.	Gerber RS-274X, Excellon drill, IPC-2581 and ODB++.

What Schema does differently

A natural-language agent can place parts, wire nets, route copper and run checks directly, instead of you scripting it.
One command vocabulary covers both the schematic and the board; KiCad's Python API is strongest on the board side.
Schema reads your existing KiCad symbol and footprint libraries, so the parts you have already curated come with you.

What KiCad does better

Every tool on this site has things it wins on. Here are theirs.

Two decades of maturity, and a very large body of tutorials, forum answers and worked examples.
Genuinely free and open source — no account, no metering, no company that can change the terms.
A broader export set, including IPC-2581 and ODB++.
Simulation, via an integrated ngspice front end.

The agent surface, specifically

This is the difference that is hardest to see from a feature list, so it is worth stating plainly.

Schema exposes 74 documented commands covering schematic capture and board layout — placing symbols, drawing wires, routing traces, filling zones, running checks, rendering the board, undoing. You issue them; the AI agent issues exactly the same ones.

That matters because it is what lets the agent work in a loop rather than in one shot: it can look at the design, make a change, run DRC or ERC, look at the result, and undo if it got it wrong. Every command reports what it actually did, and a command that cannot do what was asked refuses and changes nothing rather than doing something approximate.

You can read the whole vocabulary before installing anything — it is published in full in the command reference.

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

Questions people ask

Is Schema a good KiCad alternative?

You already work in KiCad libraries but want an agent that can do the repetitive placement, wiring and routing while you review it. If instead you want a free, permanent, self-hosted toolchain with no account attached, and you are happy to drive every step by hand or script it yourself. then KiCad is the better choice, and we would tell you so.

What can Schema do that KiCad does not?

A natural-language agent can place parts, wire nets, route copper and run checks directly, instead of you scripting it. One command vocabulary covers both the schematic and the board; KiCad's Python API is strongest on the board side. Schema reads your existing KiCad symbol and footprint libraries, so the parts you have already curated come with you.

What does KiCad do better than Schema?

Two decades of maturity, and a very large body of tutorials, forum answers and worked examples. Genuinely free and open source — no account, no metering, no company that can change the terms. A broader export set, including IPC-2581 and ODB++. Simulation, via an integrated ngspice front end.

Can I move my existing designs into Schema?

Schema reads KiCad symbol and footprint libraries and Altium schematic libraries directly, and can convert a KiCad schematic into a Schema project. Boards are exported as Gerber RS-274X and Excellon drill files, so the output goes to any fabricator.

Other comparisons

The same treatment, for the other tools you might be weighing up.

ComparisonSchema vs Altium DesignerThe long-standing commercial standard for professional PCB design, with the deepest feature set in high-speed and rigid-flex work.ComparisonSchema vs FluxA browser-based PCB design tool built around real-time collaboration and an in-app AI assistant.ComparisonSchema vs EasyEDAA free browser-based design tool tightly coupled to the LCSC parts catalogue and JLCPCB fabrication.ComparisonSchema vs ProtoFlowAn AI-first EDA tool that generates editable schematics from natural-language prompts and exports a KiCad project.ComparisonSchema vs TraceA hosted PCB design platform with a developer-facing surface — a CLI, an API and hosted component libraries.

Roundups

Try Schema alongside KiCad

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