This page is a comparison of electronic design automation (EDA) software which is used today to design the near totality of electronic devices. Modern electronic devices are too complex to be designed without the help of a computer. Electronic devices may consist of integrated circuits (ICs), integrated circuit substrates, printed circuit boards (PCBs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or a combination of them. Integrated circuits may consist of a combination of digital and analog circuits. These circuits can contain a combination of transistors, resistors, capacitors or specialized components such as analog neural networks, antennas or fuses.

The design of each of these electronic devices generally proceeds from a high- to a low-level of abstraction. For FPGAs the low-level description consists of a binary file to be flashed into the gate array, while for an integrated circuit or printed circuit board the low-level description consists of a layout file which describes the masks to be used for lithography inside a foundry.

Each design step requires specialized tools, and many of these tools can be used for designing multiple types of electronic circuits. For example, a program for high-level digital synthesis can usually be used both for IC digital design as well as for programming an FPGA. Similarly, a tool for schematic-capture and analog simulation can generally be used both for analog IC design and for PCB design.

In the case of integrated circuits (ICs) for example, a single chip may contain today more than 20 billion transistors and, as a general rule, every single transistor in a chip must work as intended. Since a single VLSI mask set can cost up to 10-100 millions, trial and error approaches are not economically viable. To minimize the risk of any design mistakes, the design flow is heavily automated. EDA software assists the designer in every step of the design process and every design step is accompanied by heavy test phases. Errors may be present in the high-level code already, such as for the Pentium FDIV floating-point unit bug, or it can be inserted all the way down to physical synthesis, such as a missing wire, or a timing violation.

Comparison of proprietary EDA software Mainstream EDA software bundles for ICs design The world of electronic design automation (EDA) software for integrated circuit (IC) design is dominated by the three vendors Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems and Siemens EDA (Formerly Mentor Graphics, acquired in 2017 by Siemens) which have a revenue respectively of 4,2 billion US$, 3 billion US$ and 1,3 billion US$.

These vendors offer software bundles which allow to cover the full spectrum of IC design, from HDL synthesis to physical synthesis and verification.

The development of EDA software for IC design is tightly connected with the development of technology nodes. The properties of a specific semiconductor foundry, such as the transistor models, the physical characteristics and the design rules, are usually encoded in file formats which are proprietary to one or more EDA vendors. This set of files constitutes the process design kit (PDK) and it is usually developed as a joint effort between the foundry and an EDA vendor. Foundries therefore usually release PDKs which are compatible only for one specific EDA bundle. The information contained inside PDKs is usually considered confidential. PDKs are therefore usually protected by non disclosure agreements (NDAs) and may be shipped in an incomplete or in an encrypted form to the designers.

Proprietary software for electrical simulation (analog/mixed-signal/electromagnetic) Application and developer Platform Latest release Schematic? Simulation? PCB editing? User Interface Language(s) Imports Exports Scripting support Version Date Advanced Design System by Keysight EEsof EDA POSIX 2019 2018-11-15 rowspan="4" rowspan="4" , full-wave electromagnetic simulation and netlist simulation rowspan="4" en HSPICE, SPICE, Spectre netlists; Gerber, Excellon, ODB++, artwork; more HSPICE, SPICE, Spectre netlists; Gerber, Excellon, ODB++, artwork; more Python, Application Extension Language (proprietary; "AEL") Windows SuSE RHEL CircuitLogix by Logic Design Windows 10 2019-01 , netlist simulation (analog and digital) en SPICE netlist and model formats SPICE, PDF, Gerber, DXF LTspice by Analog Devices(free) Windows, macOS, Wine 26.0.1 2026-01-14 , netlist simulation (analog) en netlist netlist Micro-Cap(free, end-of-life) Windows 12.2.0.5 2021-06-17(end-of-life) rowspan="2" rowspan="2" , netlist simulation (analog and digital) rowspan="2" en, jp HSPICE, PSPICE, SPICE3, netlists, Images, IBIS, Touchstone SPICE text file, netlist, BOM, Protel, Accel, OrCad, PADS netlists, Schematic and Analysis Plots Images, Numeric Output Text, Excel Wine TINA-TI (free) Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Android 12.0 2019-12 rowspan="4" rowspan="4" rowspan="4" 23 languages (en, de, fr, es, and 19 other languages) XML, PSpice netlist, (.CIR) XML, PSpice netlist, (.CIR) Of these, LTSpice, TINA-TI, Micro-cap are free proprietary applications based on SPICE. Micro-Cap was released as freeware in July 2019, when its parent company Spectrum Software closed down while LTSpice has been free for a long time.

Comparison of proprietary software for PCB design

Application and developer Platform Latest release Schematic? Simulation? PCB editing? User Interface Language(s) Imports Exports Scripting support Version Date Altium Designer (former Protel) by Altium (included in Altium Develop and Altium Agile) Windows 24.10.1 2024-10-10 rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" Multilingual OrCAD, Allegro, PADS Logic, PADS PCB, Expedition, DxDesigner, EAGLE, P-CAD, Gerber, STEP, Solidworks, IDF, Zuken, more 3D PDF, Gerber, Gerber X2, pick-and-place CSV, Excellon, ODB++, IPC-2581, D356, DXF, STEP, Parasolid, EDB, more Delphi, JS, VB Wine CADSTAR, Board Designer, and Visula by Zuken Windows 2022.0 2022-08-31 , SI & PI en PADS, OrCAD, P-CAD, Protel, DXF, IDF PDF, Gerber, Excellon, ODB++, DXF, IDF more COM, macros CircuitMaker by Altium Windows 2 2021-07 rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" en Importer Removed since Last Version (1.3) Gerber, Excellon, DXF, STEP, PDF None Wine CR-5000 by Zuken POSIX 13 2011-05-17 rowspan="4" rowspan="4" , SI & PI rowspan="4" en, jp EDIF, DXF, IGES, IDF, BSDL, STEP, ACIS, Gerber, Excellon, more PDF, Gerber, Excellon, ODB++ (must request), DXF, STEP, IPC D-356, IPC-2581, EPS, ACIS Windows Unix Linux CR-8000 by Zuken POSIX 2020 2020-06-30 rowspan="4" rowspan="4" , SI & PI, IBIS-AMI/SERDES rowspan="4" en, jp EDIF, DXF, IGES, IDF, BSDL, STEP, ACIS, Gerber, Excellon, more PDF, Gerber, Excellon, ODB++ (must request), DXF, STEP, IPC D-356, IPC-2581, EPS, ACIS Windows Unix Linux DesignSpark PCB by RS Components Windows 9.0.3 2020-07-08 , Spice en EAGLE, DXF, EDIF Gerber, Excellon, ODB++, DXF, IDF, PDF, LPKF DipTrace by Novarm POSIX 5.3.0.3 2026-07-30 rowspan="4" rowspan="4" (Spice netlist export) rowspan="4" 21 languages Altium, Eagle, KiCad, OrCAD, P-CAD, PADS, Gerber, N/C Drill, DXF, BSDL Pinlist, Netlists Gerber, Gerber X2, Excellon, ODB++, DXF, Eagle, P-CAD, PADS, OrCAD, IPC-D-356, STEP, VRML, Pick and Place, CSV, BOM Windows Mac Wine EAGLE by Autodesk/CadSoft Computer(discontinued) POSIX 9.6.2 2020-05-27 rowspan="4" rowspan="4" rowspan="4" de, en, zh, hu, ru EAGLE (XML), ACCEL (P-CAD, Altium, Protel), ULTIBOARD, Netlists, BMP, Custom EAGLE (XML), Protel, Netlists, Images, Gerber, Gerber X2, Excellon, Sieb & Meyer, HPGL, PostScript/EPS, PDF, Images, HyperLynx, IDF, Custom Proprietary User Language Programming (ULP) Windows Linux Mac EasyEDA POSIX 6.4.5 2020-08-19 rowspan="5" rowspan="5" rowspan="5" en, fr, de, pl, jp, ru, es, se, ua, zh ... Altium, EAGLE, KiCad libraries, DipTrace, LTspice .asc/.asy files, JSON, Spice PDF, PNG, SVG, JSON, Gerber, Excellon, Pick and Place CSV file, CSV-formatted drill chart, Bill of Materials CSV file, Altium netlist, FreePCB netlist, PADS Layout Netlist, Spice netlist. JSON Windows Linux Mac ChromeOS as a Web application Flux.ai ChromeOS as a Web application N/A 2025 rowspan="1" rowspan="1" rowspan="1" en EAGLE/KiCad libraries, Altium/Allegro Schematics, DXF, SVG, STEP, etc. Gerber, IPC-2581C, ODB++, EDIF netlists, D356 netlists, JEP30, Pick and Place CSV file, CSV-formatted drill chart, Bill of Materials CSV file. TypeScript NI Ultiboard and Multisim by National Instruments Windows 14.2 2019-05-19 rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" en MS*, MP*, EWB, Spice, OrCAD, UltiCap, Protel, Gerber, DXF, Ultiboard 4&5, Calay BOM, Gerber, Excellon, IGES (3D), DXF (2D & 3D), SVG Web application OrCAD Windows 17.4 - 22.1 2022-10-20 en EAGLE, PADS, Altium, STEP, DXF, IDF, IDX, OrCAD SDT, OrCAD Layout,OrCAD PDF, Gerber, Gerber X2, Excellon drill/route, netlist, ODB++, DXF, IDF, IDX, STEP,3D PDF, IPC2581 Tcl/TK, SKILL (Lisp) Proteus by Labcenter Electronics Ltd Windows 8.17 2023-12-11 en Gerber, BMP, DXF PDF, Gerber, GerberX2, Excellon, ODB++, DXF, IDF, PKP, testpoint file, metafile, BMP. internal script Pulsonix by WestDev Ltd Windows 12.5 2023 rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" en Allegro, Altium, CadStar, EAGLE, OrCAD, PADS, P-CAD, Protel, Gerber, STEP, DXF, IDF, more Gerber, Gerber X2, Excellon, ODB++, IPC-2581, PDF, DXF, STEP, IDF, BOM, more Proprietary language, ActiveX Wine TARGET 3001! Windows 33.4 2025-04-09 rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" en, de, fr EAGLE, DXF, Gerber, Gerber, Excellon, BMP, CXF, STEP 3D ODB++, Gerber, Gerber X2, Excellon, EAGLE, HPGL, G-Code (Milling), CXF, STEP 3D, Excel BOMs, Pick&Place, GenCAD, FABmaster, IPC D-356, Test points, Netlists, OBJ, POV-Ray, PDF Package generator scripts, BOM scripts, printing and PDF generator scripts, 3D scripts Wine TINA Windows 12.0 2019-12 rowspan="4" rowspan="4" rowspan="4" 23 languages (en, de, fr, es and 19 other languages) VHDL, Verilog, Verilog-A, and Verilog-AMS VHDL, Verilog, Verilog-A, and Verilog-AMS Linux MacOS Android Upverter POSIX N/A 2019-05-10 rowspan="3" rowspan="3" rowspan="3" en Altium, PDF, OpenJSON, EAGLE PDF, Gerber, Excellon, netlist, PADS Layout Netlist, Pick and Place CSV, High-Res PNG, CSV-formatted drill chart, CSV-formatted list of all parts Windows Web application 123D Circuits by Autodesk POSIX N/A rowspan="3" , + breadboard rowspan="3" rowspan="3" en EAGLE Gerber Windows Web application Application and developer Platform Latest release Schematic? Simulation? PCB editing? User Interface Language(s) Imports Exports Scripting support Version Date

Free and open-source EDA software

Free and open-source software is available for many stages of electronic design automation, including hardware description, simulation, synthesis, physical design, integrated circuit layout, and printed circuit board design.

Examples include the OpenROAD Project for automated integrated-circuit physical design, Chisel for hardware description, Icarus Verilog and Verilator for hardware simulation, Magic and Electric for integrated-circuit layout, Ngspice for circuit simulation, and KiCad and Fritzing for printed circuit board design.

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