KiCad
KiCad is an open-source Electronic Design Automation suite for schematic capture, PCB design, 3D visualization, and SPICE simulation, serving professional engineers, hobbyists, students, and institutions like CERN, with paid professional support via KiCad Services Corporation.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersLong Beach, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What KiCad does
KiCad is an open-source Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software suite providing schematic capture, PCB layout, 3D visualization, Gerber inspection, and SPICE circuit simulation across Windows, Linux, and macOS. First released in 1992 by Jean-Pierre Charras at the University of Grenoble, the platform is licensed under GNU GPL v3 and built in C++ with wxWidgets, OpenGL for 3D rendering, and ngspice for circuit simulation. Its core product modules — Eeschema, PcbNew, 3D Viewer, Gerbview, and an integrated Plugin and Content Manager — cover the full electronics-design workflow from schematic to manufacturing-ready Gerber and IPC-2581 output, with import/export compatibility to commercial tools including Altium, EAGLE, Cadence Allegro, and EasyEDA.
The project is governed by a technical committee of 15 lead developers under Project Leader Wayne Stambaugh, supported by a dedicated librarians team, packagers, and technical writers, with localization across 20+ languages via Weblate. KiCad serves professional electronics engineers, hobbyists, students, educators, and open-source hardware communities, and has been adopted by institutional users including CERN (particle accelerator libraries), Olimex (single-board computers), University of Antwerp, and SparkFun, with Digi-Key hosting over 850,000 KiCad-compatible component models.
KiCad Services Corporation, founded in 2019 in Long Beach, California, monetizes the ecosystem through professional support contracts, while the underlying project is funded by community donations (displayed totals of $71,366 recent and $128,000 cumulative) and a multi-tier corporate sponsorship program (Platinum: PCBWay, NextPCB; Gold: AISLER; Silver: Digi-Key), with donations also processed through the Linux Foundation. Distribution is direct digital download from kicad.org, supplemented by KiCad Europe OÜ for European enterprise support and an annual KiCon conference series held across North America, Europe, and Asia.
KiCad firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- KiCad
- Legal name
- KiCad Services Corporation
- Website
- https://kicad.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- KiCad is an open-source Electronic Design Automation suite for schematic capture, PCB design, 3D visualization, and SPICE simulation, serving professional engineers, hobbyists, students, and institutions like CERN, with paid professional support via KiCad Services Corporation.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
KiCad industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- EDA Cloud/SaaS, Design Data Management & Collaboration (HDAHAFAJ)
Keywords
Where KiCad is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Long Beach
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
KiCad business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Donations and Sponsorships: KiCad is free and open-source software. Revenue comes from donations (processed via Stripe, PayPal, and The Linux Foundation) and corporate sponsorships at Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze levels. The website displays donation totals ($71366 recent, $128,000 total). Sponsors include PCBWay, NextPCB, Digi-Key Electronics, and others.
- Professional Support Services: KiCad Services Corporation and KiCad Europe OÜ provide paid professional support services including private issue reporting, rapid fixes, online remote desktop support, training, consulting, and contracted feature development.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free Open Source - No cost tier |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
KiCad product offering
Product offeringCore offering
KiCad provides a free, open-source cross-platform Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software suite for schematic capture, PCB layout with Gerber and IPC-2581 output, 3D visualization, and SPICE-based circuit simulation. It runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS, is licensed under GNU GPL v3, and is bundled with a vast community-maintained library of symbols, footprints, and 3D models. Paid professional support services are available separately through KiCad Services Corporation and KiCad Europe OÜ for users requiring commercial assistance, training, and contracted feature development.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- KiCad EDA Suite Open-source cross-platform Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software suite licensed under GNU GPL v3, providing schematic capture (Eeschema), PCB layout (PcbNew), 3D visualization, Gerber viewing, integrated SPICE simulation, and a Plugin and Content Manager. Runs natively on Windows, Linux, and macOS and bundles a community-maintained library of symbols, footprints, and 3D models.
- KiCad Official Libraries Community-maintained open-source libraries for KiCad including schematic symbols (kicad-symbols), PCB footprints (kicad-footprints), 3D models (kicad-packages3d), and project templates (kicad-templates), hosted on GitLab. Provides thousands of components used immediately in designs without requiring users to define parts from scratch.
- KiCad Professional Support Services Paid professional support for KiCad users delivered by KiCad Services Corporation (Long Beach, CA) and KiCad Europe OÜ, including private issue reporting, rapid fixes, remote desktop support, training, consulting, and contracted feature development. Targeted at enterprise users requiring dedicated commercial assistance beyond community support channels.
Quantifiable outcome
- Free alternative to $5,000+ annual commercial EDA licenses
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use KiCad
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
KiCad technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration17 records
Feature8 records
KiCad partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered major, core, silver, gold and in-kind.
- CERNmajorCERN provides in-kind sponsorship including website hosting services and donation processing for KiCad. CERN has also released their entire set of KiCad libraries for particle accelerator electronics as open source on GitLab, supporting KiCad 9.x and 10.x with 10.x compatibility in development. CERN's contribution represents significant validation of KiCad's capabilities for high-energy physics research applications.
- KiCad Services CorporationcoreKiCad Services Corporation is a full-service commercial support corporation founded in 2019, providing private issue reporting, rapid fixes, online remote desktop support, and contracted feature development. Founded by KiCad developers Seth Hillbrand and Jon Evans.
- KiCad Europe OÜcoreKiCad Europe OÜ provides professional support for KiCad users in Europe, offering training, consulting, and custom development services. Expert team dedicated to helping users get the most out of KiCad.
- Digi-Key ElectronicssilverDigi-Key is a Silver level sponsor providing KiCad library support. They maintain an atomic parts library for KiCad on GitHub and have featured KiCad in multiple blog posts and interviews with KiCad project lead Wayne Stambaugh.
- AISLERgoldAISLER is a Gold level sponsor that believes PCB design tools like KiCad should participate financially when designs become physical products. Allows users to easily donate to KiCad during the ordering process.
- Weblatein-kindWeblate helps KiCad translate its interface into more than 20 languages. Provides continuous localization with tight VCS integration and active development support.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
KiCad competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
KiCad social profiles
Digital presenceKiCad financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
KiCad leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
KiCad funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
KiCad M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about KiCad
What does KiCad do?
KiCad provides a free, open-source cross-platform Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software suite for schematic capture, PCB layout with Gerber and IPC-2581 output, 3D visualization, and SPICE-based circuit simulation. It runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS, is licensed under GNU GPL v3, and is bundled with a vast community-maintained library of symbols, footprints, and 3D models. Paid professional support services are available separately through KiCad Services Corporation and KiCad Europe OÜ for users requiring commercial assistance, training, and contracted feature development.
Is KiCad a public or private company?
KiCad is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was KiCad founded?
KiCad was founded in 1992. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is KiCad based?
KiCad is headquartered in Long Beach, United States, in the North America region.
How does KiCad make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are professional Support Services.
Does KiCad have an API?
No public API is recorded for KiCad.
What industry is KiCad in?
KiCad's product category is Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHAFAJ, EDA Cloud/SaaS, Design Data Management & Collaboration. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.