Best PCB design software › EasyEDA review

EasyEDA review

EasyEDA is a free browser-based editor (with desktop clients) tied closely to the LCSC parts catalogue and JLCPCB's fab and assembly service. It is the easiest start on this list, at the cost of an open licence and full independence from one supplier.

Rank #2 of 6Score 11/14Last reviewed:

Verdict

The easiest way to get a first board made cheaply, as long as you're happy ordering from JLCPCB.

Made by
EasyEDA (part of the JLCPCB and LCSC group)
Cost
Free to use, in Standard and Pro editions. Check easyeda.com for current terms. Check: easyeda.com
Runs on
Web browser; desktop clients for Windows, macOS and Linux
Website
easyeda.com

Who it suits

Beginners and budget builds that will order boards and assembly from JLCPCB with parts from LCSC.

Who should look elsewhere

Projects that must stay independent of one fab and parts supplier, or need an open-source tool.

Strengths

  • The quickest start here: open the browser, place parts, order boards.
  • LCSC's parts catalogue, with stock and price, is built into the library.
  • Ordering boards and assembly from JLCPCB is a few clicks from the editor.

Limits

  • Closed source, and the smoothest path runs through one fab and one parts supplier.
  • User-contributed library parts vary in quality: check footprints against the datasheet.
  • Projects are saved in EasyEDA's cloud by default; local files and offline mode take a deliberate step.

How EasyEDA scores

Each criterion is scored 0–2 against the rules on How we rank.

CriterionScoreWhy
Cost and licensing 1Free to use, but closed source. Check: easyeda.com
Learning curve 2Runs in the browser with official tutorials; schematic, layout and ordering in one place. Check: EasyEDA Pro docs
Library and component support 2LCSC parts with stock and price are searchable from inside the editor. Check: easyeda.com
Board size and layer limits 1We could not confirm the current layer and size limits on EasyEDA's own pages. Check: EasyEDA Pro docs
Output files 2Gerber, BOM and pick-and-place, plus ODB++ export in EasyEDA Pro. Check: EasyEDA Pro docs: export ODB++
Platform support 2Runs in the browser, with desktop clients for Windows, macOS and Linux. Check: EasyEDA download page
Collaboration 1Cloud projects with saved versions and branches in EasyEDA Pro; built-in review or comments not confirmed. Check: EasyEDA Pro docs
Total11/14

EasyEDA compared with KiCad

KiCad is the open-source baseline every tool here is measured against. EasyEDA scores 11/14 against KiCad's 11/14.

  • Cost and licensing: EasyEDA behind (1 vs 2). Free to use, but closed source.
  • Learning curve: EasyEDA ahead (2 vs 1). Runs in the browser with official tutorials; schematic, layout and ordering in one place.
  • Library and component support: EasyEDA ahead (2 vs 1). LCSC parts with stock and price are searchable from inside the editor.
  • Board size and layer limits: EasyEDA behind (1 vs 2). We could not confirm the current layer and size limits on EasyEDA's own pages.

Read the KiCad review →

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