Full disclosure up front: we make Protoboard Designer, so read this with that in mind. We'll try to earn your trust the only way possible — by telling you when KiCad is the better choice, because sometimes it clearly is.
Two different philosophies
KiCad is a full electronic design automation (EDA) suite. You draw a schematic first — an abstract circuit diagram — then KiCad carries those connections into the layout editor as a netlist, and you route the physical board against it. This is how professional PCB design works, and KiCad does it remarkably well for free software.
Protoboard Designer skips the schematic. You place footprints and draw copper directly — what you see is what gets fabricated. It's the workflow of sketching a board on graph paper, except the sketch exports Gerber files. It runs in the browser and on Android, with cloud sync between them.
Where KiCad wins
- Complex designs. Once a circuit has dozens of nets, a schematic isn't bureaucracy — it's how you stay sane. Ratsnest routing against a netlist scales; direct drawing doesn't.
- Multi-sheet projects, buses, hierarchies. KiCad's schematic editor handles big designs a direct editor never will.
- Electrical rule checking. A netlist lets the tool verify connectivity against intent, not just geometric clearances.
- 4+ layer boards, length matching, differential pairs. If you know you need these, you already know you need KiCad (or Altium).
Where Protoboard Designer wins
- Time to first board. There's no schematic step, no netlist, no footprint-assignment dialog. For a breakout, an adapter, a small sensor board — you're routing within a minute of opening the app.
- Learning curve. KiCad is famously powerful and famously daunting; the interface assumes you know what schematic capture is. A WYSIWYG editor assumes only that you can see the board you want.
- Runs anywhere. Browser (WebAssembly) and Android, one synced project. KiCad is a desktop install; editing a board on your phone on the couch is simply not on its menu.
- Home etching support. One-click PDF masks — mirrored for toner transfer, inverted for UV — is a first-class feature, not a plugin hunt.
- Your KiCad footprints still work. Import footprints from KiCad libraries or any public GitHub repo (Maker plan), so the part collection you've built carries over. Switching costs are low.
The honest decision table
| Your situation | Use |
|---|---|
| First PCB ever; simple circuit | Protoboard Designer |
| Breakouts, adapters, LED boards, sensor carriers | Protoboard Designer |
| You want to design on a tablet/phone or in a browser | Protoboard Designer |
| Home etching with toner transfer or UV | Protoboard Designer |
| MCU board with dozens of nets | KiCad |
| 4+ layers, high-speed signals, impedance control | KiCad / Altium |
| You want to learn professional EDA workflow | KiCad |
You don't actually have to choose
Plenty of makers use both: a lightweight editor for the quick boards that are 80% of hobby projects, and KiCad for the occasional complex one. Since Protoboard Designer imports KiCad footprints, the library work you invest is shared. Start with whichever matches today's project — the skills transfer.
Try the ten-minute path first
If your next board is simple, see how far you get in your browser before installing anything.
Open the Web App