Softwr

CAD · head to head

Mari vs KiCad

Mari logo

Mari

CAD

3D painting for film and games

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
KiCad logo

KiCad

CAD

Free open source schematic capture and PCB layout with no seat, board size or layer limits

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Mari the full annual licence is $1,289 paid annually, and a short term quarterly rental is $949 per quarter; KiCad there is no vendor obligation behind the free software, so a blocking bug is escalated to a volunteer community unless you separately buy a contract from KiCad Services Corporation.
  • They diverge on capability: Mari covers High-resolution painting, KiCad covers Schematic capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mari and KiCad actually diverge.

Attributes where Mari and KiCad differ
AttributeMariKiCad
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Founded1996Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Windows, MacOS, Linux), user rating (Not yet rated), category (CAD).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Mari

  • High-resolution painting
  • UDIM support
  • Procedural layers
  • Baking
  • Node graph
  • Color management
  • Maya
  • Nuke

Only in KiCad

  • Schematic capture
  • PCB layout
  • No design limits
  • 3D viewer
  • Manufacturing output
  • Scripting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Mari

  • Painting textures directly onto high complexity 3D assets for film and gamesnot KiCad
  • Handling very large multi-UDIM texture sets in a look development pipelinenot KiCad

KiCad

  • A hardware startup designing a multi-layer board without paying for an Altium seatnot Mari
  • A university teaching PCB design where per-student licences are unaffordablenot Mari
  • An open hardware project that needs design files anyone can open and modifynot Mari
  • An engineer prototyping a board at home who needs commercial rights on the outputnot Mari

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Mari

  • The full annual licence is $1,289 paid annually, and a short term quarterly rental is $949 per quarter
  • The cheap $299 per year or $35 per month subscription is restricted to a single licence for people working alone or in small companies
  • Node-locked and floating are separate licence types you must choose between
  • All listed prices are before applicable taxes
  • A separate non-commercial licence exists, so commercial use requires a paid tier

KiCad

  • There is no vendor obligation behind the free software, so a blocking bug is escalated to a volunteer community unless you separately buy a contract from KiCad Services Corporation.
  • High speed design support, including advanced constraint management, differential pair and impedance tooling, remains behind Altium and Cadence, which matters as soon as boards carry fast interfaces.
  • Rigid-flex and complex stack-up design is weak, so products with flex circuits usually need a commercial package.
  • Component library and part sourcing integrations are thinner than the commercial tools, so parts data and availability checking is manual work someone has to own.
  • Multi-engineer design data management is not provided; teams end up assembling Git workflows themselves, and merge handling on binary-adjacent design files is awkward.

Pricing, plan by plan

Mari

Free
  • Individual Subscription$86/month
    • Solo artists or small companies
    • $689 per year alternative billing
  • Team Subscription$null/year
    • Node-locked or floating licenses
    • Annual payment
  • Team Rental$949/quarter
    • Short-term access
    • Node-locked or floating licenses

KiCad

Free
  • KiCadFree
    • Full suite under GPL
    • No board size, layer or component limits
    • Commercial use permitted
  • Commercial support$undefined/year
    • Support contracts sold separately by KiCad Services Corporation
    • Priority issue handling and consulting
    • Not included with the free software

Which should you pick?

Choose Mari if

  • You need high-resolution painting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
  • You also want udim support.
Mari review

Choose KiCad if

  • You need schematic capture.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want pcb layout.
KiCad review

Questions people ask

Is Mari or KiCad better?
Neither clearly leads. Mari starts at Free and KiCad at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mari or KiCad?
Mari starts at Free and KiCad at Free.
Does Mari or KiCad run on more platforms?
Mari runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux. KiCad runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Mari for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Mari best used for?
Mari is most often used for painting textures directly onto high complexity 3d assets for film and games, handling very large multi-udim texture sets in a look development pipeline. Of those, painting textures directly onto high complexity 3d assets for film and games and handling very large multi-udim texture sets in a look development pipeline are not what KiCad is typically brought in for.
What can Mari do that KiCad cannot?
Mari covers High-resolution painting, UDIM support, Procedural layers, Baking. KiCad covers Schematic capture, PCB layout, No design limits, 3D viewer.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mari: What is Mari's pricing?

Individual Subscription costs $689 per year or $86 per month. Team Subscription costs $1,289 per year. Team Rental costs $949 per quarter for short-term access. Both subscriptions support node-locked or floating licenses.

Source
KiCad: Is KiCad really free for commercial work?

Yes. It is GPL licensed with no restriction on commercial use, board size, layer count or component count.

Mari: Does Mari offer a free trial?

Mari offers a free 30-day trial with unrestricted access to help users evaluate the software before purchasing.

Source
KiCad: Can I buy support?

Yes, but not from the project. KiCad Services Corporation sells commercial support contracts separately; CERN moved to exactly that arrangement after ending its donation programme.

Mari: Does Mari offer student pricing?

Yes, Mari offers free or discounted access to all Foundry products for students, as well as free non-commercial licenses for learning and exploration.

Source
KiCad: How is development funded?

Through donations and sponsors administered via The Linux Foundation, plus contributed engineering time.

KiCad: Is it good enough to replace Altium?

For most low and medium speed boards yes. For high speed, rigid-flex and heavily constrained designs, the commercial tools still hold a clear lead.

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