CAD · pricing
KiCad pricing
KiCad publishes 2 tiers. Below is each one, what it adds over the tier beneath it, and where the ladder stops being worth climbing for most people.
As of 31 August 2026, KiCad pricing is free across 2 published tiers. Figures are the vendor's list prices as recorded on this page's last check; the vendor's site is the final word.
- Entry price
- Free
- Model
- Open source, no licence fee
- Tiers
- 2
- Free tier
- Yes
KiCad plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| KiCad | Free | 5 | Entry tier |
| Commercial support | On request | 3 | Priced on request |
What each tier adds
The set difference between each tier's feature list and the one beneath it. Where a tier lists nothing new, the vendor has either stopped repeating the inherited list or the tier raises limits rather than adding capability, the record does not distinguish the two, so this page does not either.
KiCad
FreeThe entry tier. It covers full suite under gpl, no board size, layer or component limits, commercial use permitted, community support via forums and discord, optional donations via the linux foundation.
Commercial support
On requestOver KiCad, this tier adds:
- Support contracts sold separately by KiCad Services Corporation
- Priority issue handling and consulting
- Not included with the free software
Where KiCad stops being free
KiCad, Free
- Full suite under GPL
- No board size, layer or component limits
- Commercial use permitted
- Community support via forums and Discord
- Optional donations via The Linux Foundation
No paid tier on record
KiCad lists a free tier and no priced tier above it in the record we hold.
What the product covers
The full KiCad feature record, grouped as the catalogue groups it. This is the product as a whole; the record does not map every feature onto a specific tier.
Other
- Schematic capture
- PCB layout
- No design limits
- 3D viewer
- Manufacturing output
- Scripting
People bring KiCad in for a hardware startup designing a multi-layer board without paying for an altium seat, a university teaching pcb design where per-student licences are unaffordable, an open hardware project that needs design files anyone can open and modify, an engineer prototyping a board at home who needs commercial rights on the output. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to KiCad are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in CAD
Too few cad tools in this directory publish a starting price to quote a meaningful median, so the table below is a like-for-like list rather than a ranking.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KiCad (this page) | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | |
| Carlson Software | $4450/one-time | One-time purchase | - | vs KiCad |
| RealityScan | Free, then $1250/year | Free below a revenue threshold, then per seat per year | - | vs KiCad |
| CloudCompare | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | vs KiCad |
| Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler | On request | quote | - | vs KiCad |
| MicroSurvey CAD | $2945/one-time | One-time purchase | - | vs KiCad |
| Nomad Sculpt | On request | One-time purchase | - | vs KiCad |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the KiCad badges page.
Before you pay for KiCad
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: 2 tiers between Free and On request, with the jump itemised above. Because there is a free tier, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to use it before paying anything.
KiCad runs on windows, macos, linux, and is published by KiCad project, under The Linux Foundation of San Francisco, California, United States. The full record is on the KiCad review, and the rest of the category is under best cad tools.
KiCad pricing questions
- How much does KiCad cost?
- KiCad publishes 2 tiers, from Free for KiCad up to On request for Commercial support. The entry tier costs nothing.
- Does KiCad have a free plan?
- Yes. The KiCad tier costs nothing and covers full suite under gpl, no board size, layer or component limits, commercial use permitted.
- What is the difference between KiCad and Commercial support on KiCad?
- Commercial support costs On request against Free, and adds support contracts sold separately by kicad services corporation, priority issue handling and consulting, not included with the free software.
- Which cad tools can I use without paying?
- 2 of the 8 cad tools listed alongside KiCad have a free tier: RealityScan, CloudCompare.
- What am I actually paying for with KiCad?
- The record lists 6 features across 1 area: other. In practice it is brought in for a hardware startup designing a multi-layer board without paying for an altium seat, a university teaching pcb design where per-student licences are unaffordable, an open hardware project that needs design files anyone can open and modify.
- Does KiCad charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 2 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these KiCad prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare KiCad against before paying?
- The closest cad tools in this directory are Carlson Software, RealityScan, CloudCompare, Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler. Each has a side-by-side comparison with KiCad covering price, platforms and features.