List of best online circuit simulator and design platform

Circuit simulation platforms will be the first thing that comes to our mind when we want to make design real quick. It eliminates the need to put the real components together to see how it works. It just takes few keystrokes and mouse movements to see your design  results. Today the world is going online, so does the simulation platforms. Online simulation platforms helps you to design and analyze circuits on the go without having it installed in your computer drive. 

So the online platforms have advantages, but there are plenty of them and you might have been confused to make your pick. Helping you was the sole purpose of this article where i have compiled a list of 9 best online circuit simulator. This list was compiled after testing many platforms, discussions on forums and seeking advice from several experts.

Hope this article gives you an idea about it all and helps you to make your pick. So in a usual way let’s start the list of best online circuit simulator from bottom to top.

9. DOCIRCUITS:

PROS: Interactive design, easy to use, pick and drop components are clearly the pros. It also has extensive digital library making it well suited when you want to try out a digital design.

CONS: You can design the circuit without having an account but for simulation you need to login. And this platform is not free. Even though the subscription fee is very less comparing to other platforms, still it offers only limited number of simulations which to me is a bad idea.

8. PART SIM:

PROS: Like other simulators this platform is pretty neat and easy to use. Trying out demo is available without creating an account is a plus. The part libraries of this platform was categorized based on the Characteristics and vendors. Large number of parts from vendors makes this a good choice when you design needs are very sensitive in nature. This platform is entirely free to use.

CONS: I couldn’t find any other IC’s other than lot of Op amps in the libraries. The simulation was less powerful.

7) CIRCUIT LAB:

PROS: This platform is well-built with fairly extensive library well suited for usage from Beginners to enthusiasts. This platform provides simulation by means of graph and can be exported for further analysis. And exporting output data as CSV file was an interesting feature. Also you get to choose design for testing from pre built examples which fairly gives you good idea on getting started.

CONS: The platform is not totally free. The simulation could have been better with interactive simulations apart from the graphical representation.

6) DC/AC VIRTUAL LAB:

PROS: The simulation is very neat and interactive. Pick and drop parts, multi board colors makes designing extremely easy and attractive. This platform is pretty straight forward to use and i believe it will suit perfectly for the beginners. You can also try out this platform without creating an account in it.

CONS: The part libraries are very much limited. Will suits only if you are a beginner. Also comes with subscription fee in case if you need to edit components and free from Ads. Also free account comes with oscilloscope and multi meter with limited functionality.

5. EASYEDA: 

PROS: This Design and simulation platform have become quite famous over the couple of years. The first thing i noticed is it’s part library is quite massive and there is plenty of parts to pick from. Conversion of PCB design from circuit was actually pretty easy with no hassles. Standard edition of this platform is totally free and has lot of cool features. I believe the standard edition will be enough for enthusiasts and will suffice to make complex designs.

CONS: Simulation of circuits definitely can be better. I find it difficult to having simulation done in this platform. Have to go through few guides to simulate my circuit.

4) FALSTAD CIRCUIT:

PROS: Extremely simple web platform that runs on any browser. Am sure you will certainly appreciate the simplicity of this platform. The simulation is exceedingly good provided the simplicity of it. Plenty of pre designed circuits will give you the glimpse of its functionality. This platform will serve as a perfect platform for beginners and for those who want to understand the functionality of simple circuits in Electronics. No account, no sign in just some fun simulations 🙂

CONS: Given the simplicity of this platform i would say the cons are pretty less. But the part libraries are pretty limited and may suits only the beginners and enthusiasts.

3. CIRCUITS CLOUD:

PROS: This platform is pretty interesting with the inclusion of PIC 16F877 MCU as a simulating element. This was the only platform i have seen where an MCU was included in its library. It was powered by an MikroC compiler and you are provided space to write your code in C. The interactive simulation is fairly good and extensive analog/ digital parts availability will certainly be handy for all the enthusiasts.

CONS: Can’t claim it as disadvantage but certainly adding few more MCU’s and significant digital chips will be great. May be we can expect that in the future.

2) EVERYCIRCUIT:

PROS: This online simulator is pretty impressive and available in mobile platforms Android and iOS. The simulation and interactive animation of this simulator is pretty impressive and one step ahead of its competitors. It also offers plenty of example pre designed circuits. Creating schematic is easy even new users can use it without hassle.

CONS: This is not a freeware, the limited trail is just for a day and you have to pay $15 after that. Or you have to continue using them in limited version. The part library is pretty limited and only discrete components are available in it. Many Useful IC’s are missing in their libraries. Above all it runs only in Chrome browser and cannot use it in other browsers (Firefox, IE etc).

1. CIRCUITS.IO :

PROS: I would say that this simulator tool is certainly a stand out. Unlike other platforms the output design is more easy to interpret and will be a handy reference while making connections in real-time. The part libraries was huge and duly impressive with plenty of options to choose from. Parts such as Sensor modules and other famous modules from various distributors was a classy touch. The simulation is pretty cool and handy as well.

CONS: The only con i could find was the difficulty in designing circuits. It may give you a bit of pain especially if you want to design circuit quick and easy.

Hope this article served its purpose on giving you the glimpse of best online circuit simulator. Please comment in case if i have missed any good platform, thanks for reading.