Best Electrical Design Software in 2026
Updated
In short: SOLIDWORKS is ranked #1 of 42 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of AutoCAD and ETAP. The best-ranked option with a free plan is ProfiCAD. The lowest first paid tier on this page is SOLIDWORKS at $4/mo.
Electrical design software covers capabilities such as schematic capture, panel design and electrical simulation. Compare those tools with standards libraries and MCAD integration to see how options may fit your design process. Deployment is another point to consider, alongside free-plan availability and paid-from pricing. The entries include SOLIDWORKS, AutoCAD and ETAP, giving you different names to assess against the work you need to carry out. Check which combination of design, simulation and integration capabilities is relevant to your projects, and consider the listed cost and deployment details as part of that comparison.
42 electrical design software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
- SheetA-01 TitleSOLIDWORKS Drawn by— From$4/mo Rev.7.3
- SheetA-02 TitleAutoCAD Drawn by— From— Rev.7.1
- SheetA-03 TitleETAP Drawn by— From— Rev.7.1
- SheetA-04 TitleProfiCAD Drawn by— FromFree Rev.7.1
- SheetA-05 TitleOrCAD X Drawn by— From— Rev.6.8
- SheetA-06 TitleMATLAB Grader Drawn by— FromFree Rev.6.7
- SheetA-07 TitleSiemens Building X Drawn by— From— Rev.6.7
- SheetA-08 TitleSKM Power*Tools Drawn by— From$24.92/mo Rev.6.7
- SheetA-09 TitleTrimble Viewpoint Vista Drawn by— From— Rev.6.7
- SheetA-10 TitleZuken E3.series Drawn by— From— Rev.6.7
- SheetA-11 TitleeCADSTAR Drawn by— From£89/mo Rev.6.6
- SheetA-12 TitleEasyPower Drawn by— From$97.08/mo Rev.6.5
- SheetA-13 TitleQElectroTech Drawn by— FromFree Rev.6.4
- SheetA-14 TitleBrightlayer DCIM Drawn by— From— Rev.6.3
- SheetA-15 TitleKiCad Drawn by— FromFree Rev.6.2
- SheetA-16 TitleDipTrace Drawn by— From— Rev.6.1
- SheetA-17 TitleEPLAN Electric P8 Drawn by— From— Rev.6.1
- SheetA-18 TitleiCircuit Drawn by— From— Rev.6.1
- SheetA-19 TitleSimscape Electrical Drawn by— From— Rev.6.1
- SheetA-20 TitleFritzing Drawn by— From— Rev.5.9
- SheetA-21 TitleLibrePCB Drawn by— From— Rev.5.9
- SheetA-22 Titlengspice Drawn by— From— Rev.5.9
- SheetA-23 TitlePLECS Drawn by— From— Rev.5.9
- SheetA-24 TitleTINA Design Suite Drawn by— From— Rev.5.9
- SheetA-25 TitleAltium Designer Drawn by— From— Rev.5.8
Is your product on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which electrical design software is ranked first on Bettesworth Construction?
SOLIDWORKS is ranked #1 of 42 with a score of 7.3. AutoCAD is second and ETAP third.
How many of these have a free plan?
4 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, SOLIDWORKS has the lowest first paid tier we found: $4/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each vendor publishes: plans and prices, a free trial, mobile apps for the field, integrations with accounting tools and the depth of its documentation. Paid placements never change a rank.