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Alternatives

The best EAGLE alternative after end of life

Autodesk ended EAGLE on June 7, 2026. If you used it because it was the hobbyist default, this is a good moment to pick a tool that does more of the work for you. If you have years of boards and libraries in it, you also need somewhere to take them. This post covers both.

By Arnaud and Anass

The short answer

The best EAGLE alternative for your next board is Cherry Blossom for makers and engineers who want a working board fast: you describe the board in plain English and get a checked schematic, PCB layout and fab files in the browser, with an editable KiCad project to finish in.

Cherry Blossom does not open EAGLE files, so for old designs the two homes are Autodesk Fusion, which Autodesk says is fully compatible with EAGLE files, and KiCad, which is free and imports EAGLE 6.x and newer. EasyEDA and DipTrace suit people who want to keep drawing by hand.

What happened

Is EAGLE really gone?

Yes. Autodesk's own support note states that effective June 7, 2026, Autodesk no longer sells or supports EAGLE. Monthly EAGLE Premium subscriptions stopped renewing in March 2024, and annual EAGLE subscribers kept access until the June 2026 date.

Autodesk's recommended path is the electronics workspace inside Autodesk Fusion. Autodesk says EAGLE files are fully compatible with it, and publishes a migration tutorial for bringing schematics, boards and libraries across.

Side by side

How do the EAGLE alternatives compare?

  • Cherry Blossom

    Opens EAGLE files

    No; starts a new board from a description

    Platform

    Browser

    Pricing model

    $20/mo Pro, $140/mo Ultra, AI included

  • Autodesk Fusion

    Opens EAGLE files

    Yes, Autodesk says fully compatible

    Platform

    Autodesk desktop app with cloud data

    Pricing model

    Subscription; free personal use with limited electronics

  • KiCad

    Opens EAGLE files

    Yes, EAGLE 6.x and newer

    Platform

    Windows, macOS, Linux

    Pricing model

    Free, open source

  • EasyEDA

    Opens EAGLE files

    Not verified by us

    Platform

    Browser and desktop client

    Pricing model

    Free; optional Premium

  • DipTrace

    Opens EAGLE files

    Not verified by us

    Platform

    Windows, macOS

    Pricing model

    300-pin freeware; perpetual licences

Sources: Autodesk's EAGLE FAQ and Fusion blog, KiCad's import documentation, EasyEDA and DipTrace's own sites, September 2026.

Starting fresh

What is the best tool for new boards after EAGLE?

Plenty of people used EAGLE because it was the hobbyist default, not because they chose it. If your next board is a new one, file compatibility does not matter, and the question is how fast you can get from an idea to a board you can order.

Cherry Blossom is a browser tool where you describe the board instead of drawing it. An agent writes the design as tscircuit code in a cloud sandbox, builds it, and shows the schematic, PCB layout, 3D view and BOM. Footprints come from real part data, a verification gate checks every AI edit, and a DRC check runs before you can order through the PCBWay hand-off. If you want to do fine layout yourself, you export a KiCad project and carry on there.

Pro is $20 a month with 4M AI credits and 600 AI actions a day. Ultra is $140 a month with 32M credits and the frontier models. Usage past the allowance is $5 per 1M credits, only if you turn it on. The AI is included, with no API key and no per-seat licence. Details are on the pricing page.

Migrating

Where should existing EAGLE projects go?

If you have a library of EAGLE boards you will revise again, pick a tool that reads them. That narrows it to two.

  • Fusion keeps you with Autodesk and adds mechanical CAD in the same product. Fusion for personal use is free for qualifying non-commercial users, but Autodesk notes it has limitations around electronics, so check what your boards need before relying on it.

  • KiCad costs nothing, runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and its import tools list EAGLE 6.x or newer XML schematics and boards. Older binary EAGLE files are not in that list.

Whichever you choose, run the imported design through the new tool's electrical rules check and DRC before you order anything. Converted libraries are where differences tend to show up. A common setup is old boards in KiCad and new boards started in Cherry Blossom, then exported to KiCad, so everything ends up in one editor.

Choosing

When is Cherry Blossom the better choice?

  • Your next board is new, and you would rather describe it than learn a new editor from scratch.

  • You want a first version of the whole board, with parts picked, in one sitting.

  • You want the board checked against manufacturing rules before you order.

  • You want to end up in KiCad anyway and would rather start from a working board.

That is most former EAGLE hobbyists, which is why it fits makers so well.

When is Fusion or KiCad the better choice?

  • You need to reopen and revise existing EAGLE designs.

  • You want to place and route by hand, the way you did in EAGLE.

  • You want to simulate: KiCad has an integrated SPICE simulator, and Cherry Blossom has none.

The honest limits. Cherry Blossom is an early beta. You change a board by asking the agent, not by dragging traces yourself, so fine manual layout happens after a KiCad export. It is not a circuit simulator, it has no real-time multi-user editing, and it is not built for high-speed or RF sign-off.

Everything else

Which EAGLE alternatives are worth a look?

1Cherry BlossomOur product

Best for: Going from a plain-English description to a fab-ready board, in the browser

You describe the board in plain English and an AI agent writes it as code, builds it, and shows you the schematic, PCB layout, 3D view and BOM. Footprints come from real part data, and a verification gate checks the board before you can order it. Export Gerbers, an editable KiCad project, a BOM and pick-and-place files, or open Circuit JSON.

Platform
Browser, nothing to install
Pricing
Pro is $20 a month with 4M AI credits and 600 AI actions a day. Ultra is $140 a month with 32M credits and the frontier models. Usage past the allowance is $5 per 1M credits, only if you turn it on. The AI is included, with no API key and no per-seat licence.
2Autodesk Fusion

Best for: EAGLE users who want Autodesk's own successor

Autodesk's CAD, CAM and PCB product. Its electronics workspace is the official home for EAGLE designs, with a migration path for schematics, boards and libraries.

Platform
Desktop app with Autodesk cloud
Pricing
Subscription; free personal use for qualifying hobbyists, with limited electronics
3KiCad

Best for: A free editor that imports EAGLE 6.x and newer files

Open-source schematic capture with SPICE simulation, PCB layout with an interactive router, and a 3D viewer.

Platform
Windows, macOS, Linux
Pricing
Free
4EasyEDA

Best for: Free design tied to LCSC parts and JLCPCB ordering

Std and Pro editors, both free, in the browser or as desktop clients, with one-click ordering through JLCPCB.

Platform
Browser and desktop client
Pricing
Free; optional Premium plan
5DipTrace

Best for: A pay-once desktop editor

Schematic, layout with push and shove routing and an autorouter, a component editor and 3D preview, sold as perpetual licences.

Platform
Windows, macOS
Pricing
300-pin freeware; paid perpetual editions

If you are weighing KiCad against the browser option, KiCad vs EasyEDA goes deeper, and our Fusion electronics alternative post covers the Autodesk route.

See it on your own board

The quickest way to judge any of this is to describe a board and read what comes back: the schematic, the layout, and what the verification gate says about it. It runs in the browser, with the AI included.

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Questions

The best alternative to EAGLE for new boards is Cherry Blossom, for makers and engineers who want a working board without learning another manual editor. You describe the board in plain English, an AI agent builds the schematic and PCB layout in the browser, footprints come from real part data, and a verification gate checks every edit against manufacturing rules. You export Gerbers, a BOM, pick-and-place files or an editable KiCad project. Plans start from $20 a month. Cherry Blossom cannot open EAGLE files, so for old designs pick a tool that reads them. Autodesk stopped selling and supporting EAGLE on June 7, 2026, and its official successor is the electronics workspace in Autodesk Fusion, which Autodesk says is fully compatible with EAGLE files. KiCad is the free option: it is open source, runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and imports EAGLE 6.x and newer schematics and boards.

Yes, for newer files. KiCad's documentation lists EAGLE 6.x or newer XML schematics and boards among its import formats. Check the imported design with KiCad's rules checks before ordering.

Autodesk no longer sells or supports EAGLE after that date, and its guidance is to move to Fusion. Whether an existing installation keeps running on your machine is a question for Autodesk's support pages; we would not plan new work around software that no longer gets fixes.

No. Cherry Blossom starts from a plain-English description, not from an existing file. It exports an editable KiCad project, so a board started in Cherry Blossom can end up in the same place as your imported EAGLE designs.

Describe a board. See what comes back.

Schematic, layout and a verification gate, in the browser. Exports to Gerbers and KiCad.

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