KiCad revolutionized PCB design by making it accessible to everyone. Flux builds on that foundation, offering a browser-based, AI-powered platform that takes your PCB design experience to the next level.
If you’re a KiCad user considering a switch to Flux, you might be wondering how the two platforms compare. To help you decide, we’ve broken down the key differences that set Flux apart from KiCad and how it can streamline your design process.
In KiCad, it can take a while to configure your project to get started. Even when you find a reference project, you still need to go through several steps to import the project, libraries, and everything you need get going.
In Flux, all you have to do is open a new project and everything is ready to go! What’s more - all public projects, parts, and modules can be forked and built upon with the click of a button. Similar to GitHub, Flux has been built with reusability in mind from the very beginning.
In KiCAD, library management, schematic editing, PCB editing, and simulation can feel like completely different flows. That can make it hard to keep track of everything and make sure your project stays in sync.
In Flux, the schematic editor, BOM, PCB editor, and simulator all work in one workflow that stays in sync in the browser. There’s also a version control system that makes it easy to revert changes.
In KiCad, you have to maintain multiple libraries which can become extremely time-consuming to keep up to date. When sharing KiCAD designs sometimes projects will break because the reference library isn’t linked.
In Flux, there’s a single unified library that’s being constantly updated and improved upon by the community. This allows you to easily use other people’s vetted parts instead of making your own.
Flux Copilot is the industry's first AI-powered hardware design assistant integrated into a PCB design tool. With its ability to understand schematic designs, component lists, connections, and part information from datasheets, Copilot offers a wealth of knowledge and capabilities that can transform the way hardware design is approached.
In KiCAD, files remain on your computer and sharing and getting feedback often involves sharing screenshots via emails and Slack conversations. Version control is also very difficult, especially when working with others.
In Flux, sharing with contractors, collaborators, clients, and other stakeholders is as easy as sharing a link.
With KiCAD, like all open source software, there is support by community members & contributors which is awesome! However, without centralized support, fixes and features can take easily up to a year.
With Flux, you have access to browser-based software where fixes and new features are instantly deployed to all users and a platform that’s updated frequently based entirely on your feedback.
Making the switch to Flux is easy. Create a Flux account, follow the KiCad to Flux migration tutorial to get your projects into Flux, or follow this video tutorial:
If this sounds interesting to you and you'd like to request a demo or learn more, please contact sales.
Today, we're proud to announce a significant upgrade to Flux Copilot: Copilot can now understand datasheets and reference them in its responses. This means you get more accurate responses when asking Copilot questions about specific parts. This enables you to directly utilize the wealth of data often hidden in the layers of these dense technical documents.
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