--- title: "Altium vs KiCad: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Altium or KiCad more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the PCB design software set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/pcb-design-software/compare/altium-vs-kicad" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Altium vs KiCad: Which is searched more? Is Altium or KiCad more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the PCB design software set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Altium and KiCad - **Competitive set**: PCB design software - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Altium Share of Search**: 7.4% - **KiCad Share of Search**: 24.8% ## Is Altium or KiCad more popular in search? - In September 2026, KiCad had more branded searches than Altium among PCB design software worldwide. KiCad had about 246,000 branded searches, while Altium had 74,000. KiCad made up 24.8% of all PCB design software searches we track, and Altium accounted for 7.4%. - KiCad was ahead of Altium in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Altium’s share of searches among PCB design software worldwide moved from 6% to 7.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 60.5K to 74K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, KiCad’s share of searches among PCB design software worldwide moved from 16.4% to 24.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 165K to 246K. ## Top PCB design software in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, both Altium and KiCad showed up in all five answers. KiCad was listed before Altium in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | KiCad | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | EasyEDA | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Altium | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Fusion 360 | 4th | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | OrCAD | 5th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | CircuitMaker | 6th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about PCB design software - Asked ChatGPT "Which PCB design software should I use?": 1. KiCad, 2. EasyEDA, 3. Altium, 4. Fusion 360 - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best PCB design software options?": 1. KiCad, 2. Altium, 3. EasyEDA, 4. OrCAD, 5. Fusion 360 - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best PCB design software for circuit board design?": 1. KiCad, 2. EasyEDA, 3. Altium, 4. Fusion 360 - Searched Google, AI Overview "pcb design software": 1. KiCad, 2. Altium, 3. EasyEDA, 4. Fusion 360, 5. OrCAD, 6. CircuitMaker - Searched Google, AI Overview "pcb design tools": 1. KiCad, 2. EasyEDA, 3. CircuitMaker, 4. Fusion 360, 5. Altium, 6. OrCAD Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for PCB design software worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, KiCad gained share of searches among PCB design software worldwide, from 22.5% to 24.8%. - In September 2026, Altium gained share of searches among PCB design software worldwide, from 6.8% to 7.4%. ## Month by month | Month | Altium estimated searches | Altium Share of Search | Altium rank | KiCad estimated searches | KiCad Share of Search | KiCad rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 60.5K | 6% | 4 | 165K | 16.4% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | 60.5K | 6% | 4 | 165K | 16.5% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | 49.5K | 5.2% | 4 | 165K | 17.4% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | 60.5K | 5.6% | 4 | 165K | 15.2% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | 60.5K | 6.1% | 4 | 165K | 16.6% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | 60.5K | 5.6% | 4 | 201K | 18.5% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | 60.5K | 5.6% | 4 | 201K | 18.6% | 3 | | May 2026 | 49.5K | 5.1% | 4 | 201K | 20.8% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | 60.5K | 6.8% | 4 | 165K | 18.4% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | 49.5K | 5.8% | 4 | 165K | 19.5% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | 60.5K | 6.8% | 4 | 201K | 22.5% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | 74K | 7.4% | 4 | 246K | 24.8% | 2 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Altium’s and KiCad’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Altium**: Measured on the search term “altium”. - **KiCad**: Measured on the search term “kicad”. - [Altium profile](/demand/global-en/brands/altium) - [KiCad profile](/demand/global-en/brands/kicad) - [All PCB design software worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/pcb-design-software): The set both shares are measured inside, 6 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Altium or KiCad more popular in search? In September 2026, KiCad had more branded searches than Altium among PCB design software worldwide. KiCad had about 246,000 branded searches, while Altium had 74,000. KiCad made up 24.8% of all PCB design software searches we track, and Altium accounted for 7.4%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Altium vs KiCad: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/pcb-design-software/compare/altium-vs-kicad This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/pcb-design-software/compare/altium-vs-kicad. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.