KiCad VS PADS
As of 30 October 2026, PADS is named by 120 companies and KiCad by 382; KiCad skews to companies under 200 people (69% vs 34%), PADS to companies over 1,000 (41% vs 14%).
As of 30 October 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.
The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: KiCad's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, PADS rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- KiCad: 2–200 employees
- 69%
- PADS: 2–200 employees
- 34%
- KiCad: 1,000+ employees
- 14%
- PADS: 1,000+ employees
- 41%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 1.7 · 2.1
- Website or DNS footprint
- 0 · 0
Who chooses which
Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.
| Segment | KiCad | share | PADS | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 8 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| 2-10 employees | 75 | 20% | 8 | 7% | KiCad |
| 11-50 employees | 87 | 23% | 9 | 8% | KiCad |
| 51-200 employees | 100 | 26% | 24 | 20% | KiCad |
| 201-500 employees | 41 | 11% | 20 | 17% | PADS |
| 501-1000 employees | 18 | 5% | 10 | 8% | PADS |
| 1001-5000 employees | 26 | 7% | 22 | 18% | PADS |
| 5001-10000 employees | 9 | 2% | 9 | 8% | PADS |
| 10,001+ employees | 18 | 5% | 18 | 15% | PADS |
| Segment | KiCad | share | PADS | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing & industry | 197 | 52% | 83 | 69% | PADS |
| Technology & software | 68 | 18% | 13 | 11% | KiCad |
| Business & finance services | 37 | 10% | 11 | 9% | even |
| Public, community & associations | 18 | 5% | 1 | 1% | KiCad |
| Media & content | 11 | 3% | 1 | 1% | KiCad |
| Automotive | 9 | 2% | 4 | 3% | even |
| Consumer services & leisure | 9 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 9 | 2% | 2 | 2% | even |
| Property & construction | 6 | 2% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 6 | 2% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Commerce & trade | 5 | 1% | 2 | 2% | even |
| Health care | 4 | 1% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Segment | KiCad | share | PADS | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 218 | 57% | 76 | 63% | PADS |
| Germany | 38 | 10% | 7 | 6% | KiCad |
| France | 18 | 5% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| United Kingdom | 13 | 3% | 6 | 5% | even |
| India | 13 | 3% | 8 | 7% | PADS |
| Canada | 12 | 3% | 5 | 4% | even |
| Netherlands | 10 | 3% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Spain | 5 | 1% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Sweden | 5 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Australia | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Czechia | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Italy | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Austria | – | – | 2 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| China | – | – | 2 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Finland | – | – | 2 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Singapore | – | – | 2 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| United Arab Emirates | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Brazil | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | KiCad | share | PADS | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering (non-software) | 709 | 79% | 288 | 84% | PADS |
| Software engineering | 48 | 5% | 2 | 1% | KiCad |
| Education & training | 38 | 4% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Skilled trades and field service | 14 | 2% | 5 | 1% | even |
| Research and science | 4 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| IT operations & business systems | 3 | 0% | 2 | 1% | even |
| Sales | 3 | 0% | 6 | 2% | even |
| Data & AI | 2 | 0% | 2 | 1% | even |
| Product, program & project management | 2 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Manufacturing and production | 1 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Quality, safety & environment | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Unclassified | – | – | 3 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Hospitality and food service | – | – | 2 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Business development & strategy | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Design & UX | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Healthcare clinical | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using KiCad →
Companies using PADS →
electrical pcb design ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
PADS is named by 120 companies in job postings and KiCad by 382; 21 name both. (Breaknorm, 30 October 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/kicad-vs-pads)
Read from the source, not self-reported
Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →
- Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
- Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
- SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
- Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
KiCad vs PADS: questions
Which is more used, KiCad or PADS?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, KiCad (382) over PADS (120). By website-and-DNS footprint, PADS (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses KiCad?
69% of KiCad companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 34% for PADS. 14% of KiCad companies have over 1,000 employees, against 41% for PADS.
Do companies run both?
21 companies name both in their postings, usually KiCad in marketing and PADS in sales, or during a migration.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.
Get either list your way
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with the person who owns it
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