Draft it vs TinyCAD

Draft it is Windows CAD software for producing, saving and printing drawings, ranging from basic 2D drafting to advanced design. Its four tiers all support metric and imperial units. The Free version can be used indefinitely and includes creating, saving and printing drawings. Plus adds drawing tools, custom symbols and layer management. Pro adds DWG/DXF import, advanced dimensioning, symbol libraries, paper and model space, hot keys and a customizable toolbar. Architectural adds automated tools for roofs, walls, windows, doors and openings, as well as more than 1,000 parametric 3D symbols. That tier can open, edit and save DWG/DXF, PDF, JPG, PNG and other formats. The download includes all four versions; Plus, Pro and Architectural are available free for 15 days after installation. Afterward, lifetime licenses cost £20, £99 and £199 respectively. Draft it V5 is Windows-only and is not Mac compatible. Minimum requirements include a 1 GHz CPU, 4 GB RAM, 10 GB disk space and graphics supporting OpenGL 3.2 or DirectX 12. Cadlogic offers help files, guides, tutorials and video demonstrations.

TinyCAD is an open-source program for drawing circuit schematics, available as desktop software and TinyCAD Web. The browser version needs no installation, and both versions use the same .dsn drawing and .tclib library formats. Drawings can span sheets and include labels, buses, shapes, annotations, and automatic junction placement; search, undo, and redo are also available. Both versions can import symbols from KiCad.

A Design Rules Check flags common wiring and pin-type errors, but it cannot confirm that a circuit works correctly. TinyCAD can create netlists for downstream tools, including PADS, Eagle SCR, Protel, and gEDA PCB formats. Both versions support SPICE output and SVG export; browser PDF export is available, while VHDL output is desktop-only. In local-file mode, TinyCAD Web keeps work in the browser and sends no work or other files to TinyCAD servers. Google Drive mode stores drawings in the user’s Drive and requires permission to access Google files. TinyCAD is free and supplied as-is; the project advises backing up work and checking designs carefully.