Fusion 360 vs KiCad: One Integrated Platform, or a Free Tool Plus STEP

What Fusion electronics is now, and what it includes

Autodesk's product pages say Autodesk Fusion rather than Fusion 360, and refer to the PCB side as Fusion electronics or the electronics workspace. It is where EAGLE went: Autodesk stopped selling and supporting EAGLE on June 7, 2026 and says Fusion opens native EAGLE files directly. Autodesk lists schematic capture, PCB layout, design rule checks, a component library editor with IPC-compliant calculators, SPICE simulation, and what it calls MCAD-ECAD unification.

One item from older comparisons is gone. Autodesk discontinued the Fusion Signal Integrity Extension on March 27, 2026, and its end-of-life notice says there is no replacement offering. If a review you read lists signal-integrity analysis as a Fusion advantage over KiCad, it predates that change.

The ECAD-MCAD case for Fusion

In Fusion, the 2D board becomes a 3D PCB inside the same platform (Switch, then Push to 3D PCB), so checking enclosure fit, connector cutouts and keep-outs does not involve exporting and re-importing files. If your mechanical engineers already work in Fusion, that removes a real source of mismatched revisions.

That integration is the reason to pay. Autodesk markets Fusion as one platform for design, engineering and electronics workflows, and for a hardware startup building a product in its own enclosure, one shared model can be worth more than any single PCB feature.

How KiCad does the same job with files

KiCad 10 exports the assembled board as STEP, GLB, BREP, XAO, PLY or STL from File, Export, with VRML and IDF available through separate exporters, and it imports DXF or SVG drawings (File, Import, Graphics) for board outlines and mounting features. Any mechanical CAD tool that reads STEP can take the result, Fusion included.

For a tighter loop there is KiCad StepUp, a FreeCAD workbench maintained outside the KiCad project under the AGPL. It loads a KiCad board into FreeCAD, exports STEP or IGES, checks for collisions with the enclosure, and can push a board edge designed in FreeCAD back into KiCad or pull one out to edit. It is still a file exchange rather than one model, so you re-export after each board change.

Cost and the personal-use fine print

Fusion costs $680 a year, $85 a month, or $2,040 for three years paid annually, with a 30-day free trial. Fusion for personal use is free as a three-year subscription, but only for home-based, non-commercial projects by individuals generating under $1,000 a year, and not for use in your main job or in company environments.

For PCB design the personal-use limits are 2 sheets per schematic and 4 signal layers, with unlimited board area, according to Autodesk's plan comparison. The paid plan goes to 999 sheets per schematic and 64 signal layers. KiCad has no tiers, so the free version is the whole program, commercial work included.

Platform, connectivity and getting files out

Fusion's system requirements cover Windows, macOS and a web browser, with no Linux version, and list an internet connection among the requirements. Autodesk describes Fusion as cloud-based, with design files reachable from anywhere you have a connection. KiCad installs natively on all three desktop platforms and keeps projects as local files.

If you start in Fusion and later want out, the route is EAGLE format. Autodesk documents exporting the schematic and the 2D board separately with File, Export to EAGLE-compatible files, which should share a name and folder. KiCad imports EAGLE XML schematics and boards, so that pair is the bridge.

Where ProtoFlow fits

ProtoFlow is a free desktop PCB design app for Windows, macOS and Linux that keeps design files local. It imports and exports EAGLE format, imports DXF from mechanical CAD for board outlines, and shows the board in a 3D view, with AI drafting from a plain-language prompt, parts search across LCSC, DigiKey and Mouser, an autorouter, DRC and JLCPCB-ready outputs. A Fusion design comes in through Fusion's EAGLE export.