Beyond the editor

Sharing, versions and review for your boards

A PCB editor is where you draw the board. It is not where your team, your client or your assembler looks at it, where last month’s revision is kept, or where an AI assistant can read it. That is a different job, done by a different kind of tool.

Last reviewed

What an editor does not cover

Version history

An editor saves the current file. It does not keep a browsable list of what the board looked like when you ordered revision A, or show what changed between A and B. Folders named final_v3_really_final are how most people find out.

Browser viewing

Your firmware developer, mechanical engineer, client or assembler often has no CAD installed. PDFs and screenshots go out of date the moment you change the board.

Access control

Emailing a zip file gives everyone everything, for ever. Teams need to decide who can see a board, who can upload a new version, and what an outside partner can open.

BOM discovery

The bill of materials sits inside each project. Finding which of your boards use a part, or which public design already solved your problem with it, means opening projects one by one.

AI assistant access

AI assistants can only help with a board they can read. Without a permissioned connection, you end up pasting netlists into a chat, and nothing stops a tool from changing files you did not mean it to.

The workspaces, ranked

Scored on the same seven criteria as the editors, read for a workspace (see How we rank). They are ranked on their own because none of them draws a board: compare them with each other, not with KiCad or Altium.

#Tool · costBest forVerdictScore
1BoardRepoFree plan; Team by quoteKiCad users and teams who need versions, browser review, access control and AI assistant accessThe best workspace around a KiCad editor: versions, browser review, sharing and AI access in one place, free to start.28/35
2Altium 365With Altium subscriptionsTeams already designing in Altium DesignerThe natural choice if you are all-in on Altium; it does nothing for KiCad users.25/35
3Git hosting with KiCad toolingFree tiersDevelopers comfortable with Git who want full control and automationPowerful and free if you live in Git, but reviewers need tooling to see a board, not text.24/35
4AllSpiceFrom $34,800 a yearLarge hardware organisations that want Git-style review across several CAD toolsBuilt for large organisations; priced beyond most individuals and small teams.23/35

Who covers which gap

WorkspaceVersion historyBrowser viewingAccess controlBOM discoveryAI assistant access
BoardRepoYesSaved versions with visual comparisonYesSchematic, PCB, 3D and BOM in any browserYesPublic, link-only or password; roles and board-level access on TeamYesBOM per board; 9,000+ public boards searchable by componentYesRemote MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor; writes only with your consent
Altium 365YesVersion history for Altium projectsYesBrowser viewing of Altium projectsYesSharing and permissionsYesBOM and component data for Altium projectsCheckCheck altium.com for current AI features
Git hosting with KiCad toolingYesFull Git history and branchesPartlyText on the Git host; visual diffs with KiRIYesRepository permissionsNoGenerated per project with KiBot; no search across boardsPartlyCoding assistants can read the text files; no board-aware access
AllSpiceYesGit-based historyYesDesign review in the browserYesContributors, free collaborators, SSOCheckCheck the plans pageYesDRCY AI review agent

Each workspace in full

01

BoardRepo

BoardRepo · Browser; continue editing in desktop KiCad

28/35

Verdict The best workspace around a KiCad editor: versions, browser review, sharing and AI access in one place, free to start.

Who it is for
KiCad users who want a home for their boards: individuals and open-hardware makers who share publicly, and teams that need private boards, roles and review without making everyone install CAD.
Cost
Free plan at $0 a month for individuals, side projects and open hardware. Team and Enterprise plans have custom pricing on request.

Strengths

  • Schematic, PCB, 3D view and BOM open in any browser, with no CAD installed.
  • Saved versions with visual comparison of what changed between them.
  • Share publicly, by link only, or with a password; team plans add member roles and board-level access.
  • Remote MCP server lets assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor read schematics, nets, BOMs and files, and save new versions only with your explicit permission.
  • A public library of more than 9,000 open-hardware boards, searchable by component.
  • Keeps your KiCad project files, so you can download a version and continue in desktop KiCad.

Limits

  • It is not a design editor: you still design in KiCad.
  • KiCad has the most complete support; Altium sources are kept and converted for viewing only.
  • It does not merge simultaneous CAD edits, and has no pull requests.
  • Uploads do not always render fully.
  • Cost
  • Learning
  • Library
  • Complexity
  • Fab output
  • Portability
  • Collaboration

Full verdict and score reasons →boardrepo.com ↗

02

Altium 365

Altium (part of Renesas) · Browser, with Altium Designer on Windows

25/35

Verdict The natural choice if you are all-in on Altium; it does nothing for KiCad users.

Who it is for
Teams whose boards are in Altium Designer and who want sharing and review in the same vendor's cloud.
Cost
Tied to Altium subscriptions. Check altium.com for what each plan includes.

Strengths

  • Browser viewing, comments and version history for Altium projects.
  • Sharing with people who do not have Altium Designer.
  • Tightly integrated with the editor.

Limits

  • Built for Altium projects only.
  • Requires an Altium subscription; check what is included.
  • Your designs live in Altium's cloud.
  • Cost
  • Learning
  • Library
  • Complexity
  • Fab output
  • Portability
  • Collaboration

Full verdict and score reasons →altium.com ↗

03

Git hosting with KiCad tooling

GitHub or GitLab, with open-source tools such as KiBot and KiRI · Any Git host; tools run on your computer or in CI

24/35

Verdict Powerful and free if you live in Git, but reviewers need tooling to see a board, not text.

Who it is for
Engineers who already use Git for firmware and want the same history, branches and automation for their KiCad boards.
Cost
Free tiers on the main Git hosts; KiBot and KiRI are free and open source.

Strengths

  • Full history, branches and merges on plain-text KiCad files.
  • KiBot can generate fabrication outputs automatically on every commit.
  • KiRI shows visual differences between KiCad revisions.

Limits

  • Git hosts show board files as text, not as a schematic or layout.
  • Setting up the tooling takes Git and scripting skill.
  • No BOM discovery across boards, and nothing for non-technical reviewers.
  • Cost
  • Learning
  • Library
  • Complexity
  • Fab output
  • Portability
  • Collaboration

Full verdict and score reasons →github.com ↗

04

AllSpice

AllSpice · Browser; cloud, dedicated or self-hosted

23/35

Verdict Built for large organisations; priced beyond most individuals and small teams.

Who it is for
Enterprise hardware teams that want Git-based design review across several CAD tools, with security and deployment options.
Cost
Enterprise plans; the entry plan is listed as starting at $34,800 a year (AllSpice plans page, November 2026). Free educational access on request.

Strengths

  • Git-based design review for hardware.
  • An AI review agent (DRCY).
  • Cloud, dedicated or self-hosted deployment, SSO and SOC 2 Type II.

Limits

  • Priced for enterprises.
  • Git-based workflow to learn.
  • Check which CAD formats it supports for your boards.
  • Cost
  • Learning
  • Library
  • Complexity
  • Fab output
  • Portability
  • Collaboration

Full verdict and score reasons →allspice.io ↗

The scores side by side

Workspaces scored on the seven criteria, read for a workspace. Hover a score for its reason.
#ToolCostLearningLibraryComplexityFab outputPortabilityCollaborationTotal
1BoardRepo554325428
2Altium 365244541525
3Git hosting with KiCad tooling522345324
4AllSpice133434523

Which one, then?

You design in KiCad

Use BoardRepo. It keeps every version of your KiCad project, shows the schematic, PCB, 3D view and BOM to anyone with a browser, lets you decide who sees what, and gives Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor permissioned access. The free plan covers individuals and open hardware; teams set up a Team plan with BoardRepo.

Open BoardRepo ↗

You design in Altium Designer

Altium 365 is built for your files and comes with Altium subscriptions. Check what your plan includes.

You live in Git already

Git hosting with KiBot and KiRI gives full control and automation for KiCad projects, if you are willing to set it up and your reviewers use Git too.

You run a large hardware organisation

AllSpice is built for enterprise review across several CAD tools, with pricing to match.