However, with a professional license costing thousands of dollars, the burning question is:

| Software | Free for Students? | Best For | Multisim Similarity | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | (Analog Devices) | Yes – completely free, no time limit | Analog circuit simulation, power electronics | High (SPICE-based) | | QUCS-S (Open source) | Yes – free, open source | RF and microwave circuits | Medium (GUI less polished) | | CircuitLab (Online) | Limited free (public circuits only) | Quick schematics and sharing | Low (browser-based) | | Tinkercad Circuits (Autodesk) | Yes – free, online | Arduino and basic electronics | Low (very beginner-friendly) | | Proteus Student | Limited free (Lite version) | Microcontroller simulation | Medium (good for embedded) |

If you are an engineering student—especially in electrical, electronics, or biomedical fields—you have almost certainly heard of Multisim . Developed by National Instruments (now part of Emerson’s NI brand), Multisim is the industry-standard software for analog, digital, and power electronics circuit simulation and PCB design.