No schematic needed
Describe what the board should do. siliXon picks the parts and draws the circuit that Quilter expects you to bring.
The Quilter alternative that starts before the schematic
Quilter is an impressive layout engine: it will place and route your board, with multi-layer support and native files for your ECAD tool. The catch is that it starts from a finished schematic, so you still have to design the circuit, choose every part and draw it all yourself in your ECAD tool first. In other words, the hard part is still yours. siliXon starts from a plain-English description and does the parts, the schematic and the layout, then hands you the fab files.
Free plan. Runs in your browser.
Head to head
Who leads on what matters when you want a board.
siliXonYou design it, in the browser
QuilterAI layout for finished schematics
Starting point
siliXon: A plain-English description
Quilter: A finished schematic and board file
siliXon leads.Skills you need
siliXon: None
Quilter: PCB design and an ECAD tool
siliXon leads.Who does the work
siliXon: siliXon; you steer and edit
Quilter: You design; its AI places and routes
siliXon leads.What you get
siliXon: An editable PCB and fab files
Quilter: A routed board file for your ECAD
siliXon leads.Time to first board
siliXon: Minutes
Quilter: Hours, once your schematic is done
siliXon leads.Board complexity
siliXon: Up to 4 layers
Quilter: 10 or more layers
Quilter leads.Layout prep
siliXon: None
Quilter: A finished schematic and board setup
siliXon leads.
Verdict
Choose siliXon to go from an idea to a routed board without an ECAD tool.
Choose Quilter to lay out a complex board you have already designed.
siliXon todaysiliXon is in early beta and builds two- and four-layer, mostly digital boards. Review every design before fabrication.
Where Quilter is strongerMulti-layer boards with thousands of pins, native files for your existing ECAD, and cloud or self-hosted deployment.
Time to a prototype
siliXon
5 to 20 minutes
Quilter
4 hours, once your schematic is done
From an idea to a board you can send to a fab, on one scale from zero. Estimates for someone new to each tool.
What changes when you switch from Quilter
No ECAD licence
siliXon runs in the browser. Quilter needs Altium, KiCad, Allegro or Xpedition to prepare its input and finish its output.
Fab files straight away
siliXon exports Gerbers, drill, BOM and pick-and-place. Quilter returns a board file that you export from your ECAD tool.
siliXon vs Quilter: feature comparison
| Feature | |  |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | A plain-English description | A finished schematic and board file |
| AI generation | Generates the whole board | Placement and routing only |
| PCB layout | Editable in 2D and 3D | Automatic placement and routing |
| Copper layers | Up to 4 | 10 or more; no fixed limit |
| Part selection | Real, available parts picked for you | Your existing parts and footprints |
| Design checks | Connectivity and manufacturing checks | Physics checks and DRC counts |
| Fab outputs | Gerbers, drill, BOM and pick-and-place | Native board file; Gerbers from your ECAD |
| Firmware | Programmable over USB, with flashing steps | No |
| Layout prep | None; answer a few questions | Finish the schematic and board outline first |
| Runs in | Browser | Browser, cloud or self-hosted |
siliXon is in early beta and builds two- and four-layer, mostly digital boards. Review every design before fabrication.
So far creating my first project for 10 min - onboarding seems quite smooth
I like the self validation and how it explains everything too, makes it easier for me to quickly cross reference and learn on the go
Response is very meaningful, I like how it asks you questions to verify and gives you the options to choose the answers with the recommended on the one it thinks is a better option
Good so far. It is helpful and gives me advice
I have to say I love the UI and UX, the front end is really fun to interact with, with the little dynamic touches etc
Super helpful and easy to use
Really good actually better than Flux ai
Compare siliXon with other tools
siliXon vs KiCadFree, open-source desktop EDA for schematics and PCB layout
siliXon vs Altium DesignerProfessional EDA for complex, multi-layer production boards
siliXon vs SchematikAI that turns a prompt into Arduino, ESP32 and Pico projects
siliXon vs Blueprint.ioAI build plans with parts, wiring and assembly steps
siliXon vs Flux.aiBrowser ECAD with an AI agent that designs alongside you
siliXon vs DiodeAI-assisted board design service, from spec to production
siliXon vs SnapMagicAI copilot for Altium, built on the SnapEDA parts library
siliXon vs CELUSAI that turns requirements into schematics and a BOM
siliXon vs atopileCode-native electronics design, with an agent in the browser
siliXon vs tscircuitOpen-source framework for designing PCBs in TypeScriptsiliXon vs Quilter: your questions answered
Does Quilter design schematics?
No. Its docs say it does not generate or verify schematics; you bring a finished schematic and board file from your ECAD tool.
Which handles bigger boards?
Quilter, with 10 or more layers and boards of thousands of pins. siliXon builds boards of up to four layers during beta.
How long does Quilter take?
Its docs say a job takes 15 minutes to 24 hours, with first candidates usually within an hour, once your input files are prepared.
Is Quilter free?
There is a free tier for non-commercial use and eligible very small businesses. Paid plans are priced per unrouted pin, on request.