LiveWire is the program a generation of UK secondary school and college students learned circuits on. The animated current flow, the colour-coded voltages, and the click-and-place layout make the concepts visible in a way SPICE never quite did. The problem in 2026 is age. The last major LiveWire release predates Windows 11, the file format does not round-trip into modern PCB tools, and the licence is still Windows-only. Teachers asking for a cross-platform replacement for the lab and engineers asking for a tool that talks to KiCad need a different stack.
We tested seven LiveWire alternatives across Windows, macOS, and Linux, focused on the two audiences who actually use LiveWire: schools who need a simulator for teaching, and tinkerers who want to validate a small circuit before building it.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free option | Paid starting price | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTspice | Free professional SPICE simulation | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS |
| NI Multisim | Education with NI hardware tie-in | Trial | Subscription | Windows |
| Falstad Circuit Simulator | Browser-based visual learning | Yes | Free | Web, Windows, macOS, Linux |
| KiCad | Schematic plus PCB plus simulation | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Proteus | Embedded simulation with microcontrollers | Trial | Paid licence | Windows |
| EveryCircuit | Interactive teaching with real-time graphs | Trial | Subscription | Web, Windows, macOS |
| Tinkercad Circuits | Beginner-friendly Arduino simulation | Yes | Free | Web, all desktops |
Why people leave LiveWire
The first reason is the platform lock-in. LiveWire ships only for Windows, and the New Wave Concepts installer struggles with modern Windows policies that block unsigned legacy installers. Schools moving to mixed Mac and Chromebook estates can no longer install LiveWire across the lab without workarounds.
The second is the simulation depth. LiveWire’s animation is great for teaching the basics, but the underlying model is simpler than SPICE. Engineers who graduate past Ohm’s Law need transient analysis, AC sweeps, and parameter sweeps that LiveWire does not really do, and the workaround of “draw it in LiveWire, then redo it in LTspice” wastes time.
The third is the file format. LiveWire saves to its own .CCT format. There is no clean export into KiCad, EAGLE, or any open exchange. Students who want to take a schematic from class into a real PCB workflow end up redrawing it.
The 7 best LiveWire alternatives for desktop
LTspice — best free SPICE simulator
LTspice from Analog Devices is the industry standard free SPICE simulator. Transient, AC, DC, and noise analysis are all included, the model library covers thousands of real parts, and the simulation is fast enough to run a large analog circuit in seconds on a modern laptop. The native macOS build closed the platform gap, and the Windows version runs cleanly under Wine on Linux.
Where it falls short: No animated current flow, which is the LiveWire selling point. The schematic editor is functional but visually plain.
Pricing:
- Free
- vs LiveWire: free either way, much deeper simulation
Migrating from LiveWire: No file converter. Redraw the schematic in LTspice using the .asc symbol library.
Download: LTspice
Bottom line: Pick LTspice if you outgrew LiveWire’s teaching focus and want a proper analog simulator.
NI Multisim — best for education with NI hardware
NI Multisim by National Instruments is the simulator most universities still standardise on. The interactive simulation handles digital and analog circuits, the virtual instruments mimic a real lab bench, and the path into NI’s Ultiboard PCB tool is clean. The student edition is cheap, the academic site licence is widely deployed.
Where it falls short: Windows-only. Recent versions moved to a subscription, which annoyed long-time site-licence customers.
Pricing:
- Free: time-limited trial
- Paid: subscription, education pricing on top
- vs LiveWire: more expensive, far more capable
Migrating from LiveWire: No converter. Multisim’s symbol library covers most school circuits.
Download: NI Multisim
Bottom line: Pick Multisim if your course already uses it or your lab runs NI hardware.
Falstad Circuit Simulator — best for visual learning
Falstad Circuit Simulator is a browser-based simulator that animates current, voltage, and field lines exactly the way LiveWire does. It runs offline as a Java or HTML5 app, the desktop ports for Windows, macOS, and Linux are small, and the example library covers every introductory circuit topic. For classroom demonstrations of how a capacitor charges or a transistor switches, nothing else is as visual.
Where it falls short: The library of advanced parts is smaller than SPICE tools. There is no integrated PCB step.
Pricing:
- Free: open-source under GPL
- vs LiveWire: free either way, cross-platform, more visual
Migrating from LiveWire: Recreate the circuit. Many LiveWire example files have a near-identical Falstad equivalent in the included examples.
Download: Falstad
Bottom line: Pick Falstad if you used LiveWire mainly for the animated current flow and want the same in a free, cross-platform tool.
KiCad — best for schematic plus PCB
KiCad is the open-source EDA suite engineers actually use to design hardware. Eeschema covers schematic capture, the integrated ngspice path runs transient and AC simulation, and the same project flows into a 3D-rendered PCB layout. The Windows, macOS, and Linux builds are first-class.
Where it falls short: Steeper learning curve than LiveWire. The simulation focus is secondary to PCB design.
Pricing:
- Free: open-source under GPLv3
- vs LiveWire: free either way, designed for actual hardware
Migrating from LiveWire: Treat KiCad as a redraw. The payoff is a PCB at the end.
Download: KiCad
Bottom line: Pick KiCad if the next step after the schematic is a real circuit board.
Proteus — best for embedded simulation
Proteus by Labcenter Electronics is the simulator of choice for anyone working with microcontrollers. Atmel AVR, PIC, Arduino, and STM32 code run inside the simulator with full peripheral models, so you can test firmware against virtual LEDs, displays, and motors before touching hardware.
Where it falls short: Windows-only and not cheap. Licence tiers are confusing at first.
Pricing:
- Free: time-limited demo
- Paid: licence per simulator family
- vs LiveWire: pricier, in a different league for embedded work
Migrating from LiveWire: Redraw and add microcontroller models that LiveWire never had.
Download: Proteus
Bottom line: Pick Proteus if your circuits include MCUs and you want to debug firmware in simulation.
EveryCircuit — best for interactive teaching
EveryCircuit keeps the LiveWire idea of “wiggle the dial and watch the waveform” but pairs it with a SPICE engine that is honest about the underlying physics. The web app runs in any browser, the Windows and macOS desktop builds add offline use, and the touch-friendly interface works on a classroom tablet.
Where it falls short: Subscription model after the trial. Library is smaller than LTspice.
Pricing:
- Free: trial
- Paid: monthly or yearly subscription
- vs LiveWire: subscription vs one-time licence, much more interactive
Migrating from LiveWire: Recreate the circuit in EveryCircuit. The drag-the-knob experience is the closest replacement.
Download: EveryCircuit
Bottom line: Pick EveryCircuit if the LiveWire experience is what you want, only modernised.
Tinkercad Circuits — best for beginners
Tinkercad Circuits is Autodesk’s free entry-level simulator for Arduino and basic analog work. It runs entirely in the browser on any desktop, includes a code editor with the Arduino IDE behind it, and lets students prototype an LED blink or a sensor circuit without installing anything.
Where it falls short: Limited to Tinkercad’s component library. Browser-only with no offline mode.
Pricing:
- Free: with an Autodesk account
- vs LiveWire: free either way, much friendlier for first-timers
Migrating from LiveWire: No import. Drag the parts back in.
Download: Tinkercad
Bottom line: Pick Tinkercad if the lesson is “introduce a 14-year-old to circuits” and the bar is “must work on any computer in the lab”.
How to choose
Pick LTspice if you want proper analog simulation for free. Pick Multisim if your course already standardised on it. Pick Falstad if the animated current flow is the LiveWire feature you valued most. Pick KiCad if the schematic is a step on the way to a real PCB. Pick Proteus for microcontroller work. Pick EveryCircuit for an interactive teaching tool that runs anywhere. Pick Tinkercad for first-time learners on shared lab machines. Stay on LiveWire only if you are stuck on a Windows-only school estate with existing .CCT lesson files.
FAQ
Is LTspice harder to learn than LiveWire? LTspice has a steeper first hour because the interface is plainer, but the concepts carry across once you place a part and run a simulation.
Can I open LiveWire .CCT files in any other simulator? No. There is no public converter. You redraw the schematic in the target tool.
What is the closest free LiveWire replacement on macOS? Falstad Circuit Simulator, with KiCad as the more capable second pick.
Does LiveWire still get updates? The current build is stable on Windows 10 and 11 but the version history shows no recent feature releases. Schools using it are running an effectively frozen tool.
Which alternative is best for teaching circuits in a classroom? Falstad and EveryCircuit both keep the visual learning advantage LiveWire is known for, and both run in a browser on any device.
