The five simulators compared

Recommendations by audience

Students

Start with PICSimLab + the MPLAB X simulator together. They are both free, and together they cover the whole learning loop: write XC8 code in MPLAB X, debug the logic in its simulator, then run the same firmware on a simulated McLab2 or PICGenios board in PICSimLab and watch the LCD, keypad and LEDs respond. Our first PIC16F877A project tutorial is a good starting point, and the head-to-head details are in PICSimLab vs the MPLAB X Simulator. Add Wokwi when you need to share a running demo with a link, and SimulIDE when a class exercise is about wiring the circuit itself.

Teachers

For a PIC course built around trainer boards, PICSimLab mirrors the hardware students will meet in the lab, works offline on ordinary lab PCs, and costs the department nothing — the board pages such as McLab2 document exactly which chips each board covers. If your curriculum instead teaches schematic capture and PCB design as one subject, that is Proteus territory, with institutional licensing handled through Labcenter’s distributors and configurator quotes — see PICSimLab vs Proteus for the honest split. Wokwi’s shareable links are handy for homework demos where installs are impossible; its classroom terms are a separate enquiry with Wokwi.

Advanced users and hobbyists moving to hardware

Use the MPLAB X simulator for register-level logic checks, PICSimLab for board integration (spare parts, serial, the oscilloscope — see the oscilloscope guide), and keep Proteus in mind only if custom PCB design enters the workflow. Beyond PIC, PICSimLab’s Blue Pill and ESP32 boards let the same habits carry over — with the honest limits stated on those pages (two STM32F103 chips only; ESP32 wireless support is incremental). Our remaining comparisons, PICSimLab vs Wokwi and PICSimLab vs SimulIDE, dig into the browser and circuit-first alternatives.

A note on honesty in roundups like this

Simulator roundups often invent prices, star ratings and “best overall” winners. We do not: Proteus pricing is configurator-quoted so we quote no number; Wokwi’s paid-plan figure is the one we checked in Oct 2026 and is dated as such; PICSimLab’s limits (21 boards, two STM32 chips, a limited online version) are stated on this page and in our download page, which links only to the official GitHub release files. PICSimLab is the tool this site documents, so judge our top pick by the trade-offs in the table — where another tool fits better, we have said so.

From simulation to real hardware

Every simulator on this page is preparation for a real board. The usual student shopping list, matched to the boards these tools simulate:

• An ESP32 development board — for the ESP32 projects simulated in PICSimLab and Wokwi.
• An Arduino Uno — the ATmega328P board covered by PICSimLab, Wokwi and SimulIDE alike; a full ELEGOO starter kit adds the breadboard and components around it.
• An STM32 Blue Pill board — the F103 board from PICSimLab’s QEMU backend.
• A PICkit programmer — essential once PIC projects leave the simulator for real chips.
• To go further with PCB fabrication for a finished project, see PCBWay and JLCPCB (referral links, not cash affiliate programmes — both are useful student fabrication services).
• For structured learning alongside practice: embedded courses on Udemy and certificate programmes on Coursera.

These links are affiliate or referral links routed through our /go/ redirects — see our affiliate disclosure. They never change the price you pay.

At a glance

What the MPLAB X simulator does best

If your question is “does my code do the right thing?” — a timer calculation, an interrupt sequence, an EEPROM write routine — the MPLAB X simulator answers it without leaving the IDE: set breakpoints, step through the XC8 source, inspect registers and variables, and drive inputs with stimulus files. It is also the reference environment for Microchip devices that PICSimLab does not cover, since its device support follows MPLAB X itself. For a PIC developer it is not optional software; it is the default first tool, and it costs nothing.

What PICSimLab adds

What the MPLAB X simulator cannot show you is the board. In PICSimLab the same firmware drives a visible development board: the LED on RB0 actually lights, the HD44780 LCD shows your text, the matrix keypad responds to clicks, and the oscilloscope traces a pin while the code runs — the workflow in our PIC16F877A blink, LCD and timers and interrupts tutorials. That board-level feedback is what makes PICSimLab the teaching tool of the pair, especially on the McLab2 and PICGenios trainer boards (McLab2 guide) used in so many PIC courses — and it extends beyond PIC to Arduino, Blue Pill and ESP32 boards that MPLAB X’s simulator does not address at all.

Using them together (the recommended workflow)

1. Write and build your project in MPLAB X with XC8, exactly as you would for real hardware.
2. For quick logic checks, debug it in the MPLAB X simulator.
3. Install the PICSimLab plugin in MPLAB X and start PICSimLab with your board loaded — our plugin installation guide covers the .nbm install, the port 1234 connection and the firewall prompt.
4. Debug from MPLAB X while watching the simulated board react; attach spare parts for the peripherals your project uses.
5. If a connection problem appears, our plugin connection troubleshooting walks through the usual causes.

Which should you choose? By scenario

• Debugging PIC logic, registers and timing calculations: the MPLAB X simulator — fastest path, inside the IDE.
• Teaching or learning with a visible board and peripherals: PICSimLab.
• A PIC chip that PICSimLab’s boards do not include: the MPLAB X simulator (its device coverage follows MPLAB X).
• Arduino, STM32F103 or ESP32 firmware: PICSimLab — outside MPLAB X simulator territory.
• Serious project work: both, connected by the plugin — that combination, not either tool alone, is the complete setup. Start with PICSimLab free from our download page.

From simulation to real hardware

The step after simulation is a programmer and a real board. For PIC work that means:

• A PICkit programmer — the hardware counterpart of the MPLAB X programming workflow you practised in simulation.
• An electronics starter kit with a breadboard and components to wire your simulated circuits for real.
• An Arduino Uno if your PICSimLab work also used the simavr boards.
• Structured PIC and embedded C courses on Udemy and Coursera if you want a curriculum around the practice.

These links are affiliate links routed through our /go/ redirects — see our affiliate disclosure. They never change the price you pay.

At a glance

The real difference: board first, or circuit first?

Most confusion between these two comes from expecting one to behave like the other. In PICSimLab, the starting point is a board that exists (or existed) as hardware: the McLab2 trainer with its PIC16F877A, an Arduino Uno, a Blue Pill. The board’s core circuits are fixed; your creativity goes into the firmware and into the spare parts you attach — the exact workflow of our PIC16F877A LCD tutorial and oscilloscope walkthrough. In SimulIDE, the starting point is a blank circuit: you choose the microcontroller and build everything around it, which teaches more electronics but takes longer to reach a running system.

Debugging follows the same split. PICSimLab plugs into the professional toolchains — see our MPLAB X plugin guide — so breakpoints and inspection happen in the same IDE you would use with a hardware debugger. SimulIDE keeps debugging inside its own window, next to the circuit.

Which should you choose? By scenario

• Your course uses a named trainer board (McLab2, PICGenios) or a specific dev board: PICSimLab — the board is already there, wired as the real one.
• You want to learn electronics by wiring components yourself: SimulIDE’s circuit-first model is built for that.
• You need STM32F103 or ESP32 simulation in a free desktop tool: PICSimLab covers the Blue Pill, STM32 H103, ESP32-DevKitC and ESP32-C3 boards — see our Blue Pill and ESP32-DevKitC pages for the honest scope (two STM32 chips only; ESP32 wireless support is incremental, not complete).
• You want an editor and simulator in one window: SimulIDE.
• You are not sure: both are free — install PICSimLab from our download page, try SimulIDE from its own site, and keep the one whose mental model matches your project.

One shared caution: neither tool’s simulation is the physical world. Timing, analogue behaviour and electrical edge cases differ from real silicon in any simulator, which is why both communities treat simulation as preparation for hardware, not a replacement for it.

From simulation to real hardware

When a simulated project is ready to become a physical one, the parts are inexpensive:

• An Arduino Uno or a complete ELEGOO starter kit with the Uno, breadboard and the components most beginner exercises use.
• An STM32 Blue Pill board to run the F103 projects physically.
• An electronics starter kit for breadboard prototyping of the circuit you designed.
• A USB logic analyzer — the real-hardware counterpart of the simulator’s waveform views, for checking actual signals.

These links are affiliate links routed through our /go/ redirects — see our affiliate disclosure. They never change the price you pay. SimulIDE itself has no affiliate programme; we mention its donation model above because supporting free tools you rely on is worth doing directly.

At a glance

Where Wokwi is genuinely ahead

For a quick experiment — testing an Arduino or ESP32 idea, showing a teacher or a forum a working circuit, working from a machine where you cannot install software — Wokwi’s browser model is hard to beat. There is no installer, no operating-system differences, and a shared link reproduces your exact project on someone else’s screen. If most of your work is Arduino/ESP32 sketches and you value that sharing workflow, the paid tiers may be worth it to you.

Where PICSimLab is genuinely ahead

PICSimLab is free in full — no tier unlocks — and it works with no internet connection at all, which matters in labs, classrooms and countries where connectivity is metered. Its PIC support is the deeper of the two: real trainer boards such as McLab2 and PICGenios, the PIC16F877A project path (LED blink, HD44780 LCD, UART serial), and MPLAB X source-level debugging via the official plugin (plugin guide). Its Arduino and ESP32 boards are covered in our Arduino Uno and Nano and ESP32-DevKitC board pages.

About PICSimLab’s online version — honestly

PICSimLab does have an official online version, compiled from the same source with Emscripten. It is useful for a first look, but the official documentation is clear about its limits: no Tools menu, no debugging, no serial communication (only the IO Vterm virtual terminal), and the multithreaded build reaches about 50% of desktop speed and is only tested in desktop Chrome and Firefox. For anything beyond a quick test, the project itself advises the desktop version — download it free from our download page (files link to the official GitHub release). Our dedicated online version hub is now live – start there to try PICSimLab in your browser, and use the download page when you are ready for the full desktop version.

Which should you choose? By scenario

• Learning PIC microcontrollers (PIC16F877A, PIC18F4550) with MPLAB X: PICSimLab — this is its home ground, and it is free.
• Sharing a runnable Arduino/ESP32 demo by link: Wokwi.
• Unreliable or expensive internet, or an offline lab: PICSimLab desktop.
• A school Chromebook-style environment with no installs allowed: Wokwi, or PICSimLab’s online version for a limited first look.
• You resent subscriptions on principle: PICSimLab — there is nothing to subscribe to.

Wokwi has no affiliate programme and this page earns nothing from mentioning it; we recommend it above where the browser model genuinely fits better.

From simulation to real hardware

Both tools simulate boards that are cheap to own for real. When a project outgrows the simulator, the usual next steps are:

• An ESP32 development board — also available as a SparkFun ESP32 board (SparkFun originals) or a compact Seeed XIAO board for ESP32-C3 projects.
• An Arduino Uno for the ATmega328P sketches you prototyped in either simulator.
• An electronics starter kit with a breadboard, jumper wires and basic components to rebuild the simulated circuit physically.
• For budget buying outside the US/EU, the same ESP32 boards are listed on AliExpress and Banggood.

These hardware links are affiliate links routed through our /go/ redirects — see our affiliate disclosure. They never change the price you pay.

At a glance

Where Proteus is genuinely ahead

Proteus is the more complete engineering package, and it is not close on breadth: if you need to draw a schematic, simulate the circuit on that schematic, and then lay out the PCB without leaving the tool, PICSimLab simply does not offer that workflow. Proteus is also the established choice in many school and university labs, so course material, library components and institutional licences are built around it. If your class or employer already standardises on Proteus, that ecosystem is a real reason to stay with it.

Where PICSimLab is genuinely ahead

PICSimLab wins on cost (it is free), on openness (GPL-2.0 source), and on how directly it mirrors the physical trainer boards used in PIC courses. Boards such as McLab2 and PICGenios run the PIC16F877A and PIC18F4550 exactly as many real lab courses teach them, and you can follow a full project path in it — from a first PIC16F877A LED blink to an HD44780 LCD, a matrix keypad and UART serial. The supported boards are listed on pages such as our McLab2 board guide. Debugging through MPLAB X uses the official plugin described in our MPLAB X plugin guide, so the skills transfer directly to real hardware.

Which should you choose? By scenario

• You are a student learning PIC programming and the budget is zero: PICSimLab. It covers the classic PIC16F877A/PIC18F4550 coursework, runs offline, and costs nothing.
• Your school buys licences and teaches schematic + PCB design: Proteus. The integrated schematic-to-PCB flow and institutional licensing are what you are paying for.
• You want to design a custom board and simulate it before fabrication: Proteus for the design-and-simulate stage; PICSimLab cannot lay out a PCB.
• You are preparing firmware that will run on a real trainer board or dev board: PICSimLab’s board-level simulation matches that workflow, and the step to real hardware (below) is short.
• You need ESP32 or Arduino practice as well as PIC: PICSimLab includes Arduino Uno/Mega, Blue Pill and ESP32 boards in the same free tool.

Full disclosure on our side: Proteus has no affiliate programme and this page earns nothing from mentioning it. We recommend it above where it is the better tool because that is the honest comparison. PICSimLab itself is free either way — get it from our download page, which links to the official GitHub release files.

From simulation to real hardware

Whichever simulator you learn on, the projects eventually belong on a real board. The boards PICSimLab simulates correspond to inexpensive hardware you can buy and run the same firmware on:

• An ESP32 development board — the real counterpart of PICSimLab’s ESP32-DevKitC board.
• An Arduino Uno — the same ATmega328P board simulated via simavr.
• An STM32 Blue Pill board — the STM32F103C8T6 board PICSimLab simulates on its QEMU backend.
• A PICkit programmer — for programming real PIC chips once you move past the simulator.

If you would rather learn with a structured course alongside the simulator, see the embedded systems courses on Udemy and Coursera. The hardware and course links on this page are affiliate links routed through our /go/ redirects — see our affiliate disclosure. They never change the price you pay.