For a 1:1 formboard on a free plan: harness.design (unlimited harnesses up to 100 connections) and Zorowire (unlimited harnesses up to 150 connections, plus 3 quote PDFs a month). Splice CAD is free for 50 harnesses but drew no 1:1 board in our test; WireViz is free and open source but draws diagrams, not a board. Rapid Harness's free plan stops at 5 designs of 30 connections.
Most shops try a tool on its free plan before they pay. The free plans differ more than the price pages suggest: some cap the number of harnesses, some the connections in each, some are trials that end, and almost none quote. Here they are side by side, from the vendors' own pages and our own tests, checked on 30 and 31 October 2026.
The free plans at a glance
| Tool | Cheapest paid, as listed | Free plan | Platform | 1:1 formboard | Quote from labour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zorowire | Starter €24 a month; Shop €79 a month for 5 users | Unlimited harnesses × 150 connections, 3 quotes a month | Browser (macOS, Windows, Linux) | Yes; tiled with marks and a check ruler, or one piece | Yes: labour from operations, setup, breaks, margin, customer PDF |
| harness.design | $29 per seat a month; $24 billed yearly | Unlimited harnesses × 100 connections | Browser, macOS and Windows apps | Yes, tiled panels | None found |
| Splice CAD | No paid plan yet | 50 harnesses on the web | Browser and desktop | No 1:1 formboard in our test | None |
| Wiring Studio | Lite $29 a month; Pro $99; Team $79 per seat (2 minimum) | Free plan with small project and component caps | Browser and desktop | Tiled 1:1 PDF documented; the export hung in our test | Price × quantity × one markup; no labour |
| Rapid Harness | $219 a month per user (Standard) | 5 designs × 30 connections | Windows desktop | Yes, every plan | None found |
| WireViz / Filare | Free (GPL-3.0) | Everything | Python command line | No | No |
| HarnessHive | €149 / $169 per seat a month; viewers are seats | 14-day trial, no card | Browser | Full-size PDF; blank in our test | None |
What to look at on a free plan
- Connections per harness, not just harnesses. Check the cap against your own harnesses: Rapid Harness's free plan allows 30 connections per design, harness.design's 100, Zorowire's 150.
- A board you can build on. A formboard is only useful printed at 1:1. In our tests harness.design printed tiled panels to scale; Splice CAD and HarnessHive did not give us a usable 1:1 board.
- A trial is not a free plan. HarnessHive offers a 14-day trial; after that every user, viewers included, is a paid seat.
- The quote. Of the tools here, only Zorowire builds a quote from labour (operations, setup, quantity breaks); its free plan includes 3 quote PDFs a month. Wiring Studio prices a BOM with one markup, without labour.
Which free plan fits
- You need the board and a quote: Zorowire, in the browser, with Excel and WireViz import.
- You need the board, not a quote: harness.design's free plan.
- You want everything free and in git: WireViz — diagrams and a BOM from YAML; the physical layout and lengths are up to you.
- You are on Windows and will pay later: Rapid Harness, knowing the free plan is for trying it.
Try the free plan: import a connection list, print the board at 1:1 and make a quote.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
Is there free wire-harness software with a 1:1 formboard?
Yes: harness.design's free plan and Zorowire's free plan both print a 1:1 board. Check the 100 mm ruler on the print either way.
Does any free plan quote a harness?
Of the tools compared here, only Zorowire builds a quote from labour, and its free plan includes 3 quote PDFs a month. Wiring Studio prices a BOM with one markup, without labour.
Is WireViz enough?
For connection diagrams and a BOM, yes, and it is free. It has no branch lengths, so no formboard and no cut lengths from the harness geometry.
Sources
- harness.design, homepage and pricing section · retrieved 2026-10-30
- harness.design docs, FAQ (Free limits, platforms, offline) · retrieved 2026-10-30
- harness.design docs, Formboard mode and panels · retrieved 2026-10-30
- Zorowire hands-on test of harness.design (Free plan, fixture F2) — Zorowire test or research, 2026-10-30
- Splice CAD, Pricing (Free: 50 harnesses on the web) · retrieved 2026-10-30
- Zorowire hands-on test of Splice CAD, web app (fixture F2) — Zorowire test or research, 2026-10-31
- Wiring Studio, homepage and plans (Free, Lite $29, Pro $99, Team $79 per seat) · retrieved 2026-10-30
- Zorowire hands-on test of Wiring Studio, web and desktop (fixture F2) — Zorowire test or research, 2026-10-31
- Rapid Harness, Pricing · retrieved 2026-10-30
- Rapid Harness, homepage (features, Windows desktop app) · retrieved 2026-10-30
- Rapid Harness, version history · retrieved 2026-10-30
- WireViz on GitHub (GPL-3.0, latest release v0.4.1 of 2024-07-13) · retrieved 2026-10-30
- HarnessHive, Pricing (€149 / $169 per seat; viewers are seats; 14-day trial) · retrieved 2026-10-30
- Zorowire hands-on test of HarnessHive (trial, fixture F2) — Zorowire test or research, 2026-10-30
