Digital Simulator bitGateLab vs Perfboard Lab
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Digital Simulator bitGateLab
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bitGateLab Digital is a digital electronics lab on your PC, phone or tablet: design a circuit with logic gates, watch it run live, get its truth table and Karnaugh map, check the timing diagram and build it on a 3D breadboard with step-by-step wiring. No account needed. The free version needs internet for ads; with Premium it works offline. DESIGN AND SIMULATE • AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR, XNOR and buffer gates; inputs, switches, push buttons, DIP banks, LEDs, LED strips and bar graphs, 7- and 16-segment displays, buzzer. • Sequential logic: D, T, JK and SR flip-flops, clock, crystal, counters, 555 timer, word generator, serial monitor. • Components: multiplexers, buses, ROM and RAM, H-bridge, motor, optocoupler, registers. • Group any part of the circuit into a reusable block with its own pins. • Undo and redo, copy and paste, named and colored wires, grid and automatic fit. TRUTH TABLE AND KARNAUGH • Type a boolean equation or fill in the truth table and turn it into a circuit with one tap. • Karnaugh maps from 2 to 8 variables, with groupings, canonical form, minterms or maxterms. • Step-by-step simplification naming each law applied, NAND form and Verilog export. • From the circuit back to the truth table or the Karnaugh map. TIMING DIAGRAM • Every input combination as a binary counter, with the hex value of each cycle. • A and B probes to measure intervals, X and Z levels, slopes and propagation delay per logic family (TTL, CMOS...). • Export to PDF. 3D BREADBOARD • Your circuit becomes a real build on its own: 74-series chips, resistors, LEDs, switches and wires on one or more breadboards. • Step-by-step guide hole by hole (for example 44i → 12i), bill of materials and net list. • Move chips, LEDs and switches where you like, recolor wires, isolate a net or a single wire, undo and redo. • Labels on every input and LED, free rotation, zoom and image capture. MICROCONTROLLERS AND PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC • MCU51 (8051-compatible) and MCU14 (14-bit): program in C or assembly, assemble and single-step with registers, ports, timers, interrupts and UART. • 16V8, 20V8 and 22V10 PLDs: equations, fuse map and JEDEC file. • Ready-made examples: counters, blinkers, traffic lights, serial communication and more. SHARE AND SAVE • Save your circuits with version history; share them as a file, a link or a QR code. • Export images as SVG, PNG, JPEG, WebP or PDF, and code as Verilog. • Number systems calculator, two's complement and binary operations with flags. FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING • Reference of boolean algebra laws and theorems. • State table and state diagram of your sequential circuits. • Large-button interface, comfortable on PCs, phones and tablets; light and dark themes. • 45 languages: Spanish, English, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Russian and many more. PRIVACY No account and no cloud: your circuits are stored only on your device. Something not working? Settings → Report a problem sends your message with the app version, device model and a technical log, with no personal data. The free version shows ads; Premium removes them. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://juchabit.com/privacy-policy/
Perfboard Lab
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Understand electronics by trying it out: Perfboard Lab turns your iPhone, iPad or Mac into an electronics lab. Build a circuit and switch on the power. Right away you see what happens: LEDs light up, buzzers beep, motors turn and hum. And if your maths was off: it smokes, it sparks and the part burns out – without any real damage. SEE WHAT HAPPENS, INSTANTLY • Every change is computed instantly with real physics • Overloaded parts smoke in four levels until they burn out • The analysis explains in plain words what is wrong: an LED the wrong way round, a missing series resistor, a short circuit, an open circuit MEASURE LIKE IN A REAL LAB • Multimeter: voltage, current and power at every part • Oscilloscope: voltage and current over time OVER 20 REAL PARTS • DC voltage source, AC voltage source, current source, solar module and breadboard power supply • Resistors, potentiometers, ceramic and electrolytic capacitors, inductors, switches • Diodes and Zener diodes, NPN and PNP transistors, N- and P-channel MOSFETs, relays, op-amps, voltage regulators and Timer NE555 • LEDs in six colours, an incandescent lamp, a buzzer with a real tone and a motor whose hum matches its turning • Sensors: photoresistor, NTC and PTC, with the brightness taken from the camera if you like JUST LIKE ON THE WORKBENCH • Draw wires with the pen – straight wires with bends and branches • Perfboard, with Perfboard Lab Pro also stripboard with cuttable strips and breadboard as used with Arduino • Copy parts with all their values; text labels annotate your circuit • Real 2.54 mm grid: what fits in the app fits on the real board • Bill of materials with every part and the length of hookup wire • With Perfboard Lab Pro you see your circuit in the 3D view: real parts on the board that you turn, tilt and measure PERFECT FOR SCHOOL AND CLASS • A guided tutorial starts with an LED that burns out and shows you how to find the right series resistor • A free task at your level every day: build, complete, adjust or rescue, with a time limit without Perfboard Lab Pro • AI-assisted tasks that suit your level and explanations step by step on the board (Perfboard Lab Pro) • Lots of ready-made examples: from an LED with a series resistor to logic circuits, transistors and op-amps • The formula collection calculates with the measured values of your parts and shows where each number comes from • Teachers pass their default settings on to the whole class as a file FOR EVERYONE • In many languages and usable with VoiceOver, Voice Control and Apple Pencil • No ads, no tracking FREE The perfboard with almost all parts and their examples, the daily task, text labels, the instruments and the simulation are free. A circuit can have up to 7 parts. PERFBOARD LAB PRO With “Perfboard Lab Pro” you save as many circuits as you like and keep working on iPhone, iPad and Mac. You export them as PDF with a bill of materials and share them with others. Plus circuits with more than 7 parts, op-amp, voltage regulator, Timer NE555, motor, Zener diode, current source, solar module and the sensors with their examples, the stripboard and the breadboard with their examples, AI-assisted tasks and explanations, and the 3D view. • Perfboard Lab Pro is available as a subscription (yearly, monthly, weekly). The App Store shows the prices before you buy. • A subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. You can cancel at any time in your Apple Account settings under “Subscriptions”. • Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ • Privacy policy: https://pascalschroeer.github.io/PerfboardLab_PrivacyPolicy/ Legal notice: https://pascalschroeer.github.io/PerfboardLab_PrivacyPolicy/#legal-notice
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Perfboard Lab at none against Digital Simulator bitGateLab's shown. Digital Simulator bitGateLab's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 10 days) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Digital Simulator bitGateLab sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Perfboard Lab sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Digital Simulator bitGateLab ships an update every 3 days, Perfboard Lab every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Digital Simulator bitGateLab | Perfboard Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 10 days |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | RUBEN ESTRADA MARMOLEJO | Pascal Schroeer |
In-app purchases
Digital Simulator bitGateLab
- bitGateLab Digital Monthly$1.991 Month
- bitGateLab Digital Annual$14.991 Year
- bitGateLab Digital Lifetime$29.99
Perfboard Lab
- Perfboard Lab Pro$1.997 Days
- Perfboard Lab Pro$3.991 Month
- Perfboard Lab Pro$22.991 Year
Questions
Is Digital Simulator bitGateLab free?
Is Perfboard Lab free?
Do Digital Simulator bitGateLab or Perfboard Lab have ads?
Which is updated more often, Digital Simulator bitGateLab or Perfboard Lab?
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