Multisim Live

What happened to Multisim Live? multisim.com now redirects to ni.com

Published September 17, 2026 · By Britt at CircuitSim · 4 min read

Multisim Live reached end of life on September 15, 2026. NI and Digilent, which ran it, retired the product, pointed every multisim.com address at NI's Multisim product page, and recommend NI Circuit Design Suite as the replacement: a Windows desktop package that NI's store lists from $1,271 per license.

If you are looking for a replacement that doesn't break the bank at north of $1,200, CircuitSim is a great alternative! Yes, yes... we're the folks behind CircuitSim, so of course we recommend it... but hear us out. 😉

It runs in the browser, like Multisim Live did

CircuitSim runs a real SPICE engine in a browser tab with nothing to install. That is the combination that made Multisim Live work in a classroom, and NI Circuit Design Suite does not have it: NI's store lists Windows as the only supported operating system. CircuitSim opens the same way on a Chromebook, a school-managed laptop, a Mac, or a Linux machine, and a circuit shared as a link opens the same schematic on any of them. Each simulation runs on the user's own device, so a full class running at once does not wait on a server.

It opens your Multisim Live files

The .msjs files produced by Multisim Live's Download button import directly, along with .ms14 and .csim files and .zip batches of them. CircuitSim rebuilds each schematic as a circuit you can edit and run: component placement and rotation, wiring and junctions, probes, text labels and comments, and the simulation settings stored in the .msjs file. Each part is mapped to a simulating part in the CircuitSim catalog, and a part with no match yet is placed as a marked placeholder to swap by hand. Multisim Desktop also reads these files. In a browser, CircuitSim is the only simulator that does.

Moving a Multisim Live circuit into CircuitSim

Find the downloaded .msjs or .ms14 files. A .zip of several is fine.
Sign in to CircuitSim, open My Circuits, and use Import circuit, or drop the files onto the circuit list.
Turn on Auto adjust labels in the import dialog so component labels do not overlap after the rebuild.
Open the imported circuit and expand the Notes panel, where any import warnings, including placeholder parts, are listed.
Run the simulation once and compare it with the Multisim Live result before relying on it.

The importer is labeled experimental inside the app. Wires are rebuilt rather than copied, instruments do not import, multi-sheet designs import the first sheet only, and a placeholder part stays a placeholder until swapped. Check the schematic against the original, and send any file that comes through wrong via the contact page.

The free plan covers what the free Multisim Live plan covered

Multisim Live's Basic plan allowed four circuits with five components each. CircuitSim Basic allows five circuits with five components each, with interactive simulation, interactive operating point, transient, AC sweep, and DC operating point analysis. Standard is $30 a year: 10 circuits, 15 components per circuit, private circuits, and DC sweep and parameter sweep. Premium is $90 a year with no limits. Anyone who was fine on a free Multisim Live account is fine on CircuitSim Basic, and anyone who paid for Multisim Live pays less here.

Seven analysis types

Interactive simulation you can adjust while it runs, interactive operating point, transient, AC sweep, DC operating point, DC sweep, and parameter sweep, all on the same SPICE engine. That covers what Multisim Live offered and adds parameter sweep, which Multisim Live did not have. Results appear in oscilloscope-style charts fed by probes placed on the schematic.

Parts you can add yourself

CircuitSim ships 5,000+ parts and a custom component studio on top. Paste SPICE model text from a manufacturer datasheet, or import a KiCad symbol, and the part places and simulates like any other. Multisim Live's catalog was fixed, so a missing part was the end of the conversation. Custom components has the details.

Classes provision by link

A CircuitSim group license includes private student seats. A student opens a link and starts working, with no account created and no email address collected, which keeps a class FERPA and COPPA compliant. The instructor posts announcements to the group and shares circuits by link. Seats use bulk pricing from a single class up to a department, and schools that need a purchase order can request a quote from the pricing page. CircuitSim for educators and CircuitSim for schools go deeper, and CircuitSim vs NI Circuit Design Suite is the full comparison against the product NI recommends.

Common questions

Can CircuitSim open my Multisim Live files?

Yes. CircuitSim imports .msjs, .ms14, and .csim files, and .zip archives of them, and turns each one into a circuit you can edit and run. The importer is labeled experimental in the app, so check the imported schematic against the original and run it once before relying on the results.

Is CircuitSim free?

The Basic plan is free and allows five circuits with five components each, with interactive simulation, interactive operating point, transient, AC sweep, and DC operating point analysis. Standard is $30 a year and Premium $90 a year. Classes use group licenses with bulk seat pricing, so students in a class do not buy anything themselves.

Does CircuitSim work on a Chromebook or a Mac?

Yes. CircuitSim runs in the browser with nothing to install, on ChromeOS, macOS, Windows, and Linux. NI Circuit Design Suite runs on Windows only.

Is CircuitSim made by NI or Digilent?

No. CircuitSim is built by Elsewhere Labs, a company of two people who formerly worked on Multisim Live at Digilent. CircuitSim is not affiliated with NI, Emerson, or Digilent.

Open CircuitSim free at circuitsim.com →

Multisim, Multisim Live, Ultiboard, and NI are trademarks of National Instruments (Emerson). CircuitSim is not affiliated with National Instruments, Emerson, or Digilent. Dates reflect Digilent's public announcements; the NI price and the redirect were checked on ni.com and multisim.com on September 17, 2026 and may have changed since.