PCB revision comparison
Compare schematic netlists, PDF drawings, BOMs, Gerbers, drill files, pick-and-place data, ODB++ and IPC-2581 exports between PCB revisions—without uploading your project to a hosted comparison service.
Runs locally · Seven comparison types · Runs on Windows · Review-ready exports
Click a tab to see what each comparison needs. Illustration of the application's own interface, which is in English.
Revision control
Replacing an unavailable part, correcting a footprint or refining the layout can change multiple design and manufacturing files. Kontr-Owl helps you verify that the final revision contains the changes you intended—and no surprises.
A substitution or layout adjustment may affect more than the file you were editing.
Compare the previous version with the revised version and create a clear record of what changed and what remained identical.
Project coverage
Check the principal design, manufacturing and product-exchange files produced for a PCB revision.
Compare connectivity between revisions—nets, pins, components, footprints and values—and flag nets that lost their expected connections.
Identify added, removed and modified component records using a designator or reference column.
Inspect complete ODB++ products and IPC-2581 exports for manifest, stackup, component, netlist, drill, outline and layer-count changes.
Compare copper, mask, paste, silkscreen and supported mechanical layers using a visual overlay. Layers are paired automatically by content, so renamed or extensionless board-house files still line up.
Review hole additions, removals, movement, size changes and plating changes across Excellon drill spans.
Compare component population, position, rotation, value, footprint and board side using configurable tolerances.
Compare any drawing pair page by page—schematic prints, fabrication or assembly drawings—and highlight the regions that differ.
Combine selected comparison records into one PDF, HTML or CSV summary for review and project documentation.
Real-world file support
Kontr-Owl supports standard output from Altium Designer, KiCad, OrCAD/Allegro, EAGLE, Fusion 360, EasyEDA, DipTrace, PADS and other tools that produce the underlying supported formats.
Gerber, drill, pick-and-place, ODB++ and IPC-2581 inputs are not rejected solely because a board house used an unusual or missing extension.
Gerber layers are paired by comparing the images themselves, not the filenames, and a shifted or mirrored board-house set is aligned automatically.
Units are normalised to millimetres. Text parsers tolerate common line endings and byte-order marks, while pick-and-place columns, delimiters and units are detected automatically.
If a file cannot be parsed, the tool reports the reason instead of silently producing an empty or misleading comparison.
PCB project files are processed on the machine running Kontr-Owl, not uploaded to a hosted comparison service.
Cyan and magenta distinguish old and new content without relying on the conventional red-and-green pairing.
| Comparison | Accepted input | Typical sources | Files per revision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schematics | KiCad netlist Altium Wire List Protel .NET EAGLE netlist pin-list CSV | Altium, KiCad, EAGLE and generic exported pin lists | One file |
| Bill of Materials | .csv .xlsx .xls | Altium, KiCad and generic spreadsheet exports | One file |
| PCB Data | .tgz .tar.gz .zip unpacked folder IPC-2581 .xml any extension | Altium and other ODB++ or IPC-2581 capable PCB tools | One product |
| Gerber | RS-274X any extension extensionless | Altium, KiCad, EAGLE, Fusion 360, OrCAD/Allegro and board-house outputs | Multiple layers |
| Drill | Excellon .txt .tx1 .drl .drd any extension | Altium, KiCad, EAGLE, Fusion 360, EasyEDA, DipTrace and PADS | Multiple spans |
| Pick & Place | .csv .txt .pos .mnt .mnb delimited text | Altium, KiCad, EAGLE, Fusion 360, OrCAD/Allegro, EasyEDA, DipTrace and PADS | One file |
| Any CAD tool or PDF producer | One PDF |
File extensions shown above are common examples, not always strict requirements. Gerber, drill, pick-and-place, ODB++ and IPC-2581 parsers inspect content because manufacturing files are frequently renamed or supplied without a conventional extension.
.SchDoc,
.kicad_sch and .dsn should be printed to PDF
and compared on the PDF tab. BOM text or TSV files should be converted
to CSV or XLSX. Unsupported netlists such as EDIF, Telesis, PADS ASCII
or SPICE should be exported as a KiCad netlist, Protel
.NET or a pin-list CSV.
Comparison reports
Build a consolidated PDF, HTML or CSV summary from selected comparisons, including identified changes and verified-identical results.
Product demonstration
Watch how Kontr-Owl loads two PCB revisions, identifies differences and produces a reviewable output.
Open on YouTubeEarly access
Try every comparison for 14 days, then choose the licence that matches how much of the workflow you need.
Windows · free trial, no licence key needed
The trial and licences are handled by Gumroad. Prefer email? Contact us directly .
Privacy and responsible use
The access form collects only the information needed to understand your request, assess compatibility and contact you about Kontr-Owl.
Last updated: 1 September 2026
This page does not collect personal information. Starting the free trial or buying a licence is handled by Gumroad, which collects the details needed for that transaction under its own privacy policy. If you contact Kontr-Owl directly, the contents of your message and any information you choose to provide will be received.
Your information is used only for administering your trial or licence, communicating with you about Kontr-Owl and providing support you request. It is not sold, rented or shared with data brokers, and it is not used for unrelated advertising or marketing campaigns.
The Kontr-Owl application performs comparisons locally on the machine where it is running. PCB design and manufacturing files loaded into the application are not sent to this landing page or uploaded to Kontr-Owl during the normal comparison workflow.
If you voluntarily send example files for troubleshooting, they will be used only to investigate the issue for which they were provided. Do not send confidential files unless authorised.
The free trial and paid licences are sold through Gumroad, which handles checkout and receives the details needed for the transaction. The demonstration uses YouTube's privacy-enhanced domain. External services are also governed by their own privacy policies.
Enquiries that do not lead to a trial or a licence will be deleted no later than 12 months after the most recent relevant communication.
Where a trial or licence exists, the minimum records reasonably needed to administer it may be retained while it is active and for any period required for security, dispute resolution, accounting or legal obligations.
You may ask what personal information is held about you, request a correction or request deletion, subject to any information that must be retained for legal or security reasons. Contact kontrowl.tool@gmail.com.
Last updated: 1 September 2026
Kontr-Owl is a comparison and review-assistance tool. It helps users identify differences between PCB revisions and create review records. It does not design a PCB, perform complete electrical or manufacturing verification, or certify a design as correct or ready for production.
A clean or “identical” result means that no difference was detected by the selected comparison using the supplied files, settings, tolerances and supported parser behaviour. It does not prove that the design is correct, safe, manufacturable or compliant.
Kontr-Owl must not be treated as the person or authority signing off a fabrication release, tapeout or production order. The user remains responsible for the final engineering decision.
Support applies to the documented formats and parser behaviour of the installed version. Real CAD exports may contain malformed, proprietary, ambiguous or previously unseen constructs. A file extension alone does not guarantee compatibility.
Visual results can be affected by resolution, coordinate precision, page order, file pairing and tolerances. Structured comparisons depend on the quality and meaning of supplied fields.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Kontr-Owl is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties that it will detect every change, operate without interruption or suit a particular project, production process or regulatory requirement.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the developer is not responsible for fabrication losses, component losses, redesign costs, production delays, lost data, lost profits or other indirect or consequential loss arising from reliance on the tool or outputs.
Nothing in these terms excludes responsibility that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
Use Kontr-Owl lawfully and only with files you are authorised to access and process. Do not distribute malware, interfere with systems, violate another party’s rights or process unlawfully obtained confidential information.
Kontr-Owl uses third-party libraries and may call independently installed tools such as gerbv. Those components remain subject to their own licences and terms.
These terms and the supported-format list may be updated as the software changes. Review the terms supplied with the version you use before relying on it for production. Questions: kontrowl.tool@gmail.com.