LabWired The easy way to build hardware

LabWired vs. Wokwi

Two browser simulators that run real firmware, built for different jobs

Last checked 22 October 2026. Every Wokwi statement links to a Wokwi page or Wokwi's own issue tracker. If something here is out of date, tell us at contact@labwired.com and we will fix it.

Wokwi is a mature simulator used for personal and commercial work: it is free for personal use, with paid plans for commercial users and professionals (Wokwi docs). It has many ESP32 chips, a large parts bin, GDB debugging, a logic analyzer, a VS Code extension and a free plan with unlimited public projects. LabWired is built for firmware teams and AI agents: register-level models that state their own gaps, several boards on one bus, an AI that designs the circuit, PCB and 3D views, and CI. Here is where each one is the better pick.

Where Wokwi leads

  • The widest ESP32 range. ESP32, ESP32-S2 and ESP32-S3 on Xtensa, and ESP32-C3, C5, C6, C61, H2, P4 and S31 on RISC-V (P4 in beta, C5 and S31 in alpha), plus AVR, ATtiny85 and the RP2040 (Wokwi: Supported Hardware).
  • Any Arduino library. All users can use the Arduino Library Manager; paid plans add custom libraries and SD-card files (Wokwi: Pricing).
  • Many toolchains. On the ESP32 it runs Arduino Core and ESP-IDF projects, MicroPython, CircuitPython and Rust, or a firmware file you built yourself (Wokwi: ESP32 Simulator, MicroPython on Wokwi, CircuitPython on Wokwi).
  • Internet-connected Wi-Fi. The simulated network reaches the internet, so firmware can use MQTT, HTTP, HTTPS, NTP and web sockets (Wokwi: ESP32 WiFi Networking). The free plan has a shared public IoT gateway; paid plans run a private gateway on your computer (Wokwi: Pricing).
  • Debugging tools. GDB debugging for Arduino and Raspberry Pi Pico (Wokwi: GDB Debugging), and for the ESP32 chips through Wokwi for VS Code (Wokwi: Debugging in VS Code), and a virtual logic analyzer with 8 channels at a 1 GHz sample rate whose captures open in PulseView (Wokwi: Logic Analyzer).
  • Custom chips. The Chips API, currently in beta, lets you write your own parts in C, Rust or any language that compiles to WebAssembly, with experimental Verilog support. It has GPIO, analog, UART, I2C, SPI and framebuffer APIs (Wokwi: Chips API).
  • Simulation inside VS Code for PlatformIO, ESP-IDF and other toolchains, on the Hobby+ and Pro plans (Wokwi: Pricing, Wokwi for VS Code).
  • A generous free plan with unlimited simulations and unlimited public projects (Wokwi: Pricing).

Where LabWired leads

  • Nordic and STM32 Nucleo-class boards. LabWired runs the nRF52840 DK, nRF5340 DK, nRF54L15, NUCLEO-F401RE, NUCLEO-H563ZI, NUCLEO-L476RG and more (Parts). Wokwi's hardware page lists STM32C031, STM32L031 and STM32F103C8 for STM32, and no Nordic parts (Wokwi: Supported Hardware). See the nRF52840 simulator and the STM32 Nucleo simulator.
  • Several MCUs in one simulation. Three Blue Pills share one CAN bus in the CAN bus simulator, each with its own firmware. Running several MCUs is an open Wokwi feature request since September 2021 (wokwi-features #186).
  • AI that designs the circuit. The Architect in the Playground builds the circuit from a description, writes the firmware and tests it. Guests can try it without an account.
  • A hosted MCP server. Agents connect to https://api.labwired.com/mcp over HTTP with OAuth, from Claude, Codex, Cursor, VS Code or ChatGPT, with no local install (LabWired for agents). Wokwi's MCP server is part of the Wokwi CLI: it runs locally over stdio, needs a CI token and is marked experimental (Wokwi: MCP support).
  • PCB and 3D views, and KiCad export. The Board view shows copper, schematic and 3D. Agents can create, place, route and export a PCB, and export a KiCad netlist, schematic, BOM, .kicad_pcb or Gerber zip.
  • Models that state their gaps. Every part page says what is simulated and how it was validated, and each simulator page lists what is left out.
  • An open engine for CI. The LabWired core is MIT-licensed, and its labwired test CLI runs on your own runner. The GitHub Action writes JUnit XML and JSON (LabWired for CI). Wokwi CI simulates in Wokwi's cloud, with 50 simulation minutes per 30 days on the free plan and 2,000 on Pro (Wokwi CI).

Analog circuits

Simulating a resistor divider is an open Wokwi request since October 2021 (wokwi-features #203). LabWired co-simulates the analog part of a circuit in the core, next to the running firmware. On circuits the MCU senses, resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, BJTs and MOSFETs (the npn, pnp, nmos and pmos parts), and op-amps and comparators (opamp, LM358, LM393) are solved as one circuit, and the multimeter and function generator are part of that same circuit (labwired-core crates/core/src/analog; large-signal device models with no device capacitance, per device.rs). A series resistor into an LED stays digital, and a multimeter on its net says so instead of showing a number. For DC sweeps, Bode plots or SPICE decks, compare Mokxi.

Topic Wokwi LabWired
Best fit Arduino, ESP32 and Pico firmware, from personal projects to commercial work Firmware teams, CI and AI agents
MCU families AVR, ATtiny85, ten ESP32 chips, STM32C031 / L031 / F103C8, RP2040 STM32 (F1, F4, F7, G0, G4, H5, H7, L0, L4, U5, WB, WBA), nRF52 / nRF53 / nRF54, ESP32 / S3 / C3 / C6, RP2040 / RP2350, AVR, SAMD
MCUs in one simulation One (feature request #186 open) Several, on shared CAN, UART or GPIO nets
Libraries Arduino Library Manager on every plan Hosted Arduino, STM32Cube and Rust builds (by board)
Languages Arduino, ESP-IDF, MicroPython, CircuitPython, Rust C/C++ (Arduino, STM32Cube) and Rust, by board
Debugging GDB (Arduino, Pico, and ESP32 in VS Code), 8-channel logic analyzer, custom chips Source breakpoints and stepping, registers, trace and memory in the Playground; a GDB server (--gdb) and a VS Code extension with a debug adapter (DAP, .vsix on GitHub) from the CLI
Networking Wi-Fi with internet access (MQTT, HTTP, NTP); private gateway on paid plans Simulated networks between boards
AI Experimental MCP server in the CLI (stdio, CI token) Browser Architect, hosted MCP over OAuth, agent plugins
PCB / 3D Not covered on the cited pages Board view (copper, schematic, 3D), PCB routing, KiCad and Gerber export
CI Wokwi CLI and GitHub Action, cloud simulation, minutes per plan GitHub Action, plus the MIT core's labwired test on your own runner
IDE Simulation inside VS Code (Hobby+ and Pro) Browser Playground; agents in your editor over MCP
Price (annual billing for Wokwi) Community €0, Hobby €5.6, Hobby+ €8.1, Pro €20 per seat a month Free $0, Hobby $9, Pro $39 a month (pricing)

Which one should you use?

  • An ESP32-S2, H2 or P4, internet-connected Wi-Fi, or a library from the Library Manager: Wokwi.
  • The simulator inside VS Code: Wokwi, on Hobby+ or Pro.
  • MicroPython, CircuitPython or a custom chip of your own: Wokwi.
  • nRF52840 or STM32 Nucleo firmware: LabWired.
  • Two or more boards talking over CAN, UART or shared GPIO: LabWired.
  • An AI agent that builds, runs and verifies the hardware, from a hosted MCP URL: LabWired.
  • Going from simulation to a PCB or KiCad: LabWired.

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