Mokxi and Tinkercad Circuits for schools, compared fairly
Mokxi is a free Tinkercad Circuits alternative that runs in your browser. It runs ESP32, Raspberry Pi Pico and STM32 boards as well as the Arduino Uno, compiles your C++ sketch in the tab, and needs no account to start.
Last checked September 2026
- 505parts on the bench
- 45boards running now
- 1.00xreal time, on every board
Both tools put a circuit and code in a browser for a class. Tinkercad Circuits is the established beginner tool, while Mokxi carries a class from a starter circuit through live work, checks and submissions. Here is where each one is the right answer.
The Mokxi editor running an Arduino Uno thermometer, with the I2C LCD showing the temperature and the sketch open beside the wired breadboard.
Where Tinkercad Circuits leads
These are the strongest reasons to choose Tinkercad Circuits today.
- It is free, from Autodesk, and already approved in a great many schools.
- The component library is broad and aimed squarely at beginners.
- The circuit-and-3D integration suits design classes that go on to print something.
- Block-based coding alongside text, for the Arduino Uno and the micro:bit, which matters a lot for younger students.
Where Mokxi leads
These are working parts of Mokxi you can open and test for yourself.
- Your C++ is built by a real clang and the firmware runs on a modeled chip, so timers, interrupts and PWM behave the way the chip does.
- A real breadboard on a 0.1 inch grid, with rails and a center channel a DIP chip straddles.
- Forty-five boards: Arduino boards from the Uno to the Uno R4, ESP32 and ESP8266 boards, the Pico and Pico W, three STM32 boards, the micro:bit V2 and the ATtiny85, each with its coverage documented.
- A student can open and run the editor without an account. Classes add a roster, starter projects, reusable checks, submissions and a teacher dashboard.
Side by side
Last checked September 2026. If anything here has gone stale, that is our mistake and we want to know.
| Mokxi | Tinkercad Circuits | |
|---|---|---|
| Aimed at | Firmware lessons and classroom work | Beginner circuits, coding and 3D design |
| Coding | C++ in a real editor, built here | Blocks and text |
| Boards | 45, from the Arduino Uno to ESP32, Pico, STM32 and the micro:bit | The Arduino Uno, the micro:bit and the ATtiny |
| Class workflow | Starters, checks, submissions and a class wall | Class codes, teacher moderation and student designs |
| Use before signing up | Open, build and run a project | Browse public designs and lessons |
Which one should you use
Straight answers. Where the other one is the right call, we say so.
You teach a beginner class with block coding
Tinkercad Circuits.
You want timers, interrupts and PWM to behave like the real chip
Mokxi.
You want an ESP32
Mokxi. Tinkercad does not have one.
You want students to try the simulator before creating accounts
Mokxi. The editor opens and runs first; an account is needed when a student saves or joins a class.
Looking for a Tinkercad Circuits alternative?
People usually start looking for one of four reasons. They want a board Tinkercad Circuits does not have, most often an ESP32 or a Raspberry Pi Pico. They want the code to behave the way it does on the chip, with real timers, interrupts and the libraries tutorials use. They want the breadboard to be a real breadboard, with rails and a center channel. Or a class has outgrown what a beginner tool offers and needs assignments, checks and a gradebook.
Mokxi covers those four. The free plan has every board and every part, the editor opens and runs without an account, and it runs on a school Chromebook with nothing to install. What it does not have is block coding or 3D design, and if your students are young enough to need blocks, Tinkercad is still the better first tool.
A Tinkercad circuit comes over wired. In Tinkercad, press Export and download the .brd board file, which holds every part and every wire, then download the code from the Code panel in Text mode, and drop both on the import page. Mokxi places the parts it has with their values, wires them as Tinkercad had them, puts the code on the Uno and names anything it could not place. Most Uno sketches compile unchanged, and so do the libraries they usually include, such as Servo, Wire, LiquidCrystal and LiquidCrystal_I2C, along with DHT, the Adafruit SSD1306 headers and the other common libraries in Mokxi’s library list.
Compare the other options
The same straight comparison for the tools teachers, students and makers also consider.
In short
Is there a free alternative to Tinkercad Circuits with an ESP32?
Yes. Mokxi’s free plan includes the classic ESP32 DevKit, the ESP32-S3, the ESP32-C3 and C6 and three ESP8266 boards, as well as the Arduino boards, the Pico and the STM32 boards, and it runs in the browser without an account.
Can I import my Tinkercad projects?
Yes. Export the circuit from Tinkercad as a .brd file, download its code, and drop both on the import page: the parts arrive wired, with their values, and the code goes on the board. Standard Arduino sketches and the common libraries compile as they are.
Does Mokxi have block coding like Tinkercad?
No. Mokxi is text C++ only. For students who are not ready for text, Tinkercad’s blocks are the better start, and Mokxi is a good next step.
Should I use Mokxi if you teach a beginner class with block coding?
Tinkercad Circuits.
Should I use Mokxi if you want timers, interrupts and pwm to behave like the real chip?
Mokxi.
Should I use Mokxi if you want an esp32?
Mokxi. Tinkercad does not have one.
Should I use Mokxi if you want students to try the simulator before creating accounts?
Mokxi. The editor opens and runs first; an account is needed when a student saves or joins a class.
Try it yourself
A comparison page is somebody else’s opinion. Open the editor, press Run and make up your own mind.