Also: the Autorouter in Kicad is actually pretty useful ... if you use it as a tool, not as a magic problem solving machine.
I normally place components somewhat randomly, big chip in the middle, connectors at the side, small stuff close to where it belongs ... then hit the autorouter, look at the result and move around some components, hit the autorouter again, rinse repeat ...
In the end I'll end up with fairly good looking PCBs (e.g. https://imgur.com/a/rUGtBNa) without having placed a single line myself.
I normally place components somewhat randomly, big chip in the middle, connectors at the side, small stuff close to where it belongs ... then hit the autorouter, look at the result and move around some components, hit the autorouter again, rinse repeat ...
In the end I'll end up with fairly good looking PCBs (e.g. https://imgur.com/a/rUGtBNa) without having placed a single line myself.