Eagle is in a weird place right now. For years it was functionally quite good, but horribly outdated UI-wise. I learned PCB design using Eagle, and will still g

Eagle is in a weird place right now. For years it was functionally quite good, but horribly outdated UI-wise. I learned PCB design using Eagle, and will still go to Eagle first because I know I can knock out a breakout board in half an hour. But, the user interface was like something from Windows 95. Then Autodesk got involved and everyone flipped their tables. On the whole, I think it's been a good move. Cadsoft let Eagle stagnate. Autodesk have already implemented a lot of really useful features - why did it take so long to add layer groups (like top/bottom sets)? Or board previews? Or push/shove routing? Real-time DRC violation alerts? On the other hand, the UI changes slightly every time there's a (frequent) update which takes getting used to. They're very active on the Autodesk forums and they seem genuinely interested in making it a more usable piece of software. I think it still needs a year or two for the dust to settle, but I still enjoy using it. I'm fortunate that I have a license as university staff, but the free version has always been pretty nice (I don't think I've ever needed a board bigger than 100x160). Part of Eagle's popularity stems (I guess) from SparkFun and Adafruit using it, historically, for a lot of their tutorials.