Autodesk has Converted Eagle to a Paid Subscription Service!

[JonSea]

From Hack-A-Day, Autodesk has converted Eagle to paid subscriptions only. If you need more than 2 layers or a board bigger than 160 Sq cm, it will cost you $500 a year for the premium version. I paid about $800 for the pro version of layout for version 5 more than 10 years ago, and have resisted the upgrade offers to versions 6 and 7 for around $700.

This has caused an uproar on the Hack-A-Day page and on the Autodesk forum pages. As recently as last week, Autodesk refused to answer questions about a subscription service model, which was implemented without discussion or warning.

I am hoping my version 5 continues to work but the question remains whether I can install it again if I have to even with the key file and serial number - I don't know if it "phones home" when doing an installation.

Changing to something else is painful both in terms of learning curve and custom symbols I've created. It may be time to bite the bullet.

 

[Cicero]

Ugh, what a pain in the ass. This SAAS trend is alarming but understandable from a revenue/cashflow standpoint.

I've personally never used Eagle, I came from hand drawn and etched boards in school, Multisim/Ultiboard in my tertiary studies, to Protel professionally, then Altium.

I now use EasyPC https://www.numberone.com/ , as Altium is too expensive for my current employer. I think it would do as a valid replacement for Eagle users.

 

[RichTheDude]

If you are considering purchasing EDA software, Proteus is at a similar price point to Eagle and is far better in my opinion. I was forced to use Eagle at one point in my life, to me the GUI is utterly bananas. Is there even an inbuilt simulator yet?

If you want free/open source KiCAD is your best option in my opinion, just make sure you create your own footprints.