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Q&A Why are some PCB design software programs considered to be 'hobbyist' programs?

Recently I have heard this opinion from experienced engineers when discussing PCB design software. The common opinion was that Allegro and Altium are supposedly professional programs whereas Eagle ...

3 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by Wilkins Ticklebum‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Sclrx‭

Question PCB software-tools
#2: Post edited by user avatar Lorenzo Donati‭ · 2023-08-13T19:26:43Z (over 1 year ago)
Retagged.
#1: Initial revision by user avatar Wilkins Ticklebum‭ · 2022-02-20T18:41:12Z (almost 3 years ago)
Why are some PCB design software programs considered to be 'hobbyist' programs?
Recently I have heard this opinion from experienced engineers when discussing PCB design software. The common opinion was that Allegro and Altium are supposedly professional programs whereas Eagle and KiCad were frowned upon. From researching online it seems that they are all capable software packages and the 'professional' ones contain very domain specific features.

Is this just an elitist gatekeeping, or is there truth to what they say? Is there a good reason to avoid 'hobbyist' software when designing PCBs?