Octopus.do
Octopus.do integrates with Claude and ChatGPT via MCP, turning sitemaps into live AI-editable workspace.
Comparison · Design
Horizon EDA vs Air
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Horizon EDA and Air — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Horizon EDA vs Air: at a glance
| Feature | Horizon EDA | Air |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Design | Design |
| Velocity score | 0.0 | 7.5 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 1 |
| Top themes | eda, pcb-design, editor-ergonomics, slow-cadence | digital-asset-management, creative-tools, mcp, generative-video |
| Last editorial update | 1mo ago | 14d ago |
| Website | Visit → | — |
What is Horizon EDA?
Horizon EDA ships one feature release a year and spends the rest fixing what it broke.
Horizon EDA runs a slow, deliberate cadence: roughly one named feature release per year — Kepler in 2023, Luna in 2024, Mirage in 2025 — followed by two bugfix releases in the same series. The 2.7 series added pick-and-place export save/load, polygon pad rendering performance, project pool cache updates from the editors, and parameter fixing in the package editor. Its two patch releases were crash fixes and export correctness, mostly around silkscreen and PDF output.
What is Air?
Air opens its asset library to agents that can write, not just search
Air is a creative asset platform whose Canvas surface has spent this year absorbing generative video and image tooling — translation inside an image, video-to-video, smart resize, a growing roster of third-party models. Alongside that it keeps widening how assets get in and out: Figma and FigJam, Premiere Pro, Workato, Canva. Sharing has been productised into Showcases, a branded, permission-controlled page whose feature set is now explicitly tiered by plan. Weekly releases, usually one theme each.
Horizon EDA vs Air: editorial side-by-side
Horizon EDA
0.0DESIGN
Horizon EDA ships one feature release a year and spends the rest fixing what it broke.
◆ Current state
Horizon EDA runs a slow, deliberate cadence: roughly one named feature release per year — Kepler in 2023, Luna in 2024, Mirage in 2025 — followed by two bugfix releases in the same series. The 2.7 series added pick-and-place export save/load, polygon pad rendering performance, project pool cache updates from the editors, and parameter fixing in the package editor. Its two patch releases were crash fixes and export correctness, mostly around silkscreen and PDF output.
◆ Where it's heading
The feature work tracks a single theme across all three named releases: making the editors forgiving. Undo and redo that never forgets, undo/redo of selection, sticky selection and configurable selection modifiers arrived in 2.5 and 2.6; 2.7 pushed into export workflows and rendering speed. The bugfix pattern is consistent too — most patches land in the board editor, which is where the complexity lives.
◆ Prediction
On the established cadence a 2.8 feature release is due, and the recent bugfix concentration suggests export and silkscreen handling get attention in it.
Air
7.5DESIGN
Air opens its asset library to agents that can write, not just search
◆ Current state
Air is a creative asset platform whose Canvas surface has spent this year absorbing generative video and image tooling — translation inside an image, video-to-video, smart resize, a growing roster of third-party models. Alongside that it keeps widening how assets get in and out: Figma and FigJam, Premiere Pro, Workato, Canva. Sharing has been productised into Showcases, a branded, permission-controlled page whose feature set is now explicitly tiered by plan. Weekly releases, usually one theme each.
◆ Where it's heading
Two things are converging. Air is positioning Canvas as the place creative work happens rather than where finished files land, which is why the model roster and editing tools keep growing. And it is making the library machine-addressable: the MCP server that launched read-only in April now has write scopes and a listing in Claude's connector directory. Put together, the bet is that an agent will do the routine library work — filing, tagging, uploading — while people stay in Canvas.
◆ Prediction
Expect the write scopes to pull governance behind them, since an agent that can create boards and upload files into a shared library will need scoped permissions and an audit trail before enterprise customers turn it on.
Alternatives to Horizon EDA and Air
Other Design products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Horizon EDA or Air.
Spectra
Spectra Blocks adds White Label support and ships WordPress 7.1 compatibility in its early 1.x cycle
Recraft
Recraft bets on brand consistency and an agentic studio as AI image generation commoditizes.
Penpot
Penpot launches Enterprise tier while shipping MCP integration and background blur—monetization without closing the source.
Frame.io
Frame.io launches 'Open in Firefly Video Editor' as the first in a planned series of Adobe suite integration links.
Aseprite
Aseprite v1.3.18 ships extension save formats and faster undo; patch cadence maintains stability
See all Horizon EDA alternatives → · See all Air alternatives →
Recent activity from Horizon EDA and Air
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 15d agoAirNew updates to Showcases
- 16d agoAirNew video models, and better versions of the ones you already have
- 19d agoAirNew updates to Air's MCP ⚡
- 26d agoAirThree new ways to connect Air â FigJam, Premiere Pro, and Workato
- 29d agoAirNew ways to find, sort, and share your work
- 1mo agoAirNEW: Video Smart Resize
- 9mo agoHorizon EDASecond 2.7 bugfix release: silkscreen arcs and PDF export
- 0y agoHorizon EDAFirst 2.7 bugfix release: smashed silkscreen text crash
- 1y agoHorizon EDAPick-and-place export presets and faster polygon pad rendering
- 2y agoHorizon EDAUser layers, undo/redo of selection, meson build
- 3y agoHorizon EDABlind and buried vias, undo/redo that never forgets
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Horizon EDA and Air?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Air is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 7.5 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Horizon EDA better than Air?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Air is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 7.5 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Design products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Horizon EDA?
Top Horizon EDA alternatives in Design are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Horizon EDA alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/horizon-eda for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Air?
Top Air alternatives in Design are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Air alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/air for the full list with editorial commentary on each.