Ok, for schematic capture and layout I'm using Eagle from
https://www.cadsoftusa.com/. They have a free version available. The Altus Metrum guys are using gEDA from
https://www.geda-project.org/. The latter is totally free and is under GPL. It's been a few years since I've used gEDA so I'm sure it's matured. There's also Kicad at
https://www.kicad-pcb.org. For verification, I'm using the ERC and DRC tools available in Eagle configured with the specific rule sets from the fab house. Once my design is complete, I export it to Gerber 274x using the CAM tools in Eagle. Each fab has slightly different requirements w/r to DRC rules and what Gerber layers are required.
For fab, I use OSH Park at
https://oshpark.com/. Batch PCB was ran by the Sparkfun guys but it has closed (probably due to competition from OSH Park). You can get the CAM and DRC files from their site.
Submission is simple - create a zip file containing your Gerber files and upload it to the OSH Park site. They also accept Eagle layouts but I prefer Gerber. During the submission process, they'll run a DRC on the fly. Then do a final sanity check and pay for it with paypal. Their rates are $5/square-inch for 3 copies of a two layer board, no setup fees, free shipping. Panelization takes about a day. They submit around 3 panels per week. Turnaround is two weeks or better. Their boards are purple
and they are produced domestically.
Batch PCB had slightly better rates but had a set up fee which made it impractical for small batches. They also had a 4 to 5 week turn as the boards were produced in China.