Do pros really use Darktable and is it really the best free option out there for processing RAW at the moment? I've been playing around with it for an hour and it has been kind of frustrating to use compared to LR. Can't even get my exports to look the same as the preview.

I want to use LR but I'll be using my images for school and worried that someone will find out that I'm using a pirated copy (can't afford to buy it cuz no student discount). Is there any way to prevent someone from finding this out while also keeping EXIF data unaltered in my exported JPEGs?