I played EVE e years ago, 2007 being the latest I think. I used to RP a character, a rebel Amarr who left his home and went to live in Minmatar space. He had a hard time at first, Minmatar, understandably not friendly in the beginning, warmed up to him as he proved his intentions were not foul. As time passed he increased his rep among the Minmatar and found a place in the society.
At least I hope he did, because I got utterly and hopelessly bored with the game (and also the subscription model was quite expensive for me at the time) after I acquired the necessary skills to fly cruiser class ships. It took a significant amount of waiting since time is the only resource you need to progress in that game. In game time is only for making money. Other than that you don't even have to log in other than start new skill training. Right around the time I started playing, like a month into, they introduced queuing skill training lists up to a week, with the last in the queue permitted to exceed even one week. I think you get the picture.
It felt like they designed the game to keep newbies out of the game as much as possible while getting subscription money while older players got to enjoy more gameplay and the opportunity to pay for real game time with in game currency (plex farming). It felt like a test of patience and loyalty before you get to play, kinda like a club initiation. Don't get me wrong, I joined corporations, tried to play a part in larger groups etc but pvp was almost impossible at my level and pve was incredibly dull.
Now Elite Dangerous is a whole other beast. This game is the polar opposite of EVE in almost every way.
First, you get to actually fly your ship. In EVE you don't get to go wherever you like. You tell the game where to take you and it does and you have to wait.
Second, you get the best gameplay in the beginning in ED. Learning the ropes is actually a hands on experience. It's more fun to fly the smaller ships. In EVE, it's about the stats of the ships and modules you fit on them, which you don't get to use but tell the game to use for you.
Third, character progression in ED is simply your physical self sitting in front of the computer learning the game. You actually increase muscle memory, hone your flying hands on. You have the option to fly FA off which is a whole different world. In EVE, you don't get to fly your spaceship.
Fourth, in ED, you are well off on your own. No need to see another soul if you choose to do so. The game has all the gameplay it has to offer for a single CMDR. All multiplayer aspect is a very important extra, enriching the game experience significantly but not actually making the bulk of it. EVE forces you into the community because without player interaction, the game doesn't exist. There is simply no gameplay without people, there's only waiting for statistics to appear.
In conclusion; In Elite: Dangerous, you are flying a spaceship! In EVE online, you don't get to fly a spaceship.