I honestly find hydro easier. There's less guess work than soil. You can't know exactly how much nutrients the plant is getting from the soil, while in hydro you know that at most the water is providing Ca and Mg. I don't like having variables I can't control. With a TDS meter and a pH meter you can tell exactly how much nutrients the plants are getting and you can replicate your conditions from grow to grow easily. And hydro doesn't really cost more. DWC needs a bucket and an airstone, compare that to a bag of FFOF or Roots. The other systems need pumps, which aren't that pricey. Only High Pressure Aero is significantly more expensive, and that makes up for the upfront costs by making much more efficient use of nutes. And blowin away every other system in terms of speed and yield.