I prefer soil. in my opinion
- bud from soil tastes better
- bud from soil smells better
- mistakes are easier to fix
- one small error in measuring nutes won't kill all your plants in two hours
- No fucking water, tubing, leaks etc to deal with. No explaining to roommates / neighbors high volumes of filtered water purchases
- no algae to deal with
- easier to maintain or leave soil on vacation
- soil IS re-usable if you compost, and you can get a monster plant in just a 3 gallon pot which is not that much soil. And dirt is actually free if you have good soil around you
- Water + electricity + hot lights = problems waiting to happen
- much cheaper to start up
god made dirt and dirt don't hurt