For me, Hydro is a lot easier.

I tried several times in soil and my plants kept dying. Overwater, underwater, bad soil, blah blah blah.

In hydro there isn't really any guesswork. First time grow went perfect. it might be a little more "work" measuring ph and occasionally changing the water, but you know you soil guys waste plenty of time looking at your plants for no reason ;-)

I can't attest to yield or speed differences, since i've never finished a soil grow. I would imagine if you kept the conditions perfect in soil it would be pretty similar. I just think it's a lot easier to provide "perfect" grow conditions in hydro.