I'm not super experienced in tabletop stuff, but I know a friend who is (and talked to them about comparing DnD to Pathfinder), and also I have done sessions with both Pathfinder and DnD 5th Edition.

The pro with Pathfinder is there is a ton of customization with classes and stuff, and from what I have seen the number of classes and their nuances is insane when you have the extra books.

The con with Pathfinder is since it is derived from 3.5 the rules are a lot more number-crunchy than DnD 5th. This means the Pathfinder Core Rulebook is much larger than the Player's Handbook for DnD 5th, and there are a lot more rules regarding combat and things.

Awhile back, during the days of DnD 4th edition, Pathfinder did have a huge, huge pro: it had far, far fewer books than DnD 4th. (Pathfinder had three main books you needed: the Core Rulebook, Game Master's book, and Bestiary.) DnD 4th had a sick amount of small books for each thing that it made it seem to me that Wizards of the Coast just wanted to sucker money out of DnD fans. Thankfully, DnD 5th has returned to the "three main books" format: Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's book, and Bestiary kinda book. So, at least in terms of the number of "main" books required, DnD 5th and Pathfinder are now on more even footing.

The pro with Dungeons and Dragons 5th is the rules are simpler. And honestly, I personally prefer this. Because the capability to roleplay or do complex things is still there with DnD 5th, but the rulebook is smaller, and it's a lot easier to get into DnD 5th. (My friend who is super mega experienced at tabletop agrees with this assessment.) Additionally, even though the rules are "simpler" than Pathfinder, DnD 5th encourages a "background" system with player characters, and as a result this actually helps encourage roleplay despite the "simpler rules" approach.

One concept in DnD 5th I have really liked is the concept of "Advantage" or "Disadvantage." Certain things can trigger someone getting an Advantage to their roll or a Disadvantage to their roll. When someone has Advantage, they roll a d20 twice and take the higher result (thus having a higher chance of getting a better roll). For Disadvantage it is opposite: they roll two d20's and take the lower result.

One example where Pathfinder is "number crunchy" while DnD 5th is less number crunchy is with the "Blind" or "Blinded" condition.

Here is the rule for Pathfinder regarding the Blind condition:

The creature cannot see. It takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class, loses its Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), and takes a –4 penalty on most Strength and Dexterity-based skill checks and on opposed Perception skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Perception checks based on sight) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) against the blinded character. Blind creatures must make a DC 10 Acrobatics skill check to move faster than half speed. Creatures that fail this check fall prone. Characters who remain blinded for a long time grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can overcome some of them.

Here is the rule for DnD 5th regarding the Blind condition:

When a creature is Blind:

*The creature cannot see.
*The creature moves at half speed.
*Attacks against the creature have advantage, and the creature's attacks have disadvantage.

Not only is the DnD 5th rule about Blind simpler, but it is a lot easier to memorize thanks to the Advantage/Disadvantage concept. And lots of other rules are easy to memorize as a result.

Another example: whenever a Rogue has Advantage on an attack roll with a creature, they do their sneak attack damage. As long as you know the small number of conditions giving someone Advantage on their attack (for example, the Rogue is attacking from Stealth, so they gain Advantage), then it's also easy to understand this rule.

Anyhow, I hope this feedback helps you. This is not to say Pathfinder is bad. It ultimately isn't. And a large number of people still play Pathfinder. My local gamestore still does Pathfinder sessions alongside DnD 5th stuff. But hopefully this can help give you a comparison to some degree so you can find your own preference. :)

Well right now if I were to choose I would go with 5th edition because I was learning the in and outs of it for over a year, my friends wanted a game that only now is starting to form. Ironically the Pathfinder bundle is what inspired them to actually want the thing that they wanted a year ago. Thank goodness they didn't expect me to try and learn Pathfinder in a short moment's notice especially after investing in 5e but I wouldn't mind being in a Pathfinder game.