Greatsword or Switchaxe?

[Overlord]

Which one do you prefer and why? Is GS just overall better?

[General Jelly Jiggler]

They're both good. GS is more user friendly. But SA has more flair behind its move set to me. Overall you can't go wrong with either.

[Ragosta tin Dei]

Swaxe for utility GS for damage.

[Emerald Lance]

I have more fun with GS honestly, though I do also enjoy SA quite a bit. Really it depends on your taste; GS is unga bunga damage, while SA is flashier and can be useful in more situations.

[Corrupt-nz]

Both, and no

[Maffeketel]

I like both, but one isn't necessarily better then the other. I main both of them.
I'm a bit better with the GS then the SA, but that can be attributed to my personal skill level and both weapons can deal the same amount of DPS as long as the player understands both weapons.

The GS is a bit easier to learn then the SA. I'd recommend that you try both and try to get a feel of each weapon's playstyle and see which one you prefer!

[Giallombardo]

both are great

[Zhou Yu]

I prefer the switchaxe due to it’s flashier style and the look of the weapons. Though I think my greatsword use is far more reliable due to the limitations on mobility options with the switchaxe.

[Fharlion]

GS is very reliable, and has a low barrier to entry.
You have the option to shoulder tackle out of charge stances/rolls to compensate for the lack of proper movement, gain a huge passive bonus to breaking parts (like chopping tails), and you will generally have a very easy time sniping desired parts (like heads and other weak spots).
It plays simple and slow, but that in turn lets you calculate and time your hits comfortably.

SA is a lot more technical (slightly steeper learning curve), but has the option to adapt its play style on a per monster.
Axe mode attacks have high trip and flinch values (especially when charged), and allow quite a lot of mobility/safety. Sword mode on the other hand has some of the most damaging combos available in the game (especially when fully amped), but it trades most of its mobility for it.
It is generally more focused/hectic than GS, but it also has a lot of flair and very flashy moves.

[Run Ha]

GS for me,

to be honest, i cant play sa well so i choose gs.

[frost.tempest]

Certain weapons make quests easy only after you get past a certain damage threshold. Let me explain, you can go and hit a monster head a number of times, its hard and ugly, you barely get any oppenings and few staggers and you get beat up. But imagine you have a full set with imposible decorations and hit a lot harder. Magically the quest is way easier because your harder hits trigger lots of staggers and openings. Therefore the monster falls faster and easier. This applies to all weapons.

The thing is, only in end game and with great luck you get your dream set to do the same that speedrunners do. See bows for example, they barely do any dmage outside of early game unless you make a set around them. But when you do they kill things really fast.

So, Great Sword can do lots of damage, but you need two things, knowledge of monster patterns and a build to suit it. Switch axe is less damage on single hits but you get great mobility and a varied moveset to keep damaging while not being hit. It kind of depends of the monster which is optimal.

To give you an example:
Recently just solo'ed Furious Rajang with a Switch Axe. Horrible ape shaped murder machine.
Earlier was using a defensive set with GS, I could manage a hit on the head for 130, same set with SA was 2 hits of 93 and 69 in the same oppening. Also that ape murder machine got me a lot with great sword because of the recovery from the attacks with GS. With SA it was way easier to get outand evade after getting a hit in.

Of course, if I had a set that hit for 300+ on the head with a GS and could get them to hit constantly then that would have been better to take out Rajang, but I didnt have either. And thats the important point. You have to make do with what you have at any given point.
Also, I wasn't all that familiar with its moveset, so lots of carts on my early tries. GS felt so clunky at that point. Therefore went SA, learned the tells and opennings, after a while got me a captured Furious Rajang (no way Im going all the way to kill it haha).

So I recommend to you to get both and see for yourself which works for you against which monsters in which part of your progression.

[Xilo The Odd]

if i want to hit big numbers on specific body parts, or rely on craw attacks for niche but fun builds, GS.

if i want to focus on breaking parts with the maximum level of part breaking and do silly things like latch onto a monster while its moving just so i can stab it in the hip/face/tail, Swagaxe.

[𝓇𝒾𝓃𝒶𝒶𝒶𝒶𝒶]

GS because it hits like a truck, monsters literally scream in pain and you can move them with pure brute force.

I have no idea what SA does, is it even a real weapon?

[ciel]

the GS moveset puts me to sleep. SA all the way.

[ᔑᓭ∴ᔑリ⊣]

i like sa just coz it looks cool
i prefer gs from older games. idk why, just more satisfying maybe

[Ghost Bear]

I prefer Switch Axe because of the variety of play styles that it offers which you can adapt to many situations. Unlike in vanilla, in Iceborne Switch Axe can play Axe only, Sword only, Suicide Discharge spam only or as the Capcom gods intended, hybrid of all of those. All of those options are viable and you can get good kill times, with some being more optimal in certain situations. This gives u a degree of freedom and adaptability that few weapons enjoy.