pathfinder vs d&d 5th REALLY depends on what kind of mechanics you like. i'd say 5th is much more beginner friendly as the ruleset is very simple and straight forward. pathfinder lends itself to much more tactical battles as it allows for all kinds of pluses and minuses to rolls depending on all kinds of things (whether or not the target is flanked by multiple enemies, whether or not the target is "flat-footed" for that round, if the attacker is ranged and shooting at a target who is otherwise engaged in melee then the attacker would get -4 to their attack if they don't have the right feat, but the attacker might also get +1 to their attack if they are within 30 feet and have the right feat for that, etc)
pathfinder allows for the character to make extremely tactical decisions that can turn the tide of combat in their favor, but that also means that a single attack might be adding and/or subtracting 4 or 5 different modifiers PER attack. it can be extremely tedious and i imagine beginners could be very quickly turned off by being in the spotlight during their turn and their attack rolls on one creature turns into d20+3+2-4-1+1+2 while an attack role on another creature in that same turn is something different.
that being said, if that's the kind of game you're into then you'll have a good time. from what i've experience (which is limited) pathfinder focuses on the mechanics while 5th edition focuses on the DM telling a story. if you have a good DM, i personally would enjoy 5th edition better, but it puts ALOT of responsibility on the shoulders of the DM and it leaves open some pretty big risks of ruining a game if the DM is bad.
