Direction in its purest form is "simpler",not easier..Big difference.. If you choose to trade options as opposed to the underlying directionally,and you are bullish, is your go to trade selling puts and what strike,are you a call buyer and what strike,or a spreader... And why..
Mainly bullish bets since 2013. Depends on how bullish I think the underlying would behave in the time frame I trade. No spreads.
If we are talking about trading, I would go with options. I like selling put options. I have a lot of room for error and am assigned a stock only at a price I am willing to pay (but usually I'll roll my put before getting assigned-- options give so much flexibility!) Now, when it comes to investing, stocks and options are both good. Lately, I have been buying long term call options on indexes as my main investments. I could do the same with stocks/ETFs, but the call options lower my risk substantially. This allows me to acquire leverage without the risk of a margin call. So if we are talking about trading, I recommend options. If we are talking about investing, it's closer but I still give the edge to options, unless you are looking for a completely passive approach. It's also worth noting that you can create a synthetic stock position with options, so options have you covered if you want to just trade stocks!
%% Like Don Bright Daytrading founder noted [+ he was an option market maker] options are made to be sold...…………………………………………………………………….IBD newspaper still puts a put call ratio under S&P 500 chart--if you like rube Goldberg stuff