Anybody have experience with both and can give an honest opinion?

*emoji goof

A friend of mine installed a solar tube and I wasn't really impressed. Unsure if it was the angle or diameter etc. I think it depends on your ceiling/roofline but a skylight seemed more appealing to me. Otherwise i would just add better lighting

Story is...

The house we are designing has the M bath without an exterior wall. My wife is concerned of not having window. She wants to be able to see outside.

Been looking at the options and we would likely need a 6 to 8 ft box going to the skylight. Lots of dry wall...

With the solar tubes, you cannot actually see the sky, just the light.

I think I would rather have the big box I. The ceiling with the skylight rather than solar tubes.

We have Solatubes in our house (previous owner installed them) and they're fine. They are great at letting "natural light" into a space, but it's not nearly the same as having a window or even a skylight.

They aren't bad, but if I had the choice, I wouldn't install them again.

My parents have several tubes in their house and really like them. They let an amazing amount of light in. Theirs do face the south which probably helps.

We considered the Solatube a number of times in our prior 1970 house but never pulled the trigger. Our current 1988 house has 2 skylights, 1 in the kitchen and 1 in the master bath. We like the light but they are not energy efficient.

Somehow our Solatubes have gotten stuff on top of the 'lens' in our master bath. We have two and while it doesn't light up the room they are a nice addition. Would never consider a skylight there as we back up to an alley.

The guest bathroom has one and it's great. Rarely turn on the light. A night light helps with aim at night.

Ours are probably an exception as we have a flat roof and the tube is only traversing a foot or two.

The skylight over the kitchen now double paned as during the first remodel they managed to crack it somehow. Thing collects
a LOT of bird sheet!

if you just want light, go with the tube. We try and steer our clients away from skylights. They will eventually have issues/leaks. Solar tubes have less issues and provide great light if installed correctly.

We have 2 solar tubes (one in guest bath and one randomly in a bedroom that already has huge glass sliding doors to a patio). They let in quite a bit of light. Definitely a plus in the bathroom.

Our solatubes are bright AF I often flip the switch only to realize it's the solatube

Well, it looks as tubes are the way to go. Likely will also save me a grand or so!