keyboards vs pads vs arcade sticks

First considerations
-Keyboard use to not be properly supported in consoles, and pads/arcades use to not be properly supported in pc. But it's frequently possible to make things to work anywhere after using adaptors and/or messing around drivers/configurations.

- Arcade sticks tend to be more mod-friendly. Pads and keyboards tend to be cheaper.

-Every model come with some mechanical advantages and disadvantages. In the end, it's a question of taste, and practice+time to know how to exploit the advantages and get used to deal with the disadvantages.

-For every model (keyboard, pad, stick), higher price range are frequently more durable controlers.

-Maybe for the case of a specific character of a specific game, there exist a "perfect controler". This is, if this char uses a lot the imputs that are easier to do in a specific controler, and the imputs that are harder in this controler aren't used at all. If it's the case, money + time to test variations might led you to this "soulmate controler".
But for a begginer that is starting to learn fgs in general, and don't have a main game or character setted in stone...the time expended thinking about this might be better used grabbing the cheaper option and playing. Handling something too expensive will create fear of breaking it too, slowing down the learning curve rather than helping. It's the same thing that everybody says about "chosing your first guitar".

-It's always good to get used to multiple controlers. It will help a lot if you have to use something from a friend. And it will help a lot too if you are trying to teach someone.




Hold
-Pads are holded with the hands, nothing else is necessary.

-Keyboards, arcade sticks and hitboxes will need a desk to give it support. Or you get used to sit it in the ground. Or you get used to use your lap, a not-so-fixed support. This isn't visible when people play at the confort of home, in the perfect environment but...outside it will have a impact.

obs: this is a broad generalization. Some more roundy, less "anatomic" pads will be harder to get used to hold, but let the hand more free (like snes pads). Some arcades have special material in the backs to create more atrict and make it easier to use on your lap.




Attack Buttons
-As a counterpart, in pads your hand will be a little less free, having to copy with the task of holding it. This impact simultaneous multi button presses a lot.
This might not impact a lot if you can assign shortcuts for every multiple button press used by the game you play.

-Non mechanical, lower price range keyboards with no anti-ghosting might have problems with simultaneous multi button presses depending on configuration.

-The disposition of buttons in keyboards/hitboxes/arcade sticks tend to make piano imputs easier. But how much force you need to activate the buttons interfere a lot with it, with lead to the next point-

-For lower price ranges, pads will have harder buttons than keyboards, and keyborads will have harder buttons than sticks.
This becomes very visible for chars that have "holded button" specials. Like Balrog, Birdie, Big Bear/Raiden, Marco Rodriguez, Aoko, etc.
	In high price range, they all are basically the same in terms of minimum pressure to be activated. For example, Cherry MX Red switches for keyboard has an intermediate sensitivity between sanwa and seimitsu (45 cN).

-The trail of mechanical keyboard buttons use to be longer, what can give the impression of attacks activating with a delay. Actually, it activates before you reach the bottom of it. Some high end keyboards have a audible *click* to make it clear when it activated.

-Keyboard and Pad's buttons use to be smaller and closer to each other than arcade buttons. For people with smaller hands, it makes things easier in the beggining. For people with bigger hands, it cause some problems at the beggining.




Directionals
-Pads have and sticks have a lot of variation in this, with cross d-pad/stick analog-pad/circular analog-pad/etc and circular/square/octo restrictor.

-Keyboards/Hitboxes and cross type D-pads gives a much more precise control over the 2 main axis, at the cost of harder control over diagonals.
	The advantage will be visible in motions like yamazaki command throw in real bout ff 6428 (foward, back, down, up). If done in SF3 or SF4, a 360° will come out.
	The disadvantage will be more visible in motions that require fine control over diagonals, like SF Alpha charlie/chun/DJ [1]319 (down-back for 2s, down-foward, down-back, up-foward).
Square restrictor kinda fall in the same situation to a less extent.

-Pad's Analog stick/ Arcade sticks with circular restrictor don't have this problem, but you may get diagonals withouth wanting them more frequently at the beggining. Arcade sticks with octagonal restrictors are kinda a mid term between square and circular.

-D-pads usually only have space to be controled by 1 finger, keyboard with 3 (if configured for crosses or asdw), hitboxes with 4.
This usually gives a mechanical advantage for hitboxes (more fingers = less movements for each finger, beeing less stressfull). But the less different fingers you use, less fine motor skills are needed to control it.... expect to screw up more in keyboards and hitboxes at the beggining than in cross shaped D-pads.

-This duality kinda happen in arcade stick/pad's analog stick too, depending on the way you hold it. Using the wrist to move it will give more fine control and demand less force, but will take more time to get used to.

-To adapt it to be controled with a finger instead of the pulse/arm, analog directionals in pads use to have a much shorter trail compared to arcade sticks.

-Analog directionals of lower range price Pads use to be fragille than Arcade sticks, becoming loose and less responsible with time.
But some high end models like Neogeo pad use pieces very very similar to arcade sticks.