Generally, Spousal Support ("Maintenance") are payments to a former spouse that are made for a specific duration which can be months, years or until death of either party. The amount is usually set at the time of settlement agreement or divorce. Modification of the duration and amount is possible under limited and specific circumstances.
Property Settlements are generally the payment or distribution of an asset to the former spouse and is permanent and not subject to change or termination.
Which one is best is of course very dependent upon the individual circumstances of BOTH divorcing spouses. Each person makes their own assessment as to what is best. If the people can't agree then the path forward is to usually follow traditional divorce resolution which may be a combination of both support and equitable distribution.
For example spousal support almost always terminates upon the recipient's remarriage and sometimes upon proven cohabitation in an intimate relationship (not so easy to prove). So if the receiving spouse is offered 10 years of maintenance but that receiving spouse will be remarrying in a year or two then the spousal support will have ended well before 10 years of payments are received. So for the recipient spouse a larger share of marital assets instead of spousal support would be better. Of course, whether that offer is available also depends upon what the paying spouse is willing to provide. If the paying spouse knows that remarriage is almost certain the paying spouse will not offer more of the assets in place of maintenance because the maintenance will end relatively soon.
If a recipient spouse is not in good health and maintenance terminates upon death, then the paying spouse will "wait it out" rather than give more of other assets up front. If the paying spouse suffers an "unforeseen and extreme financial hardship" (which is not so easy to prove) a court could reduce the support obligation after the divorce has already been finalized.
If a paying spouse dies before the durational period is finished the obligation to pay usually terminates although in some situations the future payments can be secured by life insurance to protect the recipient from the early passing of the paying spouse.
By contrast, if the parties agree to take more or less of an asset instead of receiving or paying maintenance that decision is usually permanent and is not subject to future change regardless of remarriage, death or change in value of the asset. There has been litigation in the past when the value of the asset has significantly gone up or down and relief has been requested from the courts which request is usually denied. The denial is because the "deal" was made based upon value and information at that time and the courts are not permitting renegotiation afterwards which may give one side a windfall. If you do not want to take that chance then don't take the larger or smaller share of the asset.
These considerations are significant and like most financial items in a divorce are the topic of much discussion and negotiation unless the "traditional" approach is followed. Careful evaluation is critical and should be discussed with experienced matrimonial counsel once either side is suggesting an atypical resolution.