Which is Better, Retinol or Hyaluronic Acid?

Well, it depends on what you want to do.

Do you want your skin to be hydrated? Go with hyaluronic acid.

Do you want to diminish the appearance of wrinkles? Use retinol.

Unfortunately choosing good skincare isn't that simple, in the sense that not every product with hyaluronic acid or retinol in the ingredients list will work for you. A lot of products are poorly formulated; yes, even products from well known brands that have been in the business for decades.

An abysmal quantity or hyaluronic acid won't do anything for your skin. Unfortunately the ingredients list does not tell you exactly the % of the ingredients, but we do know it's always in descending order, so if an active ingredient is closer to the end of the list it means it's probably not there in an appropriate %.

To answer the original question, I wouldn't pick a winner between hyaluronic acid and retinol: they just do different things.

Hope this helps!