Like Rick said, they both have their advantages. I have an offset stick burner, it takes time as I must tend to it every so often, but works great for large things like big briskets, or a few slabs of ribs, or a boat load of chicken.
I am in the process right now of making a backwoods clone, vertical smoker that will run on charcoal. This will be used mostly for sausage as it is easier to hang them in this than it would be in a horizontal.