Both have been at war with each other for many years and there is little love loss but in truth both are very similar when it comes to stats and character.
The only difference is a Dunmer gets 40 endurance whereas Argonian gets a mere 30. Argonian males are better at agility getting 50 whereas Dunmer get 40 (an Argonian female only get 40)

1. Both Dunmer & Argonians have the same weakness in Willpower & Personality with both at the lowest setting of 30 (an Argonian female gets 40).

Dunmer gets a +10 Destruction making it 40 but then why would someone choose destruction when they are better suited with blade and bow.
Argonian get a +5 illusion yet most of Illusion spells can be made up for through high sneak.


2. Both get 50 speed (two of the fastest races)

Dunmer get +5 athletics where as Argonians get +10. Dunmer get additional +5 light armor.

3. Both get 40 Strength

Dunmer get +10 Blade & +5 Blunt, Argonian get +5 Blade & +5 H2H

4. Both get 40 Intelligence with +5 for Alchemy & Mysticism

5. Argonian 50 Agility & Dunmer 40 Agility

Dunmer get +5 marksmen making it 45.
Argonian get +10 security making it 60.


So both are suited as a Light Armored, Blade wielding, bow shooting warrior backed up with potion making and sneaking around.

Khajiit is also similar but isn't so high in speed but also isn't so low in Personality. Wood Elf are similar but lacks in Strength.

Who is the better of the two?

Don't try to bring gameplay balancing and lore together. That's all to be said.

Dunmer + Argonian + Khajiit = 3.

After a few levels of reasonable leveling, they are all equally suited. I would recommend choosing based on the image you want your character to portray. I'm partial to elves.

After a few levels the only differences are visuals and the special racial abilities. I find 75% Resist Fire to be much more useful than immunity to poison because the poisons that NPCs use against you are either harmless (temporary ability drain) or pathetically weak while fire spells are rather common (especially when you're closing Oblivion gates) and can be quite deadly as well. Waterbreathing is nice, but ultimately doesn't come into play very much and whenever it does a simple enchantment, spell, or potion will do the trick just fine. Restance against disease is again nice, but not that important. If I ever get infected I can just eat a Mandrake Root and I'm cured.

Of the three, in the early game, the Dunmer. Good balanced and useful racial bonuses, fire resistance, and a daily summon. "Better," in this case, only means "easier to play." A Dunmer is the easiest race to get through the Tutorial Dungeon on maximum difficulty, mainly because of the summon. A Dunmer is also the easiest race to play inside Oblivion Gates at low level, because of the fire resistance.

This may be subjective; Dunmer might be hard to see at night, but then you have Khajiit that can in the dark and supposedly have the best acrobatics prowess of any race. Then there's the Argonians who can not only sneak on land, but breath water indefinitely. Plus they also have natural camouflage to make them hard to see in a jungle, day or night regardless. So, I would say Argonian. Of course though, there's nothing that detect life can't take care of.

The dunmer are better than the lowly reptiles you call argonians.

As someone who plays Argonians almost exclusively, I have to agree the Argonian special abilities are simply not as good as - say - unlimited night eye or high fire resist. Handy, yes, but easily duplicated with potions/items.

Also, as has been stated, after a few levels each of these races makes a fine stealth character if properly built.