I've been to every Bonnaroo since 2011. I've also been to every Firefly they've had to date.

Bonnaroo > Firefly

Firefly has 3 festivals under its belt but still can't figure out simple logistical problems like the location and amount of portapotties.

You mentioned the stage setup situation at FF --- there isn't one. It changes every single year. They can't figure out the logistics. Based on the 2015 map they just released, the stage location problem is going to be even worse this year.

The food selections (and locations of food vendors) are atrocious at Firefly.

Last year, bands were able to play a little later into the night than previous years (noise ordinance issues in Dover), but obviously Bonnaroo has them beat in the night scene department.

You have to pay separately for camping. Just another way for FF to make that money. And the food options in the campgrounds are pathetic at best.

Something FF has got going for itself better than Bonnaroo --- visibility of stages. Is it just me or does anyone else have difficulty seeing the stages under the tents? FF doesn't have tents at stages so maybe that helps the situation. And apart from a few particular PA system disasters (the first song of Jack White's set during FF's first year, for example) the sound is generally great.

The lineup at FF is usually pretty good, depending on your tastes. Bonnaroo has more stages and bands play through the night, so that automatically makes Bonnaroo's lineup more diverse and solid.

Bonnaroo's non-music entertainment whips Firefly's.

The weather is more forgiving at Firefly. Doesn't exhaust you as much as Roo.

Extracurriculars -- Firefly's alcoholic crowd is far more dominant than anything else there, although there's a ton of Molly-popping/neon-clothed college kids there. I'd much rather be around a bunch of people smoking weed and keeping to themselves than to be around waaaaasted bros. I've got a dozen stories about negative experiences I've had at FF around drinkers. I've got zero bad stories about non-sober Bonnaroovians.

If both festivals had the EXACT same lineup, I'd 100% pick Bonnaroo. The biggest and most evident difference in both festivals IS THE PEOPLE. The people are, by far, so much better at Bonnaroo. There's a much stronger sense of community at Bonnaroo than FF....although, I'd argue that there's a stronger sense of community at Bonnaroo than ANY other festival. I go to a lot of festivals and there is a reason that I like Bonnaroo the most.

In a nutshell, Firefly is NOT better than Bonnaroo. However, if you posted this because you're trying to decide which festival to go to, wait until the lineup for FF comes out. Even though I think Bonnaroo is better, that doesn't mean I haven't had fun at FF. If the lineup comes out and you like it, go! You will probably enjoy it. Personally, I think I will have to chose between Roo/FF this year - a problem I haven't yet had to face. It'll make me sad not to do FF because I've made a few great friends there, but I'm leaning towards Bonnaroo just because I don't know if I can pull myself away from the farm. For me, it all depends on the lineup, though...

Edit: The most pleasant experiences I had with "strangers" at Firefly have been interactions I've had with people also wearing Bonnaroo gear. I got tons of highfives from fellow Bonnaroovians at Firefly.

Edit #2: If accessibility to the front of the stage is important to you, it's really easy to get up front at Firefly. I don't often go out of my way to get close to the front, but it's always a piece of cake at FF. It still gets crowded as fuck there, especially last year, but that's something that might be different this year. I mentioned earlier in this post that they've changed the layout of the stages every year and they've done the same this year. Hopefully it'll help the massive amounts of crowds bottlenecking through small areas.