Al Pacino
Pros: A very talented actor. Great roles over the years has helped but he brings it is every films he does. His delivery in some of his scenes can not be matched. He is great at changing his mood at a dime. He is able to play a “bad guy” that you love, for example Donnie Brasco or even Scarface which might be the biggest “bad guy” role there was.
Cons: Many feel he overacts too often. He had some horrible supporting roles in Gigli and The Recruit. Needs to be more selective in the roles he plays. There is such a thing as too much Pacino. Also Pacino will never be able to pull of comedy because everyone associates him with as such a serious character.

Dustin Hoffman
Pros: A actor with great range. Look at his work in Toostie and Rain Man. Two completely different roles that he pulled off perfectly. He does any kind of genre, action, comedy, romance, and even suspense.
Cons: His choice of roles now a days is not great. He did Meet the Fockers and Stranger than Fiction which did not showcase his true talent. Some may say that he had great roles which made him into a star. Also can he carry a movie by himself like Al Pacino?
My Verdict:Who is the better actor? Hard one to call. If you say Scent of a Woman was Al Pacino’s best performance and Rain Man was Dustin Hoffman’s best performance than the better actor is clearly Dustin Hoffman. The problem with Al Pacino is that he is such a great actor that you don’t see his character for who they really are, you just see Pacino. Same thing for Tom Cruise. They are such big named stars that they really can’t pull off the characters they are playing.