Im in the same boat right now and honestly its pretty frustrating. I was really hoping one of these would be a clear winner for my budget but they both have issues that make me hesitate...

• The Sony FE 50mm f1.8 is super loud and way slower than I expected, felt kinda cheap for the money.
• Finding a decent price on the Sony FE 35mm f1.8 is impossible lately, even used ones are listed way too high.
• I even looked at the Samyang AF 35mm f1.8 FE to save some cash but then you gotta worry about buying a separate dock for updates which adds to the cost. Still havent pulled the trigger because I dont want to waste money on something that isnt gonna perform as expected. Its a tough spot to be in when you want quality but dont want to get ripped off by the brand name markup.

Both the Sony 35mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.8 are excellent choices for your needs. The 35mm is more versatile, suitable for environmental portraits, street photography, and landscapes. Its wider field of view allows you to capture more context.

The 50mm excels at portraits with beautiful compression and bokeh. It's also great in low light. However, it may be too tight for some situations.

Personally, I prefer the 35mm for its flexibility. It's my go-to walk-around lens. That said, the 50mm is a classic portrait focal length.

Consider your shooting style and subjects. You can't go wrong with either!

I totally agree with George TA on the 35mm for versatility! Tbh, I spent a lot of time weighing these two and always come back to how reliable the gear needs to be. You want something that just works every single time you hit that shutter button! To give you the best advice on which one will be most dependable for your kit, are you currently using a full-frame body or a crop sensor? Also, do you find yourself shooting in harsh weather conditions often? Focus accuracy and build quality are huge for me, so knowing your environment would really help clarify things!

Building on the earlier suggestion, I think you might want to be a bit cautious about the focus speed on that Sony 50mm. Not 100% sure but I recall hearing it can be a bit slow and noisy compared to the newer 35mm. If you are doing street stuff, you really dont want to miss a shot because the lens is hunting. I would suggest looking at how they handle in low light specifically before you pull the trigger.

• make sure to check if the 50mm has the latest firmware for AF improvements
• be careful with the build quality since some of these lighter primes feel a bit plasticky
• I’d suggest comparing them to some Sigma or Tamron options just to see if the reliability is better there IIRC the 35mm is generally considered the safer bet for a versatile walk-around lens. Just want to make sure you end up with something that wont let you down when you’re out shooting... I’ve had gear fail before and it’s the worst feeling. Let me know if you need help finding some reliability tests for these.

Both are OK, depends on what are mainly shooting.

I've used both for years and its a decent option if you want one lens for everything. Last year I brought it on a road trip through the mountains and it basically stayed on the camera the whole time. The trip was pretty wild tho, mostly because my car started making this weird rattling noise near the border. Stopping at this tiny mechanic shop in the middle of nowhere was a life saver. The guy there was super cool and had this massive collection of old vinyl records in the waiting room. Listening to classic rock for two hours while he fixed a loose heat shield on my exhaust was actually a blast. Missing my sunset shoot sucked but it was honestly one of the highlights of the summer. Anyway lol sorry kinda went off topic there.

I literally just went through this exact same struggle and gotta say, the performance difference is night and day! I started with the Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 because it was so cheap, but honestly the autofocus drove me crazy. It kept hunting when I tried to snap photos of my friends or pets... totally missed the moment. I finally bit the bullet and grabbed the Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 and omg its like a totally different world. The focus is instant and dead silent which is amazing for street stuff! If the price is a bit high, I also looked at the Samyang AF 35mm f/1.8 FE which is way more affordable and still performs way better than that basic 50mm anyway. Seriously, if you want something that actually keeps up with you, the 35mm is a total win. Youre gonna love how snappy it feels!

For travel, I would get the 35mm lens.