Sasuke and Itachi are the children of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, and two of the most influential characters in the story of Naruto. Their roles in the story are quite different and for the majority of it, Sasuke is shown to be an obsessed little brother seeking vengeance on Itachi for murdering the rest of the Uchiha clan.
Over the years, Sasuke accomplishes his goals and even manages to become one of the strongest shinobi alive, surpassing Itachi in certain aspects. However, there are a few things that Sasuke has yet to surpass his brother in.
10 BETTER: In The Usage Of The Sharingan
Both Sasuke and Itachi are members of the Uchiha Clan and thus possess the power of the Sharingan. However, the level of skill they possess with it is quite different. At one point, Itachi's skill with this eye was clearly superior to that of Sasuke, but by adulthood, Sasuke has surpassed his brother.
By attaining the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke has ensured that he has the strongest possible version of the Sharingan, something that only Madara Uchiha possessed other than him.
9 NOT: When It Comes To Strategies In Battle
Although Sasuke has bigger weapons in his arsenal to hurt his opponents, he is still lacking in certain areas, and being calculating in combat is one of them. There's no denying that Sasuke is quite smart, but compared to Itachi, he is nothing too special.
Itachi is known to be a man who plans steps ahead of his opponents, as seen when he fought Sasuke Uchiha, and later when he defeated Kabuto Yakushi with Izanami.
8 BETTER: In Terms Of Physical Strength
When it comes to physical strength, Sasuke has the edge over Itachi. He has trained his body beyond all its limits and if that's not enough, his entire body was augmented with Six Paths chakra.
While Itachi possessed loads of potential, he wasn't able to fulfill it because of his illness. Itachi was severely weakened by the time he fought Sasuke and thus was never seen at his best.
7 NOT: When It Comes To Having Insight Of What's Truly Important
Sasuke Uchiha has quite a complicated past which was seen throughout the Naruto series. For the sake of seeking power, he sought out Orochimaru and then even vowed to destroy Konohagakure.
Itachi, on the other hand, is known to have had the wisdom of a Kage at the age of 7. According to Hashirama, Itachi was a much better shinobi than him because he understood what was truly important and this level of insight is something that Sasuke will never possess.
6 BETTER: At The Art Of Swordsmanship
Sasuke is an exceptionally powerful ninja who is balanced in all aspects of combat. His weapon of choice, however, is his sword. Sasuke possesses tremendous skill with a sword and by adulthood, he's refined it to a point where he can even fight against the Otsutsuki beings.
On the other hand, Itachi, while skilled with a sword, doesn't hold the same level of grasp over this ability and is thus inferior to his brother.
5 NOT: He Doesn't Have Access To The Ethereal Weapons
Some of Itachi Uchiha's biggest powers were the ethereal weapons that he possessed. When using the Susano'o, Itachi unleashed the Yata Mirror, a shield that was capable of canceling out all attacks, and the Totsuka Blade, a sword that could seal anyone in a world of Genjutsu forever.
Sasuke doesn't have access to these weapons so, in this regard, it is quite easy to see that he's inferior to his elder brother.
4 BETTER: When It Comes To The Usage Of Genjutsu
Surprising as it might sound, Sasuke is actually a better genjutsu user than Itachi Uchiha by the time of the Fourth Great Ninja War. Although his Sharingan genjutsu might be inferior to the Tsukuyomi that Itachi possesses, Sasuke had access to a Rinnegan genjutsu that proved to be strongest enough to restrain all 9 Tailed Beasts at once.
This genjutsu feat of his ranks among the very best that the fans have been shown in the story and proves that Sasuke's genjutsu skills have exceeded his brother's.
3 NOT: He'll Never Understand The True Meaning Of Self-Sacrifice
Sasuke Uchiha didn't understand what it meant to be a shinobi until he met the four Hokage during the Fourth Great Ninja War, and this is something that Itachi knew as a kid. Even after hearing their answers, Sasuke chose the path to start a violent revolution and becoming a villain to unite the world.
Itachi lived his entire life for the sake of the village and nobody knows the value of self-sacrifice better than him.
2 BETTER: He Had The Rinnegan In His Left Eye
Itachi was one of the many Uchiha Clan members to gain access to the Mangekyo Sharingan, however, that is where he peaked. He didn't gain access to the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and attaining the Rinnegan was practically impossible for him.
Sasuke, on the other hand, has access to the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and had the Rinnegan, making him a better user of the ocular powers.
1 NOT: As He Fell Victim To The Curse Of Hatred
As explained in the story, the members of the Uchiha Clan value love the most, which is why the loss of someone they love evokes hatred in them and causes them to awaken superior ocular powers.
Sasuke Uchiha, just like most other Uchiha Clan members, fell victim to this curse and plunged into darkness, yet Itachi never did. Along with Shisui and Kagami, he is the only Uchiha to withstand the curse of hatred, making him special.