I've recently began trying out basic geoprocessing tools by using arcpy (clipping layers, buffering, etc).
However, this seems slower than using the ArcMap GUI.
Are there any advantages to using ArcPy for simple tasks that can otherwise be done directly through the GUI?
Answer
As you have noted the geoprocessing tools are slower than their ArcMap GUI equivalents, if the latter exist.
My superficial understanding is that this is because ArcMap already has all the functions needed by the ArcMap tool loaded in memory, whereas geoprocessing tools load that functionality before starting to run.
The compelling use case for geoprocessing tools comes when you want to string automation operations together using ArcPy, ModelBuilder, etc.
If you are already in ArcMap, and if there is a tool available in its GUI that does what you want, then I would recommend using that.
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