I don't understand how you can compare two different coins. Each has its own road and technology. The struggle goes for the second place, but I think and virtually am confident that ether will be in second place.
Well, they are targeting slightly different markets, but market cap is quantifiable - so I don't see a problem with comparing them.
I think Ripple has a brighter future in terms of price simply because of the lack of ICO-s that can dump its price further.
But I prefer the technology and community behind ETH.