I have experience with both; however, note the following which may temper your ultimate choice. I've used both on Windows XP but not on any other Windows version. The last version of ActivePerl I used was perl-5.10.? (and haven't used it in ~2 years); the last version of Strawberry Perl I used was perl-5.12.0 (and haven't used it in ~6 months).

I found the installation of both to be straightforward and, to the best of my recollection, hassle-free. Running Perl scripts was equally easy on both.

The main difference becomes evident when you want to use modules (simplistically, these are files with pre-written code which you can selectively add to your Perl scripts). When you install Perl, you'll automatically get some hundreds of modules (see perldoc). Depending on what you want to use Perl for, you'll probably also want to access some of the many thousands of user-contributed modules (see CPAN). With ActivePerl, you'll only have access to a subset (albeit, quite possibly, a perfectly adequate subset) of these extra modules via the Perl Package Manager (PPM) which downloads and installs modules that have been specifically prepared to work with ActivePerl. Strawberry Perl, on the other hand, provides a number of tools that allow you to install (to the best of my recollection) any module: mostly, this is no more difficult than using ActivePerl's PPM but there may be cases that prove somewhat more daunting (depending on your general computer proficiency).

If you're more use to working in a GUI environment, then ActivePerl might be your best bet. If you're happy with working on the commandline, then Strawberry Perl might suit you better. It would appear my recollection of ActivePerl is lacking - see BrowserUk's reply below. You can try both if you want; although, trying to run them simultaneously will prove problematic.

To get a better answer, you might like to update your original post with additional information such as:

• The version of Windows you're using
• What you're intending to use Perl for
• Your general computer proficiency