Zardnaar
Legend
In general online a lot of people claim that the Sorcerer is underpowered relative to the wizard. My counter argument is that the class is basically fine. At the guts of the argument IMHO is power vs versatility as the wizard can know more spells and in theory do more stuff. In practice the gap is a lot closer and I think that people are over estimating the versatility of the wizard while underplaying the Sorcerers strengths. This is not 3.X where you can easily acquire things like wands and scrolls and you have less spell slots and a lot of spells have been toned down so having a spell caster being better than everyone else is a lot less of a factor. That and versatility is often better farmed out to Rogues and Bards anyway.
For the most part I will focus on the strengths of the Sorcerer over the wizard since versatility is the wizards main thing.
1. Metamgic.
Metamagic is unique to the sorcerer and it enables you to do one thing no other class can do in the game and that no other class can duplicate. That is you can maintain concentration on two spells at once via twin spell. This is not any spell you want however just a spell that effects a single target so you can twin spells like haste, fly, and greater invisibility but not fireball. This is compounded due to saving throws as well which is another Sorcerer advantage.
2. Saving throws.
The Sorcerer is proficient in concentration and charisma saves. Due to the concentration mechanic this is massive and once again for a primary caster this is unique to the Sorcerer. Charisma saves are also very good at least as far as the 3 weaker saves go. Compared with the wizard they get intelligence saves and wisdom saves. Intelligence saves are very rare (in the core 3 books) so being proficient in them with your primary stat almost means that in effect you are not actually proficient in anything at all. Wisdom saves are also good but wisdom for wizards is generally a tertiary stat at best. So you basically have no good saving throws. This kind of applies to the Rogue to a lesser extent due to that class having dex saves+ stat as a primary. Combined with metamagic the Sorcerers is very good at concentration buff type spells.
3. Spreading the love.
Partly about the point of versatility being less important than in previous editions WoTC have spread a lot of things across a lot of classes. This is healing, the exploration pillar, and they toned down things like wands which you can no longer easily and cheaply acquire. This means the opportunity cost of not having a swiss army knife character have changed as a Sorcerer lacking knock for example doesn't matter to much if you have a Rogue, bard or even a PC with the right back ground in the party.
4. Spells have changed.
This is due to things like the mentioned concentration mechanic but its also due to the power level of the spells themselves along with class features. There are a lot of 5E spells that are just better than their equivalents so as long as the Sorcerer picks those spells and metamagic most of the time they are more powerful than say a wizard. You don't need that many combat spells if you know hypnotic pattern and/or fireball for example and you can always upcast spells as well so using higher level spell slots on something like hold person is often a better option than casting a higher level spell. Combine those spells with good con saves and metamagic and you have a winning formula. A Fire Sorcerer for example only really needs to know firebolt, burning hands and fireball that gives you a few more spells to cover the versatility thing as well. Pick the right spells, a little bit of system mastery and you can probably make the wizard cry.
5. Better synergy via Multiclassing.
What are the wizards options to multiclass with? Basically you are limited to dips and the Eldritch Knight. In 5E they made the charisma based classes really good (Paladins, Valor Bards), very exploitable (Warlocks) or with unique mechanics that can be married to those classes (Sorcerers). For example the Sorlock (Sor 1, Warlock 2, Sor XYZ) is one of the highest damage dealers in the game at the higher levels and no slouch at the lower levels. Paladin 6/Sorcerer XYZ in a few levels gets a lot more smite damage than a pure Paladin. A lot more class features key off charisma than intelligence. Intelligence is also the king of the dump stats unless you are a wizard or eldritch knight.
For the most part I will focus on the strengths of the Sorcerer over the wizard since versatility is the wizards main thing.
1. Metamgic.
Metamagic is unique to the sorcerer and it enables you to do one thing no other class can do in the game and that no other class can duplicate. That is you can maintain concentration on two spells at once via twin spell. This is not any spell you want however just a spell that effects a single target so you can twin spells like haste, fly, and greater invisibility but not fireball. This is compounded due to saving throws as well which is another Sorcerer advantage.
2. Saving throws.
The Sorcerer is proficient in concentration and charisma saves. Due to the concentration mechanic this is massive and once again for a primary caster this is unique to the Sorcerer. Charisma saves are also very good at least as far as the 3 weaker saves go. Compared with the wizard they get intelligence saves and wisdom saves. Intelligence saves are very rare (in the core 3 books) so being proficient in them with your primary stat almost means that in effect you are not actually proficient in anything at all. Wisdom saves are also good but wisdom for wizards is generally a tertiary stat at best. So you basically have no good saving throws. This kind of applies to the Rogue to a lesser extent due to that class having dex saves+ stat as a primary. Combined with metamagic the Sorcerers is very good at concentration buff type spells.
3. Spreading the love.
Partly about the point of versatility being less important than in previous editions WoTC have spread a lot of things across a lot of classes. This is healing, the exploration pillar, and they toned down things like wands which you can no longer easily and cheaply acquire. This means the opportunity cost of not having a swiss army knife character have changed as a Sorcerer lacking knock for example doesn't matter to much if you have a Rogue, bard or even a PC with the right back ground in the party.
4. Spells have changed.
This is due to things like the mentioned concentration mechanic but its also due to the power level of the spells themselves along with class features. There are a lot of 5E spells that are just better than their equivalents so as long as the Sorcerer picks those spells and metamagic most of the time they are more powerful than say a wizard. You don't need that many combat spells if you know hypnotic pattern and/or fireball for example and you can always upcast spells as well so using higher level spell slots on something like hold person is often a better option than casting a higher level spell. Combine those spells with good con saves and metamagic and you have a winning formula. A Fire Sorcerer for example only really needs to know firebolt, burning hands and fireball that gives you a few more spells to cover the versatility thing as well. Pick the right spells, a little bit of system mastery and you can probably make the wizard cry.
5. Better synergy via Multiclassing.
What are the wizards options to multiclass with? Basically you are limited to dips and the Eldritch Knight. In 5E they made the charisma based classes really good (Paladins, Valor Bards), very exploitable (Warlocks) or with unique mechanics that can be married to those classes (Sorcerers). For example the Sorlock (Sor 1, Warlock 2, Sor XYZ) is one of the highest damage dealers in the game at the higher levels and no slouch at the lower levels. Paladin 6/Sorcerer XYZ in a few levels gets a lot more smite damage than a pure Paladin. A lot more class features key off charisma than intelligence. Intelligence is also the king of the dump stats unless you are a wizard or eldritch knight.