I'll be the odd man out and say I strongly prefer skiing over snowshoeing. I've got the full suite of gear from hotshot carbon skate ski's to backcountry ski's to snowshoes of all sizes. Snowshoeing is great for it's utility, but covers very little ground and can get boring quickly. Not really a recreational thing for me. And anybody that says you can't get injured snowshoes has never taken a header off a log in waist deep snow. ha.
XC skiing is a much work as you want it to be. Most people use relatively fat waxless "touring" skis and use the "grandma shuffle" technique. That is admittedly a minimal workout. On the other end of the spectrum, burning around groomed trails on skate skis is a TREMENDOUS work out that works every muscle group, takes significant skill/coordination and is more cardio than running.
My favored style is in the middle. I live near a large network of multiuse trails that are lightly groomed. I can take a 6+ mile touring loop from the house, see a lot of country, and be back at my door in an hour and half. That's using skinny nordic classic skis, which are the favorite ones in my personal quiver. With decent nordic technique, the workout is entirely dependent on how hard I want to push it.
What you pick is going to largely depend on what you have access to. Very few people are going to load snowshoes in a truck and drive any distance on a regular basis.
The other thing work looking at is fat-biking. Super popular in this area, probably more than either skiing or snowshoeing, and for a lot of people it's easier to do from the house.
Yk
