As isolated and compound exercises, both have their pros and cons, and also come with a wide variety of exercise options, this makes it difficult to determine which one is best.
What it comes down to is this, if you are looking to build a specific muscle group and have the time to do so, then isolated exercises are the way to go for you. These are also great for physio on muscle groups after an injury.
If on the other hand, you have limited time, but want to burn calories and tone up, then we suggest you go with compound exercises. The best thing to do is consult with a personal trainer so that they can work out an exercise plan for you according to your goal.
However, as the verdict for an overall exercise routine (if you do have the time), we suggest a combination of both. Emphasis should be placed on the compound exercises whilst incorporating isolated exercises in order to help strengthen your weaker muscle groups. Think about isolation exercises as icing on the compound cake. Unless you’re on a diet. Then rather look at it as the blender to your juice cleanse.