The greatest advantage of a fault tree is that it is event-oriented. In addition to considering hardware failures, fault trees can consider the undesirable events that can occur due to software failures and human errors during system operation and maintenance. They can also take into account environmental influences on the system. Another advantage of a fault tree is that its graphical nature make it easier to understand.

The biggest disadvantage of a fault tree is that the undesired events leading to the top event must be foreseen. Similarly, significant contributors to the occurrence of these undesired events must be anticipated. Additionally, constructing a fault tree requires analytical skills and can be time-consuming and therefore costly. Carefully defining the system definition for the tree helps to ensure that the analysis remains focused.