Buyers distrust shrill comparison tables. The design job is to make trade-offs legible, not to humiliate the incumbent.
Visual hierarchy
Lead with scenarios, not feature checkmarks. Use neutral typography for both columns until the row makes a factual claim you can support.
Footnote the evaluation date and product tier. Small honesty compounds trust.
Closing
Working on something where this applies?
Tell us the surface (deck, landing page, product visual, sales kit) and the audience that needs to be moved. We reply with a scoped proposal.