according to my sources, acrylic is 4x - 8x stronger than glass. polycarbonate is 200x stronger than glass. polycarbonate is what they make bulletproof windows out of.
based on personal experience (yes, i have built things out of both acrylic and polycarbonate), i find polycarb is more impact resisant but easier to scratch, acrylic is more brittle than poly, and will crack after a certain load is reached, rather than flex and give like polycarbonate, usually at the most in-opportune times... like when you are cutting a 6" tube to length in a chop saw, or shaping it on a lathe.
or when your model submarine is 3 feet below the surface.
in most places, polycarbonate is 2x the price of acrylic.
the same glues will glue poly to poly, and acrylic to acrylic, but not poly to acrylic. you are much better off if you stick with one type for the whole project. the only glues i know of that will glue poly to acrylic permanently are ones like "stabilit express".
anything from a hacksaw to a dremel will cut either. you cant score and snap either like you can with styrene, and anything thicker than typing paper will not be cut by scissors.