Model-independent comparison of direct versus indirect detection of supersymmetric dark matter.

We compare the rate for elastic scattering of neutralinos from various nuclei with the ux of upward muons induced by energetic neutrinos from neutralino annihilation in the Sun and Earth. We consider both scalar and axial-vector interactions of neutralinos with nuclei. We nd that the event rate in a kg of germanium is roughly equivalent to that in a 10 5-to 10 7-m 2 muon detector for a neutralino with primarily scalar coupling to nuclei. For an axially coupled neutralino, the event rate in a 50-gram hydrogen detector is roughly the same as that in a 10-to 500-m 2 muon detector. Expected experimental backgrounds favor forthcoming elastic-scattering detectors for scalar couplings while the neutrino detectors have the advantage for axial-vector couplings.