A first guitar's playability — specifically how easy the strings are to press down — affects whether practice actually happens more than brand reputation or price point alone.
Action height is the detail that determines early frustration
"Action" refers to how high the strings sit above the fretboard, and a guitar with high action requires noticeably more finger strength and pressure to fret notes cleanly — genuinely harder and more discouraging for a beginner still building finger strength and calluses, regardless of how good the instrument is otherwise. A poorly set up guitar with high action, even an objectively good instrument, can make early practice sessions painful and frustrating in a way that has nothing to do with the player's actual ability or dedication. Many new guitars, especially budget ones, benefit from a professional setup adjustment (lowering the action to a reasonable, comfortable level) shortly after purchase — a relatively small cost that can substantially improve the early learning experience.
Acoustic vs. electric isn't about difficulty — it's about sound and setup
Acoustic guitars generally have a wider neck and heavier strings, requiring somewhat more finger strength, but need no additional equipment to play — pick it up and start. Electric guitars typically have a narrower neck and lighter strings, often considered slightly easier on the fingers for a true beginner, but require an amplifier for full volume and tone, an additional cost and piece of equipment beyond the guitar itself. Neither is definitively "easier to learn" in a musical sense — the core skills of pressing strings, forming chords, and developing rhythm transfer significantly between both types; the real decision is about what kind of music and sound is actually appealing, and whether the added amp setup for electric is a wanted or unwanted complication.
String gauge affects both feel and appropriate tuning
Lighter gauge (thinner) strings are easier to press down, making them a common recommendation for beginners still building finger strength, but they can sound thinner and are somewhat more prone to breaking. Heavier gauge strings offer fuller tone and more durability, at the cost of requiring more finger pressure and strength to play comfortably. Many new guitars come with a standard gauge already installed, and it's not something most total beginners need to think carefully about — but knowing lighter strings exist as a genuinely legitimate option for easing initial difficulty is worth knowing rather than assuming the installed strings are the only option.
Size matters more for younger or smaller players
Full-size guitars can be genuinely uncomfortable and difficult to handle for a smaller child or a person with a smaller frame — properly sized smaller guitars (often labeled by fractional sizes, like 3/4 or 1/2 scale) exist specifically for this, and starting a younger or smaller beginner on an appropriately sized instrument rather than a full-size guitar removes an unnecessary physical obstacle to early learning.
The one thing people forget
Budget for a tuner and a few extra sets of strings as part of the actual starting cost, not as optional accessories to consider later — a guitar that's out of tune sounds discouragingly bad regardless of how well it's played, and a cheap clip-on tuner solves this completely for a small cost that's easy to overlook while focused on the guitar itself.