Which is better: going for Umrah or giving charity to the poor and needy, if it is not possible to do both?

The obligatory charity is certainly better than Umrah. As for voluntary charity, Hajj and Umrah are generally better than it, due to their inclusion of additional acts of worship. However, if people are in dire need of financial support, or if the donor has needy relatives, and it is not possible to combine both, then spending [in charity] is better at that time. Some scholars have opined that voluntary Hajj is preferable to charity, except in years of famine or when there are needy people. In our current era, with the large number of needy individuals, some believe that giving charity to them is more deserving than spending money on Hajj and Umrah.