I started off with fake plants and then quickly switched to live plants. The chance of having them harm your fish or tank is heavily reduced and often makes the ecosystem in the tank more nourishing to your fish. Make sure you have the right amount of light for the plants. I use a flourescent aquarium bulb which allows high lighting for my plants to grow (though make sure to turn it on and off consistently no more than 6 to 10 hours max at one time since they go off of human-like hours for night and day rest).
Good plants to start off with that need lower levels of light are java fern and java moss which grow pretty easily. A moss ball is also very nice to have too. Make sure that if you have a brighter light like mine that your fish has some place it can hide if it finds itself uncomfortable.
But yes, overall, I think the switch from live plants from fake ones is better. Sure you'll have to replace a few of the ones that manage to die, but your fish is much healthier and in a much more natural environment but also looks better too.