I have long touted the ladder stitch over the whip stitch for doing any kind of EPP. In my experience, whip stitches show on the front of the fabric and ladder stitches don't.
Then I came across this excellent tutorial. Not only does it explain
why whip stitches show on the front, it shows a different technique for sewing with a whip stitch that eliminates the visible stitches. Oh happy, happy day!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfC9gOdiinU&t=4s