Hard to say. Light was very smart, creative and manipulative. L lacks the latter skill at least since he isn't very social. Sure, he had a cheat-weapon but couldn't use it unnoticed. How he tricked Ray Penber into killing off the staff himself, how he tricked Naomi to give him her real name after she faked it in the first place. How he thoroughly planned on losing his memory to later get his hands on the death not anyways. He had the death note but couldn't really use it to kill L since he would become the prime suspect. Neither did he have his name. While L had an immense amount of resources. All the money in the world, the infrastructure, the political connections and a worldwide staff at his disposal.
While Light was alone. Ryuk was of no help and Rem even threatened to kill Light if something happens to Misa. And Light in the end tricked her into sacrificing her own life to kill Watari and L in order to free Misa and increase her lifespan, which was halved 2 times, according to Light's plan, who buried his old notebook for Misa to retrieve. Rem said, Light surpassed even the Shinigami.
While Light was alone. Ryuk was of no help and Rem even threatened to kill Light if something happens to Misa. And Light in the end tricked her into sacrificing her own life to kill Watari and L in order to free Misa and increase her lifespan, which was halved 2 times, according to Light's plan, who buried his old notebook for Misa to retrieve. Rem said, Light surpassed even the Shinigami.
