Should I use an apache redirect or a Drupal redirect

Should I use an apache redirect or a Drupal redirect

I am debating between using an apache redirect vs a Drupal redirect, and I
am wondering what the best practice would be. The Drupal redirect appeals
to me because it would allow non-technical content editors to add their
own redirects. I suspect the downside is that every redirect added that
way needs to fire up the entire Drupal stack, as opposed to just adding a
direct apache redirect. Is there a big difference, or is it negligible in
terms of a performance hit, etc. The site is fairly high traffic, but not
to the point of using Akamai; several million non concurrent page views a
month handled by varnish is doing just fine.