Pregnant and afraid. Is a C section less painful than vaginal birth?

I was thinking about doing vaginal birth with an epidural, but I hear from my friends that the epidural failed or didnt help. Can someone please tell me if a C section is less painful than an epidural? What does a c section feel like? I want birth to be as painless as possible. I dont care about post partum pain. I care about the pain ill feel while giving birth, and I want to know if a c section is painless compared to vaginal birth