I'm looking at the stats for both of these and it seems like the Commercial outpost is better in every way. Is there some sort of benefit that a regular colony outpost would have that I'm missing?
I agree with you. I've built both, for different reasons.
On the face of it, the Commercial Outpost provides:
Security -1
Wealth +3
Standard of Living +5
Net levels = +7
And for Civilian Outpost:
Security -1
Wealth +1
Standard of Living +2
Development Level +1
Net levels = +3
As a general rule, Commercial is
better unless you need the Development Levels. Given we don't fully understand the breakpoints for Development Levels just yet (though likely they contribute to what can be bought at Outfitters, etc), the Commercial will be the default choice in most situations.
o7