Ik vind het tweede beter dan het vorige.

In this sentence, vinden means to think, to consider, or to find something to be a certain way.

So:

• Ik vind het mooi = I think it is beautiful / I find it beautiful
• Ik vind het tweede beter = I think the second one is better

Dutch vinden can also mean to find in the sense of locating something:

• Ik vind mijn sleutels niet = I can’t find my keys

So the meaning depends on context.

Because Dutch often uses vinden + object + adjective to mean to consider something ...

So:

• Ik vind het tweede beter = literally I find the second one better
• not Ik vind het tweede is beter

The adjective beter describes the object het tweede directly after vinden.

You can also express the idea with a full clause:

• Ik vind dat het tweede beter is dan het vorige.

That version is also correct, but it has a different structure:

• Ik vind = I think
• dat het tweede beter is dan het vorige = that the second one is better than the previous one

Both are natural.

Because Dutch can leave out a noun when it is already understood from context, just like English the second one or the previous one.

Here:

• het tweede = the second one
• het vorige = the previous one

This is called using an adjective or ordinal substantively: it behaves like a noun because the real noun is omitted.

For example:

• de rode = the red one
• het nieuwe = the new one / the new thing
• de eerste = the first one

So the full idea might originally have been something like:

• het tweede boek
• het tweede voorstel
• het tweede antwoord

But the noun is left out because it is obvious from the situation.

Because the article depends on the implied noun.

If the missing noun is a het-word, you use het:

• het tweede
• het vorige

If the missing noun is a de-word, you use de:

• de tweede
• de vorige

For example:

• het boek → het tweede, het vorige
• de film → de tweede, de vorige

So this sentence suggests that the thing being talked about is either:

1. a het-word, or
2. being treated as a neutral thing/option in context.

Because vorige is an adjective form, and after a definite article like de or het, Dutch adjectives normally take -e.

Compare:

• het vorige boek = the previous book
• de vorige film = the previous film

When the noun is omitted, the adjective still keeps that form:

• het vorige = the previous one
• de vorige = the previous one

A useful comparison:

• vorig jaar = last year
  Here there is no definite article, so you get vorig, not vorige.

Because beter is the irregular comparative of goed.

Like English:

• good → better
• not gooder

Dutch works similarly:

• goed = good
• beter = better
• best = best

So:

• goed → beter
• Ik vind het tweede beter = I think the second one is better

In standard Dutch, comparatives are followed by dan.

So:

• beter dan = better than
• groter dan = bigger than
• sneller dan = faster than

That is the normal standard pattern.

You may sometimes hear als in some regional or informal speech, but for standard Dutch, learners should use dan after a comparative.

Here vorige most naturally means previous.

So:

• het vorige = the previous one

It refers to the one that came before the second one in whatever sequence is being discussed.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• the previous one
• the one before that
• sometimes the last one in casual English

But grammatically, vorige is specifically the idea of previous.

Yes. Het tweede and het vorige can refer to almost anything that can be ordered in a sequence.

For example, it could refer to:

• versions
• options
• answers
• songs
• ideas
• chapters
• proposals
• books

So the sentence could mean things like:

• I think the second version is better than the previous one
• I think the second answer is better than the previous one
• I think the second proposal is better than the previous one

Dutch often leaves that noun unspoken if the context is clear.

Yes, if the implied noun is a de-word.

So both patterns are possible:

• Ik vind het tweede beter dan het vorige
• Ik vind de tweede beter dan de vorige

The difference is not in the basic meaning, but in the grammatical gender of the missing noun.

Examples:

• het boek → het tweede, het vorige
• de film → de tweede, de vorige

So you choose de or het based on the word that has been left out.