I mean, a "hello world" CMakeLists.txt can be literally just this:

    add_executable(hello hello.c)

    Program("main", ["main.cpp"])

`cmake` is much better. The language itself is ugly and takes some getting used to, so it's a little more complicated to get started with then `scons`. `cmake` generating `Makefile`s instead of actually building the project itself also adds a layer of complexity. But once you understand the basics it's much easier to get a fully functioning build going, including configure stages, build directories, portability and all that, as cmake has all of that integrated and working right out of the box.

`cmake` feels like a complete build system, while `scons` feels like a good start for a build system that was abandoned at the halfway point.

I still use plain `make` for some Python projects (mostly .PHONY targets to run `pylint`, `autopep` and friends), but for everything that needs to get compiled `cmake` is much easier to use than plain `make`, as you don't need to reinvent a build system yourself, it already comes with almost everything you need.