please help, how do I let a guy down easy?

so to make a long story short I got out of a relationship back at the end of summer. I've been casually dating since then but recently two guys have both started to get more serious. one is one of my guy friends of over a year, while the other is a random guy from hinge that I've known for less than a month. my friend asked me on a date back in mid December, we didn't go on another until about two weeks ago but since then he's confessed that he has really strong feelings for me and it's pretty clear he wants to move towards something more serious. on the other hand, I met hinge guy about two weeks ago and we've been texting every day but only met once. he's VERY sweet and totally a great guy, we're very similar and based on what he says he really likes me a lot and has been outward about how he thinks I fit into his future plan, etc. unfortunately, I think I want to pursue things with my friend instead of the new guy despite the fact that he's amazing. I feel horrible but I tried to make this decision as soon as I could so I don't string him along. I've been pulling back a bit (texting) but he's still very clearly into me. what can I say to let him know that I can't keep pursuing things with him right now? I really feel guilty and I don't want to hurt him. he's literally great and it's nothing personal at all, this was such a hard decision to make but I just feel slightly more emotional chemistry with my friend. thanks in advance guys :( (we're almost 22 if it matters)