Is there an advantage to crossbows, like in cool down or something?

Crossbows seem to be more expensive, but do less damage mid-game.

Supposing that you are referring to "Throne of Chaos", the generic crossbows' weapon factor is 15, while the generic bows' weapon factor is 10 (source).

I'm aware of the damage numbers, the game gives you those. What isn't obvious is whether or not there is some advantage to using one kind of weapon vs another.

It would make sense to me that a crossbow would take less time to reload than a bow, and have a greater chance of hitting. Does the game take this into account? If so, how significant is it?