The short answer: these are not rivals and you cannot really pick wrong. Both wrap the same mihomo core, so subscription links, YAML configs and rule syntax carry across untouched — switching clients means redoing nothing. Only two things actually differ: which platforms they cover, and how much of the core the interface puts in front of you.

What is identical (about ninety percent)

  • Same core, so the same protocols, the same rule syntax, the same DNS behaviour.
  • One subscription link imports into either, producing the same nodes and the same groups.
  • A local YAML file moves across as is, no conversion step.
  • Speed depends on your nodes and routes, not on the shell around the core.

Which answers the "will switching clients make it faster" question: no. Speed problems belong in node testing and selection and have nothing to do with the client.

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What differs

Three-step onboarding flow: download, import a subscription, turn on the proxy
Both clients take the same three steps to get you online

Clash Verge Rev is the desktop client across all three platforms, and the default assumption in the guides here. It exposes the core fairly completely: Merge and Script enhancement, TUN through Service Mode, the external controller, WebDAV backup and the system proxy toggle are all in the UI.

FlClash is written in Flutter and covers Android in addition to desktop, with the same interface and the same habits on a phone as on a laptop. On mobile it uses the system VPN interface for whole-device capture, which is the phone equivalent of desktop TUN.

Both projects are actively developed and their feature lists move, so for a field-by-field comparison check each repository. This page is only about how to choose.

Choosing by situation

  1. Desktop only: Clash Verge Rev — more knobs reachable from the interface.
  2. Phone and computer, one set of habits: FlClash, identical on both.
  3. You edit configs seriously with Merge or Script: Clash Verge Rev, that is its strong suit — see Merge and Script enhancement.
  4. Android only: FlClash is the common pick; ClashMetaForAndroid is another client on the same core.

Can you install both

Install yes, run simultaneously no. Both want to own the system proxy setting and the TUN adapter. The classic symptom of running them together is toggling something in one client, the other never noticing, and the machine losing network entirely. To compare them, quit one before starting the other.

Moving over is trivial: copy the subscription link and import it again, or copy the local YAML. Rules, groups and DNS live in the config, not in the client. Coming from an older client, the path is in migrating from Clash for Windows; for how all these names relate, see the Clash family tree.