What is a Clash Subscription? How to Choose the Right Subscription Service?

A Clash subscription is a node management configuration file used with Clash visual clients to enable internet access. It is usually a paid service offered by service providers. (What are subscription services)

Choosing a stable, compliant subscription service that fits your use case is more important than simply pursuing "cheap and lots of nodes." This guide will take you step by step from core evaluation criteria to actual purchase and trial process to help you find a reliable service.

Core Dimensions for Choosing a Service Provider

1. Stability

• Uptime maintained at 95%+, with few large-scale, long-term outages
• Transparent failure announcements and recovery records with fast response
• Video playback doesn't lag during peak hours (8:00 PM–10:00 PM)
• Downloads/page loading not significantly slower, acceptable latency and jitter

2. Node Quality

• Common regions: Hong Kong/Japan/Singapore/USA/Taiwan and other popular areas
• Different route types available (direct/BGP relay/dedicated line/IPv6, etc.) to improve route fault tolerance
• Basic streaming unlock and AI nodes (such as Netflix/Disney+/YouTube Premium, ChatGPT)

3. Pre-sales & After-sales

• At least one reachable channel: tickets/email/Telegram
• Clear pre-sales responses, no "ghosting" after purchase
• Status page or announcement channel to notify about maintenance and changes in advance

4. Plans & Pricing

• If available, pay monthly first, consider long-term plans after observing stability
• Reasonable traffic and speed limit labels, no exaggerated marketing, many fake dedicated line providers exist
• For regular purchases, pay monthly first; consider long-term plans during promotions. Don't impulse buy.

How to Choose for Different Use Cases

Office & Remote Collaboration

• Financial transactions / remote desktop requiring high real-time performance: Prioritize dedicated lines
• Daily materials, email, document collaboration: High-quality BGP relay is sufficient

Entertainment & Media

• BGP relay providers offer moderate pricing, balancing streaming unlock and peak viewing experience, covering Netflix / Disney+ / YouTube, etc.

Gaming

• Not recommended to use proxy services. Games have extremely high requirements for latency and stability; any jitter may cause disconnections. Please choose professional game accelerators.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Is 100Mbps speed limit enough?

Sufficient for general household and office scenarios: 4K video typically needs around 25Mbps; meetings and remote desktop are also satisfied. For multi-user simultaneous large traffic downloads or NAS remote scenarios, consider higher speed limits.

Q2: Are more nodes better?

Not necessarily. The key is node quality and peak performance. Dozens of mediocre nodes are not as good as a few high-quality nodes.

Q3: How many devices is more appropriate?

Depends on actual use. Individuals usually need 2–3 devices; households or multi-device office choose 5 or more, pay attention to simultaneous online limits.

Q4: Why occasional disruptions?

Cross-border links have uncontrollable factors (congestion, route changes, data center maintenance, etc.). Preparing backup subscriptions and switching strategies is a more realistic solution.

Q5: Can all streaming and AI services be unlocked?

Different providers and node regions have different policies, and platforms may adjust identification rules. Try the target platform before purchasing to confirm availability.

Q6: What's the difference between Direct / BGP Relay / Dedicated Line providers?

• Direct: Short path, potentially low latency, but cross-border quality is unstable, easily affected by congestion and routing. (Not recommended, poor stability, common in $1 providers, etc.)
• BGP Relay: Domestic exit to relay room, then negotiates routing with overseas room; overall more stable with balanced latency and speed. Common in "multi-line BGP" marketing. (Choice for most people, moderate cost, large price difference among providers)
• Dedicated Line: High cost, more stable quality, better peak performance, commonly used in high-end or enterprise-oriented plans. (Easy to buy fake dedicated lines, dedicated line providers have extremely high costs, about $1000+ per TB)

Selection principle: Office/gaming prioritize more stable routes (BGP/dedicated line); regular browsing and light entertainment can use direct connection; decide based on budget.

List of Providers Offering Free Trials

Qmmcloud (QiaoMiMi Cloud)

PolarisNet (PolarisNet)

Gougygo (Dog Accelerator)

DaGeYun (DaGe Cloud)