A couple of issues with the clones:
first, the older clones don't work with idea - segger software introduced over the last year and half. There are ways around that but they are messy.
secondly, the newer clones are fairly expensive: 60 - 120 USD. You are better off, I think, with an edu version. On the downside, the edu version can be annoying.
another solution is to use chip specific debugger, like st-link. Coincidentally, the newer jlink is much closer to a st-link.