there is a huge difference. the main being the come-up and the half-life/duration of each. Xanax is the go-to option for someone whom needs immediate relief of anxiety, clonazepam however differs, you can use it the same as xanax however, it has a smoother come-up, you can take it sublingually and have it in your blood much quicker than swallowing it which xanax is unncessesary to take this way as it has a quick mode of action, i will always prefer kpins to xanax due to how much smoother they are vs the counterpart, that does not go to say one is better than the other, having taken hundreds of mgs over the years of both, i can only say that it comes down to what you need it for and prefference.
I personally enjoy how much longer kpins act, aswell as you don't notice them wearing off as much as one would xans, but which is more effective? i would say they are equally as effective, just depends, are you panic or anxiety prone? then xanax might be preffered but for general anxiety aswell as to keep it at bay, clonazepam is the go-to the long half life is exceptionally more effective for general anxiety and the fact that its much smoother in all ways vs xanax, but xanax is much more 'in your face' so to speak for a lack of a better way to put it right now which has its own benefits.
Clonazepam has been more effective at aiding me to cut down/use less of opiates in terms of my dependency to pain balance that i'm battling currently, which i also combine with Lyrica to form a sort of holy-grail for the anxiety i experience at times, but thats just my 2 cents.
most drugs have a similar taste to me, but clonazepam is substantially better than most, it goes almost unnoticed for myself, considering the amount of different things i consume, the worst drug i still can't get used to after years in terms of bitterness is morphine sulfate, shit tastes fucking ungodly.