I don't think they are better. I mean the user experience is actually better in most of these centralized apps.
I think these nostr clients are alive only because -
1. They use a better protocol
2. ...
That's not enough to survive as a project or product. If they are not better, they are just going to slowly die. We need to make them better. Otherwise there is no future. Regardless of the base protocol or money they operate on.