[Pacabel]

They're pretty comparable. A "clone" can almost always be considered a subset of a "rewrite". Both involve a new software system that is directly inspired by an existing one.

The main difference is that a clone is often written by developers who had no involvement with the development of the original system. But that's not always true, especially for any old or sizable software system, where the original developers may no longer be involved.

[dhimes]

I think you are coming dangerously close to muddy semantics. Let's say: a clone is a clone- git clone, hg clone, etc.

A rewrite may start with a clone, but the code is no longer a clone when you start the rewrite.

A refactor is a subset of a rewrite.

Now we can have meaningful discussions about them.