As an amateur audiophile, audio quality is of utmost importance, followed by comfort. Here's some Best Fake Airpods Guide to follow when buying fake Airpods.
Audio Quality
AirPods have relatively mediocre audio quality and sorely lack bass. I listen to songs with more emphasis on bass. If I use AirPods, I only hear noises every 5 seconds because there are little mid to highs.
Fake AirPods take this to the next level, as they're generally more muddy and unclear. Big pass for me.
Comfort
AirPods don't fit comfortably for me, and Fake AirPods fit worse. I don't want pressure points causing issues in my ears, or (fake) AirPods falling out of my ears.
Buttons will also feel weird as they'll shift the earpieces slightly, causing me to make more adjustments.
Cost in the Long Run
This has multiple different outcomes. If I don't like a certain fake, I'd probably buy another and keep buying them until I find something that works for me. At this point, I would've spent enough money to buy something if substantially better quality.
Durability is also an issue as fake AirPods tend to have shoddy build quality. This would mean that the AirPods would break far more easily (at least for me), and would require more replacement which would come up to the cost of the actual AirPods.
The software may also be an issue, where it'll probably be more confusing or introduce significantly more audio lag than most earphones. Big pass.
If you want to use Airpods but don't want to pay a huge amount for them, here's a list of some of the best fake AirPods available on the market.