Actually, the best available evidence is that N95s and surgical masks are essentially equivalent at preventing actual viral respiratory illness:
N95 respirators vs medical masks for preventing influenza among health care personnel: A randomized clinical trial. Radonovich LJ Jr, Simberkoff MS, Bessesen MT, et al. JAMA. 2019;322(9):824-833. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2019.11645
This was a robust randomized trial that looked at laboratory confirmed influenza as a primary outcome as well as all-cause respiratory virus transmission as a secondary outcome.
The big problem that I have with cloth masks is that they may give a false sense of protection that encourages lax physical distancing. That is probably why we are seeing upticks in COVID new cases and little improvements in positivity rates as compliance with masking increases. That is to say, it is the physical distancing that is at the business end of preventing spread; masking doesn’t appear to be doing much. I might feel differently if everyone was wearing quality surgical masks and disposing them after a single day’s use.