Discover a Zigbee vs WIFI comparison to understand why some users prefer one technology or the other for their home automation installation.
So you can choose the technology that best suits your needs to start your smart home project.
Zigbee vs WIFI comparison
| ZIGBEE | WIFI | |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency | 2.4 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Range of communications | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐ |
| Secure communications | ✅ | ✅ |
| Mesh network | ✅ | ❌ |
| Price of the devices | € | € |
| Number of devices for sale | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Adjustable parameters | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐ |
| Low energy consumption | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐ |
| State return | ✅ | ✅ |
| Direct association | ✅ | ❌ |
| Compatibility between devices | ✅ | ❌ |
| Using the device without a hub | ❌ | ✅ |
| Ease of developer integration | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐ |
| Low exposure to radiofrequency waves | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐ |
This Zigbee vs WIFI comparison is based on my point of view.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Zigbee
Advantages
- No saturation of your WIFI network: The Zigbee network is an independent network from your WIFI network, which is very interesting for not slowing down your internet connection.
- Low power consumption: Zigbee is appreciated for its low power consumption, being able to use sensors with batteries that last several years. There are even devices that work without batteries and without cables thanks to the Green Power function, i.e. they recover energy from the environment (solar panel, piezoelectric effect, etc.).
- Local use: Even if you have internet outages, your Zigbee devices still work, of course, if you use a Zigbee hub that does not need internet to work such as Home Assistant or Jeedom.
- Direct associations: You can use a Zigbee controller with a Zigbee bulb, Zigbee plug or any other device in ON/OFF, dimmer or with colours thanks to the Binding or Touchlink mode.
- Compatibilities between devices: By being able to join together with the same Zigbee hub, your devices can communicate together on the same network and you can also create scenes so that they can act according to defined criteria.
Disadvantages
- You need a Zigbee hub: If you want to use a Zigbee device, you have to buy a compatible Zigbee hub.
- Variety of devices for sale: Being a niche market, there is still a lack of device profiles in Zigbee that DO exist in WIFI (e.g. Zigbee rain gauge, Zigbee anemometer etc).
- Some incompatibilities: Before every purchase of a Zigbee device, you must verify that it is compatible with your Zigbee hub. It is a common mistake for users to think that just because they buy a Zigbee hub, they can use any Zigbee device. You should always verify compatibility. For example, if you use a Tuya hub, 99% of your Zigbee devices must be from the Tuya ecosystem. If you use Home Assistant or Jeedom, in this case, 99% of the Zigbee devices on the market are compatible thanks to Zigbee2MQTT (you can check before any purchase the Zigbee compatibilities with Zigbee2MQTT).
Advantages and Disadvantages of WIFI
Advantages
- No need for a home automation hub : It can be interesting to buy a smart device, connect it to your home’s router and that’s it, you can use it.
- Ease of use: As you don’t need a hub, the process of using a WIFI device is usually simple, you connect it to your WIFI network and use it from your phone.
- Wide variety of devices: Since almost everyone in the world has internet at home, the market for smart WIFI devices is the most complete since it is the most accessible.
Disadvantages
- Possible dependence on the internet: Except for brands like Shelly that work locally, many other brands depend exclusively on the internet. This means that without the internet, you have no control over your device.
- Incompatibilities between brands: If you buy a device from brand A, a device from brand B, a device from brand C, you will probably have to use 3 applications, i.e. one for each device, and these 3 devices will not communicate with each other.
- You don’t have a mesh network: You can’t improve the communication range because WIFI devices of different brands don’t communicate with each other. You need to buy WIFI repeaters in this case.
- High power consumption: Some devices such as door/window sensors or motion sensors are not recommended for WIFI because they can drain the battery in 3-6 months or even less.
Zigbee vs WIFI : Conclusion
There is no better or worse technology, in some contexts, using WIFI devices such as Shelly, Nuki, Sonoff or the Tuya SmartLife ecosystem can be very interesting especially for small installations.
In other cases, for advanced uses, for example, if you want to manage lights, blinds, electrical devices, heating, have alerts of possible intruders or any abnormal event such as smoke detections and much more, it can be interesting to mix different brands of Zigbee devices to meet your needs and bring everything together with a single universal hub such as Home Assistant or Jeedom.
For these reasons, there are companies such as Sonoff that offer both WIFI and Zigbee devices in their catalogue to meet all needs.
Examples of Zigbee devices
Examples of WIFI devices
Frequently asked questions
Zigbee vs WIFI: which is better?
Actually, there is no best technology for everyone, it depends on the needs of each user. Some users prefer WIFI for its ease of use and to have few devices in the home, while other users want an advanced smart home experience and prefer to use Zigbee devices.
I want to make a large home automationinstallation: Whatshould I choose between Zigbee vs WIFI?
There is no absolute answer but in this case, I usually recommend taking advantage of all the benefits of Zigbee such as its mesh network, the unification of your installation with different brands with a single interface and its independent network from your WIFI network so as not to saturate it.
What do you recommend if I only want 1 or 2 smart devices in my home?
If for example you only want a smart lock or a smart thermostat, you can consider WIFI devices, so that you don’t have to buy an additional hub.