Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 vs Sonoff: Honest Review 2026

If you're comparing the Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 against a Sonoff dongle, you've already done the hard part — you know you want a proper USB Zigbee coordinator instead of a pile of vendor hubs. The only question left is which stick to buy. This is an honest, first-hand comparison, not a spec-sheet rewrite. We run Home Assistant ourselves, and in June 2026 we migrated our own live Zigbee network from a Sonoff dongle to a ZBT-2. We'll tell you exactly what happened.

TL;DR — which should you buy?

• Buying new and want the safest long-term choice? Buy the Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 (≈ £38 in the UK). It's made by Nabu Casa, the team behind Home Assistant itself, ships with a 1.5m USB cable so you don't need a separate extension, gets active firmware updates, and runs Zigbee or Thread (one at a time, not both). For most UK homes that means Zigbee mode.
• On a tight budget and Zigbee-only forever? The Sonoff ZBDongle-E (≈ £22) is a genuinely good stick. Same Silicon Labs chip family as the ZBT-1, near-identical day-to-day Zigbee performance, almost half the price. You'll want a £5 USB 2.0 extension with it.
• Our verdict, having run both: day-to-day Zigbee performance is similar. We switched for reliability and long-term firmware support, not raw range. If money is tight, the Sonoff is a fair pick and we won't pretend otherwise.

This is the head-to-head review. For the wider field — including Z-Wave and the Aeotec — see our best Zigbee stick for Home Assistant UK guide.

At-a-glance comparison

What these sticks actually are

All three are USB Zigbee coordinators — the single radio that lets Home Assistant talk to your Zigbee devices (Hue bulbs, Aqara sensors, IKEA kit, smart plugs, door sensors and so on). One per network, one network, dozens of devices.

The split that matters here is the chip inside:

• The ZBT-2 uses a Silicon Labs MG24 — a newer, more capable Zigbee/Thread system-on-chip.
• The Sonoff ZBDongle-E uses a Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 — the same chip family Nabu Casa used in the older ZBT-1 and SkyConnect.
• The Sonoff ZBDongle-P uses a Texas Instruments CC2652P — a well-proven older design.

Why does the chip family matter? Because it determines the radio driver Home Assistant uses. Both the ZBT-2 and the ZBDongle-E run on the ezsp (Silicon Labs) driver. The ZBDongle-P runs on znp (Texas Instruments). That detail becomes important the moment you try to migrate — which is exactly what we did.

We migrated our own setup — here's what happened

This is the bit no spec sheet will tell you, because we actually did it on a live network.

In June 2026 we moved our own Home Assistant Zigbee network from a Sonoff ZBDongle-P (the Texas Instruments CC2652P stick) to a Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 (the Silicon Labs MG24). Around 15 devices: a mix of mains-powered router devices (bulbs, plugs) and battery sensors.

We used ZHA's built-in "Migrate radio" tool — Settings → Devices & Services → ZHA → the three-dot menu → Migrate radio. The whole network carried over to the new stick: the Zigbee channel, the PAN ID, the network key and every single device pairing. Zero devices had to be re-paired.

That's worth repeating, because re-pairing 15 devices by hand — resetting each one, hunting for the tiny reset hole on a battery sensor stuck behind a radiator — is the nightmare everyone dreads when changing coordinators. We didn't have to touch a single one.

The one setting that makes the difference

During migration ZHA asks whether to permanently replace the radio's IEEE address. We ticked it. That's what keeps every device's stored "who's my parent / who's my coordinator" reference valid against the new stick. Skip it and you risk devices that won't talk to the new radio until they're re-paired anyway. Tick it, and the new stick inherits the old one's identity cleanly.

One practical note: the radio type changes in the process — from znp (the TI stick) to ezsp (the Silicon Labs ZBT-2). ZHA handles that for you as part of the migration; you don't edit anything by hand.

How the reconnection went

• Mains-powered routers (bulbs, smart plugs) came back within seconds.
• Battery sensors trickled back over roughly an hour as they woke up on their normal reporting schedule and re-checked in. This is normal — battery devices sleep most of the time to save power, so they reconnect on their own clock, not yours. Don't panic if a door sensor shows "unavailable" twenty minutes in; give it the hour.

By the end of the afternoon all ~15 devices were back, on the same automations, with nothing re-paired and nothing renamed.

Reliability — the real reason we switched

Here's the honest motive. We didn't migrate because the Sonoff was slow. Day-to-day, it was fine.

We migrated because the Sonoff dongle suffered a USB re-enumeration event — the host briefly lost and re-detected the USB device — and when it came back, the entire Zigbee network dropped and did not auto-recover. It needed hands-on intervention to come back. On a hobby setup that's an annoying evening. On a network you're relying on for heating, security sensors and lighting, that's not acceptable.

USB re-enumeration can hit any USB stick — it's often a host, port, power or cable issue as much as the dongle itself. But it exposed how little margin we had, and pushed us to the stick with the best firmware support and the cleanest recovery behaviour. Since moving to the ZBT-2, the network has been stable.

We're not claiming the Sonoff is unreliable for everyone — plenty of people run a ZBDongle-E for years without drama. We're telling you what happened to us, and why it tipped the decision. If you're choosing a coordinator for a setup you genuinely depend on, reliability and recovery behaviour matter more than the £16 price gap.

Thread and Matter — does it change the answer?

A bit, over the long run.

The ZBT-2 can run Thread instead of Zigbee, which makes it future-proof for Matter-over-Thread devices (newer Eve, Nanoleaf and some Aqara kit). The catch, straight from Nabu Casa's own launch post: it does one protocol at a time — Zigbee or Thread, not both simultaneously. Choose Zigbee at setup (right for almost every UK home today) and that's what it runs.

The Sonoff ZBDongle-E can technically be flashed for Thread, but it's fiddly and not the polished out-of-the-box experience. The ZBDongle-P is Zigbee-only.

For most UK readers in 2026, Thread isn't the deciding factor — you'll run Zigbee mode regardless, because that's what your existing kit speaks. But if you want one stick that can pivot to Thread later without buying new hardware, that's a point in the ZBT-2's column.

Price and value

• Sonoff ZBDongle-P: ≈ £20
• Sonoff ZBDongle-E: ≈ £22
• HA Connect ZBT-2: ≈ £38

The Sonoff is cheaper, full stop. For a budget Zigbee-only build where you're happy doing a little more of the driving yourself — flashing firmware, sorting your own USB extension — it's a perfectly sensible buy and we'd recommend it to a friend on a budget.

The ZBT-2's extra ~£16 buys you three things: the 1.5m USB cable in the box (no separate extension to source), firmware maintained by the people who maintain Home Assistant, and the Thread option for later. Whether that's worth it depends on how much you value "set it up once and stop thinking about it."

A neat bonus: don't bin the old Sonoff

When you migrate off a Sonoff coordinator, you don't have to leave it in a drawer. With the right firmware it can be re-flashed as a Zigbee router (repeater) — a mains-powered device that extends your mesh range, handy in a larger or thicker-walled house. It's an advanced job (you'll be flashing router firmware and plugging it in via a USB power supply), but it's a genuinely useful second life for a stick you've already paid for.

Who should buy which

• Most new UK buyers → ZBT-2. Official stick, active firmware, cable in the box, Thread option, similar everyday performance. Run it in Zigbee mode.
• Budget Zigbee-only build → Sonoff ZBDongle-E. Cheaper, same chip family as the ZBT-1, fine day-to-day. Add a £5 USB 2.0 extension.
• Already happily running a ZBDongle-P → keep it until you have a reason to change. If reliability or Thread becomes a factor, the ZBT-2 is the upgrade — and as we found, the in-place migration is painless.

Or skip the decision entirely

If picking a stick, flashing it, sourcing the right cable and keeping firmware up to date sounds like exactly the faff you were hoping to avoid — that's what habbb is for.

Our managed Home Assistant kit ships a pre-configured Raspberry Pi 5 with an internal NVMe SSD, and the Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 is the radio we ship — configured in Zigbee mode, paired and ready. Our subscription then keeps the whole thing updated, backed up and monitored, with human support when you need a tweak. Think boiler-service contract for your smart home: we keep what you have working, and you never touch a USB stick again.

See what's in the habbb kit

FAQs

Is the Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 better than Sonoff? For most new buyers, yes — but mainly on long-term support, not raw Zigbee performance, which is similar. The ZBT-2 is made by Nabu Casa (the Home Assistant team), gets active firmware updates, includes a 1.5m USB cable and can run Thread later. The Sonoff ZBDongle-E is cheaper (≈ £22 vs ≈ £38) and a solid budget Zigbee-only choice.

What's the difference between the ZBT-2 and the Sonoff ZBDongle-E? Different chips and price. The ZBT-2 uses a newer Silicon Labs MG24; the ZBDongle-E uses the older Silicon Labs EFR32MG21. Both run on Home Assistant's ezsp driver and perform similarly day-to-day. The ZBT-2 adds a cable in the box, active firmware and a Thread option; the Sonoff costs roughly £16 less.

ZBDongle-E vs ZBDongle-P — which Sonoff should I get? The ZBDongle-E (Silicon Labs EFR32MG21) for a new build — it's in the same chip family as Nabu Casa's own sticks and has better tooling. The ZBDongle-P (Texas Instruments CC2652P) is older and uses Home Assistant's znp driver; it's well-proven but the E is the more future-aligned pick.

Can I switch from a Sonoff to a ZBT-2 without re-pairing my devices? Yes. We did exactly this. Use ZHA's "Migrate radio" tool and tick "permanently replace the radio IEEE address" during the process. The channel, PAN ID, network key and every device pairing carry over. Mains-powered devices reconnect in seconds; battery sensors trickle back over about an hour.

Does the ZBT-2 run Zigbee and Thread at the same time? No. Per Nabu Casa's launch announcement, it runs one protocol at a time — you choose Zigbee or Thread at setup. Most UK homes run it in Zigbee mode because that's what their existing kit speaks. If you need both live, you'd run a second stick in the other mode.

Is the Sonoff dongle reliable? For many people, yes — plenty run one for years without issue. Our own ZBDongle-P hit a USB re-enumeration event that dropped the whole network and didn't auto-recover, which is what pushed us to the ZBT-2. That can affect any USB stick (host, port, power and cable all play a part), but if you're depending on the network, recovery behaviour and firmware support are worth paying a little extra for.

Suggested next guides

• Best Zigbee stick for Home Assistant UK — the full buyer's guide, including Z-Wave and the Aeotec
• Managed Home Assistant UK — the habbb kit that ships the ZBT-2 pre-configured
• Raspberry Pi 4 + USB SSD for Home Assistant — the reliable hardware base to plug your coordinator into