Updated October 2026
Data from Amazon and official Nabu Casa and Sonoff sites.
2026 verdict
Only running Zigbee in Home Assistant? Then the Sonoff ZBDongle-P is the better USB coordinator to buy, the lower priced stick with a two-year warranty and +20 dBm of transmit power.
Built on the Texas Instruments CC2652P, it also works as a Zigbee router and has a long record with ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT on everything from HAOS to Proxmox and NAS setups. The Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 is the official Home Assistant radio, and its Silicon Labs EFR32MG24 adds what the Sonoff lacks: a Thread border router for Matter devices, plus a higher gain antenna. Both are USB only. Choose the Sonoff ZBDongle-P for a Zigbee network at the lowest cost, and the Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 if Thread is part of your plans or you want Home Assistant to configure the radio for you.
vs
Winner
16% OFF
$33.47
$39.99
11% above its lowest price of the last 6 months ($30.26)
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| Feature | Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 | Sonoff ZBDongle-P | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $65.00 | $33.47 | Sonoff ZBDongle-P |
| Rating | 4.7 | 4.6 | Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 |
| Warranty | 1 year | 2 years | Sonoff ZBDongle-P |
| Zigbee Router | NO | YES | Sonoff ZBDongle-P |
| Thread Border Router | YES | NO | Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 |
| Transmit Power | +10dBm | +20dBm | Sonoff ZBDongle-P |
| Antenna Gain | +4.16dBi | +2dBi | Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 |
| Zigbee Chip Model | EFR32MG24 | CC2652P | Different strengths |
| Power | USB | USB | Tie |
| Connectivity | USB | USB | Tie |
| Z-Wave Controller | NO | NO | Tie |
| Matter Bridge | NO | NO | Tie |
What the differences mean
Thread
The Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 can run as a Thread border router, so it can host Matter over Thread devices. The Sonoff ZBDongle-P is a Zigbee coordinator only.
Chip
The Sonoff ZBDongle-P uses a Texas Instruments CC2652P, the Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 a Silicon Labs EFR32MG24. If you are moving an existing Texas Instruments network, staying on the Sonoff keeps the same chip family.
Transmit power and antenna
The Sonoff ZBDongle-P has +20 dBm of transmit power with a 2 dBi antenna; the Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 10 dBm of transmit power with a +4.16 dBi antenna. Owners of both report whole-home coverage, so in practice neither wins on range by a margin you would notice.
Router mode and warranty
The Sonoff ZBDongle-P can also run as a Zigbee router and carries two years of warranty. The Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 is a coordinator only, with one year.
Which one to buy if
- your network is Zigbee only and you want to spend less
The Sonoff ZBDongle-P is the lower priced stick and owners treat it as the reference Zigbee coordinator.
- Matter over Thread devices are part of the plan
The Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 works as a Thread border router, which the ZBDongle-P does not.
- Home Assistant runs in Docker, Proxmox or on a NAS
Owners of the Sonoff ZBDongle-P report it running across HAOS, Docker, Proxmox and Synology or QNAP setups, though passthrough needs configuring.
- you run Home Assistant Green and want no setup at all
Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 owners say Home Assistant Green recognises and configures it automatically.
- + Rating: 4.7
- + Thread Border Router: YES
- + Antenna Gain: +4.16dBi
- - Price: $65.00 vs $33.47
- - Warranty: 1 year vs 2 years
Winner
16% OFF
$33.47
$39.99
- + Price: $33.47
- + Warranty: 2 years
- + Zigbee Router: YES
- - Rating: 4.6 vs 4.7
- - Thread Border Router: NO vs YES
What owners say
Owners of both coordinators agree that Home Assistant detects them immediately and that range covers a whole home, multi-floor houses included. Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 owners single out automatic setup on Home Assistant Green, fast Matter over Thread pairing and a design that looks good; their complaints are the price, running Zigbee or Thread but not both, and Thread border router setup that some found fiddly. Sonoff ZBDongle-P owners talk about it as the community's reference stick, smoother than a ConBee II and quick to migrate to, and they warn that its bulky aluminium case often needs a USB extension, that passing it to a virtual machine can take troubleshooting and that the optional flashing instructions are rough.
Price history compared
Every price change of both, in the same store, so the gap between the two lines is what one costs more than the other.
- Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2
- Sonoff ZBDongle-P
Loading price history...
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better overall: Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 or Sonoff ZBDongle-P?
For Zigbee alone, the Sonoff ZBDongle-P: it is the lower priced stick, has a two-year warranty, +20 dBm of transmit power and router mode. The Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 is the better pick when you also need a Thread border router or want the official Home Assistant hardware.
Is the Sonoff ZBDongle-P a good alternative to the Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2?
For a Zigbee network, yes. The Sonoff ZBDongle-P works with ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT and owners run multi-floor homes on it. It does not replace the Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 for Thread, since it has no Thread border router support.
What is the biggest difference between the Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 and the Sonoff ZBDongle-P?
Thread. The Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 runs Zigbee or Thread on a Silicon Labs EFR32MG24, while the Sonoff ZBDongle-P runs Zigbee only on a Texas Instruments CC2652P.
Do the Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 and the Sonoff ZBDongle-P work with Zigbee 3.0 devices?
Yes. Both are Zigbee 3.0 coordinators that work with Home Assistant and Zigbee2MQTT. The Sonoff ZBDongle-P can additionally run as a Zigbee router, which the Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 does not.
Who should buy the Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2?
Home Assistant users who want the official radio, plan on Matter over Thread devices, and value a setup that configures itself.
Who should buy the Sonoff ZBDongle-P?
Anyone who needs a dependable, lower priced Zigbee USB coordinator with a two-year warranty, especially on Docker, Proxmox or NAS based Home Assistant installs.
Full comparison table
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