About SONOFF (ITEAD)
SONOFF, made by ITEAD, occupies a special place in the smart home world: they're the brand that popularized the idea of flashing open-source firmware onto commercial switches. Their BASIC and Mini modules have been reflashed with Tasmota, ESPHome, and custom firmware by hundreds of thousands of DIY smart home enthusiasts.
Their ZBMINI L2 is particularly notable — a no-neutral Zigbee micro-module that installs behind any existing switch for $15. For Home Assistant users with Zigbee setups who need a no-neutral solution at minimum cost, the ZBMINI L2 is hard to argue with.
SONOFF also makes the SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus — the most popular Zigbee coordinator in the Home Assistant community. This means SONOFF products integrate particularly well with their own coordinator, and the community support is extensive. The caveat is that setup requires technical comfort, and their cloud app is unremarkable.
Strengths & limitations
Strengths
- Lowest prices in the category — modules from $9–$20
- Can be flashed with Tasmota/ESPHome for full local control
- ZBMINI L2 is the cheapest no-neutral Zigbee module
- TX Ultimate is a genuinely innovative multi-touch switch design
- Massive community support and firmware ecosystem
Limitations
- Default firmware is cloud-dependent
- Setup complexity is high — especially for flashed devices
- No Apple Home without additional bridge
- Stock cloud has had reliability issues historically
Editorial perspective
SONOFF is the expert's choice when budget is the primary constraint. With a Zigbee stick and Home Assistant, their modules deliver serious local-control capability at prices nothing else can match.