Sonoff Basic Gen5 and TX Gen2: Do These Matter Switches Replace Shelly?
Sonoff just released their Gen5 line of Matter switches at $6 a pop (in 4-packs). I’ve been running Shelly Plus 1 relays and Sonoff ZBMINI-L2 Zigbee switches for two years. Let’s figure out if these new Matter devices give me any real reason to rip stuff out and start over.
What Sonoff Actually Released
The Gen5 lineup has three products worth knowing about:
Sonoff Basic Gen5 (BASIC-1GS) is the headliner. It’s a compact in-wall relay running Matter over WiFi, rated at 10A. The 4-pack runs $22.90 on Amazon, which works out to roughly $5.73 per switch. That’s aggressively cheap for any smart relay, let alone one with Matter certification.
Sonoff TX Gen2 is the wall-mounted touch switch version. Same Beken BK7238 chip inside, same Matter over WiFi protocol, but with a physical touch panel on the front. Available in 1-gang, 2-gang, and 3-gang configurations.
Sonoff BASIC-1GSP is the DIN rail version. This one’s more interesting for distribution board installs: 32A rating with built-in energy monitoring. If you’re doing a panel-level setup, this competes with Shelly Pro modules.
All three run on the Beken BK7238 chip (Arm Cortex-M, 160MHz, 288KB RAM, 2MB flash) with WiFi and BLE 5.2. No eWeLink cloud required for basic control. They pair directly with Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, SmartThings, and Home Assistant via Matter.
The $6 Question: Is Cheap Enough to Switch?
Let me be honest. When I saw $6 per switch, I immediately started mentally rewiring my house. That price is half what I paid for Shelly Plus 1 relays ($12 each) and half of what my Sonoff ZBMINI-L2 Zigbee switches cost me. For someone building a new setup from scratch, that’s a significant difference across 20 or 30 switches.
But price isn’t everything. I’ve spent enough time with WiFi vs Zigbee to know that protocol choice matters more than the upfront cost.
What Works: Local Control Without Cloud
Here’s the thing that actually caught my attention. These Gen5 switches work locally over your LAN. Schedules, on/off, inching (momentary contact) all function without an internet connection. That’s the bare minimum I accept for any device in my home, and Sonoff delivered it.
Through Matter, they integrate directly with Home Assistant without needing eWeLink, without needing a bridge, without needing any cloud account. You commission them once via BLE, and they show up as local Matter devices on your network.
For people who’ve been reading my posts about local-only smart home setups, this is genuinely good news. Sonoff went from being mostly a cloud-dependent brand to shipping real local control at the cheapest price point on the market.
What Doesn’t Work: The Neutral Wire Problem
Here’s my first real complaint. The Gen5 BASIC-1GS requires a neutral wire. No exceptions.
My house (built in the 1980s) has plenty of switch boxes without neutral. That’s exactly why I use the Sonoff ZBMINI-L2 for those locations: it works without neutral. If you’re in the same situation (common in European homes and older US construction), the Gen5 simply won’t fit half your switch locations.
This isn’t a minor footnote. It’s a hard limitation that immediately disqualifies the Gen5 for a large chunk of my install base.
WiFi Congestion: My Real Concern
I run 40+ Zigbee devices on a ConBee III with Zigbee2MQTT. My Zigbee mesh operates on its own radio frequency, completely independent of my WiFi network. Adding a Zigbee device doesn’t slow down my Netflix, doesn’t compete for DHCP leases, and doesn’t need a dedicated VLAN.
Adding 20 WiFi switches? That’s 20 more devices hitting my access points. 20 more DHCP leases. 20 more devices doing DNS lookups and mDNS announcements. My Shelly relays (about 8 of them) already account for a noticeable chunk of my WiFi client list. I’ve got them on a separate IoT VLAN, but they still consume airtime.
If you’re running a basic consumer router with 15 other devices already on it, throwing 20 more WiFi switches into the mix is asking for trouble. This is still my primary argument for Zigbee.
Matter vs. MQTT/HTTP: Less Hackable
My Shelly Plus 1 relays expose a full HTTP REST API and speak MQTT natively. I can curl them from a terminal. I can write custom scripts. I can integrate them with anything that speaks HTTP or MQTT, no middleware needed.
Matter is a different story. It’s standardized, which is good for ecosystem compatibility, but it’s a closed protocol from a hackability standpoint. You can’t just curl a Matter device. You interact with it through a Matter controller (Home Assistant, Apple Home, etc.), and you get the attributes and commands that the Matter specification defines. Nothing more.
For most people, that’s fine. For someone like me who writes custom MQTT automations and wants raw access to device state, it’s a step backward from Shelly’s openness.
The Comparison Table
| Feature | Sonoff Basic Gen5 | Shelly Plus 1 | Sonoff ZBMINI-L2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$6 (4-pack) | ~$12 | ~$12 |
| Protocol | Matter over WiFi | WiFi (HTTP/MQTT) | Zigbee 3.0 |
| Local Control | Yes (Matter LAN) | Yes (HTTP/MQTT) | Yes (via Z2M/ZHA) |
| Neutral Required | Yes | Yes | No |
| HA Integration | Matter | Native/MQTT | Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA |
| Energy Monitoring | No (only 1GSP) | No (Plus 1PM does) | No |
| Custom API Access | No | Full HTTP + MQTT | Via Z2M MQTT |
| Network Impact | WiFi (2.4GHz) | WiFi (2.4GHz) | Zigbee (separate mesh) |
| Best For | New Matter setups, budget builds | Tinkerers, custom automation | No-neutral boxes, mesh reliability |
Who Should Actually Buy These?
Buy the Gen5 if: You’re building a new home (with neutral wires everywhere), want the cheapest possible smart switches, and plan to use Home Assistant or Apple Home as your Matter controller. At $6 per switch, you can outfit an entire house for under $150. That’s genuinely impressive.
Skip the Gen5 if: You already have a working Shelly or Zigbee setup, you have switch boxes without neutral, or you want custom API access for advanced automations. There’s no compelling reason to replace working infrastructure for a $6 savings per device.
Consider the TX Gen2 if: You want a wall-mounted touch panel instead of hiding a relay behind an existing switch. The TX Gen2 looks clean and modern, but it’s locked to the Matter ecosystem with no MQTT fallback.
My Honest Verdict
I’m not switching. My Zigbee mesh handles 40+ devices without touching my WiFi, my Shelly relays give me full API access, and half my switch boxes don’t have neutral wires. The Gen5 doesn’t solve any problem I currently have.
But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted for my garage and shed (where I do have neutral, and where I don’t care about mesh reliability). At $6 each, it’s hard to argue against throwing a few Gen5 switches in utility locations where I just want simple on/off control through Home Assistant.
For people starting fresh in 2026, especially those going all-in on Matter, the Gen5 is probably the best budget smart switch available right now. Check our comparison page if you’re weighing these against other brands in the same price range.
The real winner here isn’t existing users like me. It’s the person wiring a new build who wants local smart switches at the lowest possible cost, without dealing with Zigbee coordinators or learning MQTT. Matter just works. And at $6, it works cheap.
Sonoff’s also been making moves with their NSPanel Pro Gen2 as a Matter bridge, which tells me they’re serious about the Matter ecosystem long-term. If you’re curious about where Chinese smart home brands are heading in 2026, Sonoff’s Gen5 line is a strong signal: cheap, local, no cloud required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Sonoff Basic Gen5 work without internet?
Yes. Once commissioned via BLE, the Gen5 operates entirely over your local network using Matter. Schedules, on/off commands, and inching mode all work without an internet connection. Your Matter controller (Home Assistant, Apple Home) communicates directly with the switch over WiFi LAN.
Can I use the Sonoff Basic Gen5 without a neutral wire?
No. The Gen5 requires a neutral wire in the switch box. If your wiring doesn’t include neutral (common in older European and some US homes), you’ll need the Sonoff ZBMINI-L2 instead, which works without neutral but uses Zigbee rather than Matter.
Is the Sonoff Basic Gen5 better than Shelly Plus 1?
It depends on what you value. The Gen5 is cheaper ($6 vs $12) and works with more ecosystems out of the box via Matter. But the Shelly Plus 1 offers full HTTP and MQTT API access, making it far more flexible for custom automations. If you want hackability, Shelly wins. If you want cheap and simple, Gen5 wins.
Does the Sonoff Gen5 work with Home Assistant?
Yes, directly through the Matter integration in Home Assistant. No bridge or cloud account needed. You commission the device with BLE during setup, and it appears as a local Matter device. Response times are comparable to native WiFi integrations.
Should I replace my existing Zigbee switches with Sonoff Gen5 Matter switches?
Probably not. If your Zigbee mesh is running well (and mine is, with 40+ devices on a ConBee III), there’s no practical benefit to replacing it with WiFi-based Matter switches. You’d be adding WiFi congestion, losing mesh reliability, and gaining nothing except a slightly cheaper per-unit cost on devices you’ve already paid for. The Gen5 makes sense for new installs, not replacements.