Zigbee is an encrypted telecommunication protocol. (Wi-Fi & Bluetooth are also telecommunication protocols). We believe Zigbee is a fundamental aspect for our smart home solutions as it allows enhanced capabilities for smart home devices. Please refer to the table below to compare the difference with Wi-Fi and Zigbee.
Wi-Fi | Zigbee | Zigbee Advantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
Capacity | Residential Router - around 40 units Connecting over the limit can cause unstable and drop out connection. Adding additional routers increase units in small increments | 85+ Devices per gateway Additional gateways stack. E.g. 2 Zigbee gateways means 170+ devices | Supports bigger capacity - ensuring stability and no dropouts with more devices |
Transmit Speed | Higher Latency Has higher bandwidth to support video data transfer. For Security camera, Ethernet (Wired) is more reliable and stable. | Lower Latency = Faster speed Doesn’t support video data transfer - you can use Ethernet for security camera and control panel | Zigbee focuses solely on simple data communication, making it faster. This is more suitable for Smart home commands and group functions. |
Coverage | Wi-Fi repeaters are needed to extend coverage Repeater takes an existing signal from a wireless router rebroadcasts it to create a second network | Zigbee products itself can act like a “repeater” Zigbee gateways may be needed if the gap between Zigbee product is too far. | Zigbee uses less products and the smart Zigbee devices itself can link and expand the coverage. |
Power Consumption | Higher power consumption Constantly relies on direct power supply and has higher power consumption | Lower power consumption Uses less power which also means better battery life | Zigbee generally uses less power and some devices uses batteries. |