We are an official reseller of both. That saves us from pretending one brand is holy.
Use Sonoff when the job is a geyser, a gate, or a tight budget. Use Shelly when you already know Home Assistant is the brain and you want local control without a fight. Use both in the same house. That is most of our installs.
Head to head
| Sonoff | Shelly | |
|---|---|---|
| Price in SA | Usually lower | Usually higher per relay |
| Best first job here | Geyser timer, gate relay | Lights, hidden relays, power monitoring on smaller loads |
| App | eWeLink | Shelly app |
| Home Assistant | Works, some devices happier than others | Excellent local API, first-class for many people |
| Geyser 3 kW | POW Elite 20A is the tool we reach for | Not the default in our cupboard |
| Gate motor | Cover-style gate relay is cheap and common | Possible, often overkill |
| Matter / newer Wi‑Fi | Catching up, depends on the line | Gen4 line is where a lot of the energy is |
| “My uncle can pair it” | Slightly more familiar in SA WhatsApp groups | Fine if you can read a label |
Sonoff is not cheap junk
The reputation comes from old Basics on bad Wi‑Fi. A POW Elite on a 3 kW element, isolated properly, is a workhorse. Stock and spares are easy. eWeLink is good enough to prove the circuit.
Where Sonoff annoys people:
- Cloud habits on older pairings
- Wi‑Fi range in a steel gate box
- Mixing five generations of firmware in one house
Fix: name devices, prefer current stock, bring them into Home Assistant when the pile grows. See Home Assistant in South Africa.
Shelly is not automatically “better”
Shelly is nicer to live with once you are in Home Assistant. Local control is the product. The app is clean. The modules fit behind a switch if there is space, which in older SA boxes is not guaranteed.
Where Shelly annoys people:
- Price when you need twenty of them
- Assuming every wall box has a neutral and room
- Buying Gen whatever because Twitter said so, then stocking one unit
What we put on which circuit
- Geyser 3 kW → Sonoff POW Elite. Argument over. Why.
- Gate / garage → Sonoff gate relay unless there is a reason not to.
- Hidden lighting relays in a house headed for Home Assistant → Shelly 1 / 1 Mini class if stock and space allow.
- Power monitoring on a plug circuit → either, match the amps.
- Family who will only ever open one vendor app → pick one brand and stop mixing for fun.
Wi‑Fi is the real enemy, not the logo
Both die in a geyser cupboard with one bar. Both live forever on a decent 2.4 GHz network with the hub on ethernet. Brand wars are easier than walking to the router with a phone.
Mixing brands
Fine. Home Assistant is how you mix without teaching your partner two apps. Until then, do not mix just to see.
Shop both shelves: Sonoff and Shelly.
FAQ
Which is better in South Africa? Neither, in the abstract. Sonoff for geyser and gate. Shelly for local-first lighting. That covers 80% of houses.
Which is better for Home Assistant? Shelly is usually less drama. Sonoff is fine if you buy current models and you are willing to configure them properly.
Can I start Sonoff and add Shelly later? Yes. That is a normal path.
Is Tuya the third option? It exists. We reach for Sonoff and Shelly first because support and local control are less of a lottery.
Will you pick for me? Send the circuit (geyser / gate / light / plug) and the amp rating. The job picks.
