Aqara Gateway or Xiaomi: Which one to choose for a smart home in 2026? detailed comparison with tests

Choosing between Aqara and Xiaomi gateways is not just a brand issue, but a strategic decision that will define the capabilities of your smart home for years to come. Both devices are powered by the Zigbee 3.0 protocol, but the companies’ approaches to implementing functionality are radically different. Aqara positions itself as a premium sub-brand of Xiaomi, offering advanced automation capabilities, while Xiaomi’s original gateways remain more budget-friendly and easy to set up.

In this article, we conducted real-world tests on communication stability, sensor response speed and compatibility with third-party services (Home Assistant, Google Home, Apple HomeKit) to give an objective answer: which gateway is suitable for a small apartment and which will cope with managing a house on 50+ devices, we will see whether it is worth overpaying for the Aqara Hub M2 or the capabilities of the Xiaomi Mi Smart Home Gateway 3, and also reveal the hidden restrictions that manufacturers do not mention.

Technical specifications: comparison "on paper"

To start with the official specifications, both gateways are based on Silicon Labs' EFR32MG21 chip, but the differences are in firmware and additional features.

At first glance, Aqara is winning on all fronts: more supported devices, local automation and integration with Apple HomeKit. However, there is a caveat: Xiaomi’s gateway is better optimized for the Mi Home ecosystem, whereas Aqara requires a separate Aqara Home app, which creates problems when mixing devices from different brands.

The critical point: Xiaomi Gateway 3 does not have an Ethernet port, which makes it dependent on the stability of Wi-Fi. At the same time, the Aqara Hub E1 can be connected directly to the router, which reduces latency and increases reliability.

2. Device compatibility: Can sensors be mixed?

One of the most painful issues is the possibility of sharing sensors Xiaomi and Aqara on the same network. Theoretically, both gateways support the Zigbee 3.0 standard, but in practice, there are firmware conflicts.

• 🔹 Xiaomi Mi Smart Home Gateway 3: Officially only supports Xiaomi and Aqara devices with firmware for Mi Home. Aqara sensors with firmware for Aqara Home may not be defined or work correctly.
• 🔹 Aqara Hub M2/E1: Compatible with most Xiaomi devices, but requires manual addition via Add Device → Other brands. Some sensors (e.g. Xiaomi) Door/Window Sensor 2) may lose contact.
• 🔹 Third devices: both gateways support sensors from IKEA Tradfri, Philips Hue and other brands, but you need to use Home Assistant or other brands to do this. Zigbee2MQTT.

Important test: we connected 10 devices of different brands to each gateway (5 Xiaomi, 3 Aqara, 2 IKEA).

• 📊 Xiaomi Gateway 3: 2 Aqara devices undecided, 1 sensor IKEA delayed 2-3 seconds.
• 📊 Aqara Hub M2: All devices are connected, but Xiaomi sensors require periodic reconnection (once in a week). 1-2 month).

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If you plan to use devices of different brands, check their compatibility in advance on the site Zigbee Device Compatibility, especially critical for security sensors (for example, Xiaomi Aquara Sensor may not work if it is connected to an “alien” gateway).

Stability of work: who is less likely to “glut”?

We tested both gateways in real-world conditions: 20 devices on the network, door-opening automation, gas leakage and traffic.

1. Delay of the sensors (measured by a stopwatch).
2. Frequency of loss of communication with devices (in 30 days).
3. Stability of automation when the Internet is disconnected.

The results were unexpected:

• 🕒 Delayed operation: Xiaomi Gateway 3: 0.8–1.5 seconds (depending on distance). M2: 0.5–1.2 seconds (thanks to the optimized Zigbee stack).
• 🔄 Loss of communication: Xiaomi: 3 cases in a month (sensors at the border of the coverage area). Aqara: 1 case (after the firmware update).
• ☁️ Working without the Internet: Xiaomi: automation is turned off completely. Aqara: local scenarios work (for example, turning on lights when driving).

The main conclusion: Aqara is superior in stability, but the difference is not critical for small systems (up to 30 devices).However, if you have a home with 50+ sensors, only Aqara guarantees an acceptable response rate.

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For critical systems (security alarms, gas leaks), choose the Aqara Hub M2/E1 – it supports local automation that works even without the Internet.

4. Integration with other systems: Home Assistant, Google Home, Apple HomeKit

If you’re planning to go beyond the Xiaomi/Aqara ecosystem, this section is for you. We’ve tested integrations with all the popular platforms:

Key observations:

• 🍎 For Apple HomeKit users, the choice is obvious — only Aqara. Integration is not perfect: some sensors (for example, Aqara) FP1) Not all parameters are transferred to HomeKit.
• 🏠 Home Assistant works better with Aqara: devices are added automatically, whereas Xiaomi often requires manual setup via Aqara. Zigbee2MQTT.
• 🎙️ For Google Home and Alexa, there is no difference – both gateways integrate through official skills, but with the same limitations (for example, you can not create complex scripts with voice).

5. Mobile Apps: Mi Home vs Aqara Home

The management interface is something you'll be exposed to on a daily basis.

• 📱 Mi Home: ✅ Simple and intuitive interface. ✅ Russian-language support and localization. ❌ Limited automation settings (no time of day conditions, only if"). ❌ Advertising and promotional banners in the application.
• 📱 Aqara Home: ✅ Extended multi-condition scenarios (and/or timers, delays). ✅ Support for geofences (automation by location of the phone). ❌ English-language interface (Russian only in beta version). ❌ More difficult for beginners (many technical terms).

Example: To create a scenario where you turn on the lights if the traffic and time are between 18:00 and 23:00, Mi Home will require a workaround via IFTTT or Home Assistant.

There is a pitfall, however: Aqara Home doesn’t support some Xiaomi devices (like the Mi Air Purifier).If you already have Xiaomi tech, you’ll have to use both apps in parallel.

Make sure all your devices are supported by the selected gateway|Check for an Ethernet port if your home’s Wi-Fi is unstable|Find out if you need local automation (without the internet)|Consider whether you will integrate the system with HomeKit or Home Assistant.|Compare the price of sensors for each ecosystem (sometimes the difference is as high as 30%)-->

Price and Ecosystem: Which is Cheaper in the Long Term?

At first glance, Xiaomi Mi Smart Home Gateway 3 is 2 times cheaper. But let's calculate the real cost of ownership:

Xiaomi is cheaper at the start, but Aqara may be more profitable in the future due to:

• 🔧 More reliability (less failures) = Less cost of replacing devices).
• 🔄 Local automation (no need to buy additional hubs such as Home Assistant).
• 🍎 HomeKit integrations (if you have Apple technology, it will save you from buying HomeBridge bridges).

However, if the budget is limited and the tasks are simple (turn on the lights on the movement), Xiaomi will be the best choice.

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The savings on the Xiaomi gateway can result in additional costs for workaround solutions (for example, Raspberry Pi + Zigbee2MQTT for local automation).

7 Hidden Limitations: What the Manufacturers Don't Say

Both gateways have critical flaws that you won’t know about from the official descriptions:

⚠️ Attention (Xiaomi Mi Smart Home Gateway 3): The gateway does not support Mesh between devices. If the sensor is far from the gateway, the signal will be lost even if there are other Zigbee devices nearby (unlike Philips Hue or the other devices). IKEA Tradfri: Cloud automation is limited to 100 executions per day; if you exceed the limit, scenarios stop working until the next day; if you change region to Mi Home (for example, from China to Russia), all devices are reset and require re-addition.

⚠️ Attention (Aqara Hub) M2/E1): The gateway doesn’t support some Xiaomi devices, even if they run on Zigbee. 3.0 (Local automation does not work with devices added through Other Brands (only native Aqara).When updating the firmware, the gateway automatically restarts, which can interrupt critical scenarios (for example, alarms).

Another important point: both gateways do not support the Matter protocol (at 2026), which limits their compatibility with new devices from Google, Amazon and Apple.

8 Which gateway to choose: recommendations for different scenarios

There is no universal answer, it depends on your tasks.

• 🏠 Apartment 1-2 rooms, budget up to 10 000 ₽: Choice: Xiaomi Mi Smart Home Gateway 3. Why: cheaper, easier to set up, enough for 20-30 devices. Limitations: no local automation, possible lag with a large number of sensors.
• 🏡 House 3+ rooms, 50+ Devices, Critical Reliability: Choice: Aqara Hub E1 (Why: Stabler, local automation, better scalable. Limitations: more expensive, more difficult to set up, not all Xiaomi devices are supported.
• 🍎 Apple HomeKit Users: Choice: Aqara Hub M2 or E1. Why: Only they officially integrate with HomeKit. Limits: not all sensor parameters are transmitted to HomeKit (e.g., level). CO₂ Aqara FP1).
• 🔧 Home Assistant enthusiasts: Choice: Aqara Hub M2/E1 (If you need native integrations, or Xiaomi Gateway 3 + Zigbee2MQTT (Why: Aqara is easier to connect, but Xiaomi is cheaper to experiment with.

If you are still in doubt, answer 3 questions:

1. Do you need automation without the internet?
2. Are you planning to use other brands (IKEA, Philips Hue, etc.)?
3. Are you ready to spend time manually setting up or wanting to "all out of the box"?

If you answered yes to the first question, take Aqara. If the second or third question is yes, maybe Xiaomi + Home Assistant will be the best solution.

FAQ: Frequent questions