7
Bluetooth 5 vs. Zigbee 3.0—How Do Home Automation Features Stack Up?
The table below represents a head-to-head comparison of Zigbee 3.0 and Bluetooth 5 home automation features. Data for
this and the following table was presented in a Mouser-sponsored webinar in April 2017. The cells marked in red show an
advantage of one protocol over another.
As shown, Bluetooth 5 has the specification advantage when compared head to head. But, the fact that Bluetooth 5 is still
relatively new requires some caution in predicting performance in the medium-to-long term. That said, head-to-head, it looks
like Bluetooth 5 is the performance winner.
Though home automation is currently in the spotlight, the real jackpot for IoT and mesh networked communications is the
Industrial IoT (IIoT). Industrial and commercial automation applications can take advantage of performance advances in
Bluetooth 5, Zigbee 3.0, and other protocols.
Table 2: How Industrial IoT (IIoT) Needs are Different from Consumer IoT
Commercial building and factory automation represent major new markets for low-power mesh networks. These segments
demand heavy-duty, industrial-grade solutions and have tight reliability, scalability, and security requirements that Bluetooth
mesh in particular seems positioned to deliver.
Zigbee 3.0 Bluetooth 5
Power Consumption
Moderate Very low
Battery Life
2 years (More with Green Power) Up to 10 years
Maximum Range (indoor)
92m 182m
Maximum Data Transfer Rate
250kbps 2000kbps
Overall Cost
Moderate Low
Industry Support
Growing Ubiquitous/everywhere
Industrial Devices Consumer Devices
Battery Life
Up to 10 years Several days
Connectivity
Wide Limited
Hardware Life
Possibly decades A few years
Cloud Integration
Possible Extensive
Security
Critical Important
Reliability
Essential Important
Data
Extensive Minor
Beaconing
Vast Minimal
Table 1: Zigbee 3.0 vs. Bluetooth 5 Specifications Compared
