Which Radios It Bridges

Start with your devices. Zigbee bridges are common; Z-Wave bridges are rare. If you own Z-Wave locks, dimmers or sensors, your shortlist is effectively Homey Pro or Home Assistant with a Z-Wave radio.

Brand Lock-In

Aqara, THIRDREALITY and Tuya-based hubs only accept their own Zigbee devices. SONOFF, Homey and Home Assistant accept a wide range of third-party Zigbee 3.0 products. Check the maker’s supported-device list before you buy.

Device-Type Mapping

A bridge can only expose what Matter defines. Lights, plugs, contact and motion sensors, locks and thermostats map well. Scene buttons, rotary dials and niche sensors often arrive with reduced features or not at all.

Wired Network Link

The bridge talks Matter over your LAN, so a wired Ethernet or PoE connection removes the most common source of “No Response” tiles. Wi-Fi-only bridges work, but place them close to the router.

Thread and Controller Extras

Many bridges are also Thread border routers and Matter controllers. That is useful if you are adding new Thread devices, but it is a bonus, not a requirement, for bridging your old Zigbee and Z-Wave gear.

The Hue Bridge is the Matter bridge most people already own without realising it, and the Hue Bridge Pro is the new top model. Philips confirms that every Hue product connected through a Hue Bridge works with Matter, so your Zigbee bulbs, strips and sensors show up natively in Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings. The Pro steps up to a 1.7 GHz quad-core chip and 4 GB of memory, room for 150+ lights and 50+ accessories, up to 500 scenes, and MotionAware, which turns groups of Hue lights into motion sensors. Two caveats: Hue devices paired over Bluetooth only are not bridged, and the Tap dial’s rotary dial does not cross over to Matter.

The SONOFF Bridge Max is the bridge for a Zigbee network that has grown from several brands. SONOFF supports its own Zigbee devices fully and lists a wide range of third-party Zigbee devices, and the Max bridges all of them, plus BTHome Bluetooth sensors and eWeLink devices, into Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings. A standout for tinkerers: the Matter bridge is configured from a local web console on your LAN, no app or cloud required. It connects over Ethernet or dual-band Wi-Fi, carries a 90 dB siren for a local security system, syncs Zigbee devices to Home Assistant over MQTT, and can even bridge Home Assistant entities out to other Matter platforms. Existing ZBBridge Pro owners can migrate devices and scenes in one step.

Home Assistant Green is the official plug-and-play Home Assistant box: power, Ethernet, done. Add a USB Zigbee or Z-Wave radio and it will run almost any Zigbee device through ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT and any certified Z-Wave device through Z-Wave JS. To bridge all of that into Apple Home, Google Home or Alexa, install the community Home-Assistant-Matter-Hub add-on (the maintained fork after the original was archived in January 2026) or Matterbridge, which publish your HA entities as Matter bridges. This is the most flexible bridge in the guide, and the most hands-on: the bridging layer is community software rather than an official Nabu Casa feature.

The Homey Pro (Early 2023) has the same radio line-up as the 2026 model, including built-in Z-Wave Plus and Zigbee, and runs the same official Matter Bridge app, which Homey supports on 2023 through 2026 Pro hardware. What you give up is the newer model’s doubled RAM, which mostly matters if you plan to run a very large number of devices and apps. As the older model it is often the cheaper way into Homey, which makes it the value pick for anyone whose main goal is getting existing Z-Wave locks, dimmers and sensors into Apple Home or Google Home.

The Homey Pro mini gets the same Matter Bridge app and Homey Flow automations in a smaller, wired box with Zigbee, Matter, Thread and Ethernet out of the box. It is a strong multi-brand Zigbee bridge on its own. The important nuance for this guide: there is no Z-Wave radio inside. Homey says you can add Z-Wave, Bluetooth and infrared by pairing a Homey Bridge, so a mini plus a Homey Bridge is an alternative path for Z-Wave homes, but if Z-Wave is your main reason for buying, the full Homey Pro is simpler.

The Aqara Hub M100 packs Aqara’s Matter bridge, Matter controller and Thread border router into a USB-A stick you can power from a router, a charger or even a power bank. It is the cheapest way to get a handful of Aqara Zigbee sensors into Apple Home, Google Home or Alexa, and it runs basic automations locally. The limits are the point of the price: Aqara rates it for up to 20 Zigbee devices (or 40 mixed), it relies on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi rather than Ethernet, and, like the M3, the Amazon listing is explicit that it does not accept third-party Zigbee devices.

The SONOFF NSPanel Pro 120 is a 4.7-inch in-wall control panel sized for US-style boxes, with a Zigbee gateway inside. A firmware update turned it into a Matter bridge: SONOFF says it can sync SONOFF Zigbee devices, supported third-party Zigbee 3.0 devices and SONOFF Wi-Fi devices into Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa and Home Assistant in one pass, through the Matter Bridge entry in the eWeLink app. That makes it a neat two-in-one if you want a wall dashboard and a bridge without another box on the shelf. Keep the firmware and the eWeLink app current, since bridging depends on both.

Tuya and Smart Life Zigbee devices are everywhere because they are cheap, and the Zemismart M1 Pro is the bridge that finally gets them out of the Tuya app. It combines a Matter bridge, a Tuya Zigbee gateway, a Thread border router and a 38 kHz IR blaster, and the listing describes it as Matter-certified. The workflow matters: you pair Zigbee sub-devices in Tuya Smart or Smart Life first, then add the hub to Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa or SmartThings. Community testing of Tuya Matter gateways shows Tuya-branded devices bridge reliably while non-Tuya Zigbee devices are hit or miss, so treat it as a Tuya bridge.

THIRDREALITY’s affordable Zigbee plugs, sensors and night lights are popular with Home Assistant users, and the Smart Bridge MZ1 gives owners a simple path into Matter. THIRDREALITY describes it as linking THIRDREALITY Zigbee end devices to Matter, so it is a single-brand bridge, not a general Zigbee gateway. You set it up with the 3R-Matter app, which also pushes OTA updates to the bridge and your THIRDREALITY devices, and then add it to Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa or SmartThings with the Matter code. If your Zigbee gear is all THIRDREALITY, it is the cheapest bridge here.

The Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 is not a bridge on its own; it is the Z-Wave half of the DIY bridge in pick #5. Plug it into a Home Assistant Green (or any HA host) and you get the official Nabu Casa Z-Wave radio with the latest certified chipset, Z-Wave Long Range support, and an antenna and base tuned for Z-Wave’s sub-GHz band. Once your Z-Wave locks, dimmers and sensors live in Home Assistant through Z-Wave JS, the Matter Hub add-on can expose them to Apple Home, Google Home or Alexa. Together, the Green and ZWA-2 are the main non-Homey answer to “how do I get Z-Wave into Matter?”

Mix of Zigbee and Z-Wave?

Get the Homey Pro (2026), or the Early 2023 model if it is cheaper. Both bridge Z-Wave and Zigbee from one box.

Mostly Aqara devices?

The Aqara Hub M3 for big, wired setups; the M100 for a handful of sensors on a budget.

A Hue lighting system?

You already have a Matter bridge. Upgrade to the Hue Bridge Pro when you outgrow capacity or want MotionAware.

Zigbee from many brands?

The SONOFF Bridge Max accepts a wide range of third-party Zigbee and sets up from a local web page.

Love to tinker?

Home Assistant Green plus a ZWA-2 and a Zigbee dongle bridges almost anything, from any brand.

Cheap Tuya or THIRDREALITY gear?

Use the brand-matched bridge: Zemismart M1 Pro for Tuya, THIRDREALITY MZ1 for THIRDREALITY.

What is the difference between a Matter bridge and a Matter controller?

A Matter controller (HomePod, Echo, Nest hub, SmartThings hub) is what you control devices from. A Matter bridge sits between that controller and devices that do not speak Matter, translating Zigbee or Z-Wave into standard Matter device types. Many hubs here are both, but for bridging you still need a controller from your chosen ecosystem on the other end. The bridge itself joins the controller over Ethernet or Wi-Fi as one Matter node with many bridged endpoints behind it.

Can I bridge Z-Wave devices to Matter?

Yes, but the options are limited. Homey Pro bridges Z-Wave natively through its official Matter Bridge app, and Homey Pro mini can do it with a Homey Bridge added. The DIY route is Home Assistant with a Z-Wave radio such as the Connect ZWA-2, plus a bridge add-on like Home-Assistant-Matter-Hub or Matterbridge. Popular Z-Wave hubs such as Hubitat are Matter controllers but explicitly not Matter bridges, so they will not expose Z-Wave devices over Matter.

Will my third-party Zigbee devices work with any bridge?

No, and this is the most common buying mistake. Aqara hubs, THIRDREALITY’s MZ1 and Tuya-based gateways like the Zemismart M1 Pro are designed around their own brand’s Zigbee devices. SONOFF’s Bridge Max and NSPanel Pro, Homey and Home Assistant accept a much wider range of third-party Zigbee 3.0 devices. Even then, check the maker’s supported-device list for your exact model, because Zigbee implementations vary.

Do I need a Thread border router to use a Matter bridge?

Not for bridging. Bridged Zigbee and Z-Wave devices reach Matter through the bridge’s Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection, so Thread is not involved. You only need a Thread border router for native Matter-over-Thread devices. Several bridges here, including Homey Pro, Aqara M3 and M100 and Zemismart M1 Pro, include one anyway; see our Thread border router guide if you are adding Thread devices too.

Will bridged devices lose features in Apple Home or Google Home?

Sometimes. A bridge can only expose capabilities that exist as Matter device types and clusters, and each ecosystem renders a different subset. Lights, plugs, contact and motion sensors, locks and thermostats usually come across well. Multi-press buttons, rotary dials (for example the Hue Tap dial’s dial), vendor-specific modes and diagnostic data often stay in the brand app. Keep the bridge’s own app for advanced setup, and use Matter for everyday control and cross-brand automations.