The cheap option can be the right one
SONOFF Basic Gen5 has a convincing reason to exist: a single switch was listed at $5.99 in the US store on September 9, 2026, including tax as listed by SONOFF, with shipping and cart promotions separate. It adds remote on/off control to one suitable circuit, with direct Matter over Wi-Fi and a physical button on the case. If that is the entire job, paying for a more elaborate relay may achieve very little.
The low price comes with clear omissions. There is no energy monitoring and no dimming. You will not learn how much the connected load consumes, or adjust an ordinary light's brightness. That makes Basic Gen5 a reasonable economy choice for simple switching, and a poor purchase for a project built around consumption data.
Give the larger case somewhere to live
At 80.5 × 41.5 × 23.6 mm, Basic Gen5 is more than twice the length of MINIR4M. Its covered terminals, mounting holes and top button suit an indoor inline installation with room to secure the module and reach it later. It is less appealing behind a crowded wall switch.
The $5.99 buys the hardware, not a finished plug-in product. It requires a neutral, a suitable mains installation and a qualified electrician. The 10 A rating is specifically for resistive loads. A small purchase price does not remove that installation cost, which can matter much more than saving a few dollars on the module.
Where the space and installation already suit it, the larger housing is an acceptable tradeoff. There is no benefit in paying for miniature packaging that the job does not need.
Magic Switch is an extra with strings attached
Magic Switch lets a compatible conventional rocker change the light state while the module remains online. It could be useful in a planned lighting retrofit, but the name sounds broader than the actual feature: SONOFF limits it to eWeLink, compatible double-pole rocker switches, and suitable 3–100 W LED, energy-saving or incandescent lamps.
We would buy Basic Gen5 for its ordinary switching first. Magic Switch is a bonus when the exact lighting arrangement fits, rather than a universal way to make any wall switch smart. Standard Matter control works across the major platforms; these extra SONOFF behaviors do not automatically appear there.
Where the upgrade is worth paying for
The $12.90 MINIR4M makes sense when the smaller body and broader external-switch support solve a physical retrofit problem. The $19.90 MINI ONE PM is the more useful upgrade when you want energy readings and local browser control as well as switching. These are listed US prices from the same check, before cart promotions.
Stay with Basic Gen5 when a simple on/off command is enough and its larger case fits. Its appeal is the modest cost of doing that one job, not a long list of features you have to work around.
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