Z-Wave vs Zigbee in Germany

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Hi!

this has probably been asked a few times already and I researched a bit, but I couldn’t find a good answer yet. So basically I want to try settling on mostly ONE technology for my smart home and can’t decide between Z-Wave and Zigbee.
I’m not really deep in the smart home thing, so I don’t have a lot of devices yet. Just 2 AVM plugs and a IKEA Gateway with a dimmable bulb. I’ve read a bit about Z-Wave and Zigbee but my main concern is the availability of the respective devices in Germany. They also shouldn’t be too expensive. I’ll just post the question that pop into my head, maybe you guys can help me out.

  1. Is it correct, that using a Zigbee stick would make my IKEA Gateway obsolete?
  2. How actively developed is the ZHA? I would probably prefer using the built in integration to avoid the hassle of maintaining third party stuff
  3. Which devices are supported by ZHA? I suppose it depends on the stick I use. And if so, which one is the best to use?
  4. Which technology has more devices that are easily available (and more affordable) in Germany?

I can’t think of any other question ad hoc. As for the reliability I guess they are more or less the same from what I’ve read with some exceptions for some people.

Thanks for the help in advance!

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Yes

It’s actively developed.

Most devices that comply to the ZigBee Standards work with ZHA.

Easily available-> both, you can also order devices from GearBest. I ordered lots of Xiaomi ZigBee sensors extremly cheap. E.g. On a sale I got 15 Xiaomi door/Window sensors for less than 100 Swiss Francs.
More affordable-> ZigBee

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Does that mean that I can use all the devices supported by ZHA no matter what controller I use? I’m asking because I’ve seen compatibility lists on those sticks and I’m wondering, if I have to go by this list or by ZHA

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It doesn’t depend on the stick. If the stick works with ZHA, you can connect all devices that are supported by ZHA.

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Thanks for the input! I guess the compatibility lists on the sticks are for the app that often comes with it then. The list of the ZHA supported devices is pretty big from what I’ve seen, which is reassuring.
I couldn’t find a carbon monoxide sensor though unfortunately. That’s something I wanted to get, since I move to a place with gas 2 months ago.

Do you use Zigbee yourself? How is it working for you regarding connection of devices and reliability?