I was in the same boat. Dumped my samsung buttons due to battery drain. I went with the Sonoff's as well. I haven't had them long so I can't really comment on them. But, I had to replace 2 buttons that only my wife uses and she is happy with them. I would have personally liked them to be a bit smaller and encompassed the whole device like the samsung and hue. Anyway, I picked up 3 on ebay for $10 each. Shipped from China but I received them in less than 2 weeks.
That's interesting. I don't know how long the battery has lasted in my button it has been going that long. I think I have replaced it once in several years.
I got four of the Sonoff button for $38 shipped so well worth trying them out.
I have two Samsung buttons and I replace the battery maybe once every year or two? I haven't kept close track, but they seem to last forever. Not sure why the difference between us, mine don't get much use.
Mine used to be rock solid. I've had some of them since my ST days many, many moons ago. Started over a year ago. I thought I had a bad batch of batteries. Have since tried another batch that is working well in other devices but the batteries drained in a few months in my buttons. I have one button that drains in 2 months like clock work. I also have a button that lasts about a year. I mixed it up with the others in a recent move and didn't feel like experimenting to find it. There are a few of us that have posted the same issue. I was hoping it was firmware as it's my favorite button device. I confirmed with someone who does not have the battery drain issue and our firmware is the same. As usual YMMV.
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I'm curious. I assumed, because you mentioned battery life, that might be the issue. Why are you looking for an alternative? The smartthings buttons are still being sold, rebranded, of course. Having typed that I have no idea if they're comparable.
AFAIK all the Aeotec rebranded ST devices are compatible w/HE.
If I needed one for a critical application I would likely go that route. It never hurts to have another source. I picked up four buttons for $38 so it is worth exploring the options.
Right now the first task I have is a simple rule to turn on an outlet for a set amount of time. I have a shelf with various battery chargers. One tap of the button turns on the chargers and maybe six hours later turns it off. In this case it would be obvious if it failed and wouldn't be that big of a deal so I'll try the $9 button. 
Cost isn't always a driving factor. All of my lights are RGB and are connected through smart switches. Definitely not the cheapest install. 
Yes they do work just fine. Mine has been up and running flawlessly for at least 15 months and reports 22% battery remaining. It gets used a couple of times a day.
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Not sure if you misread that or are just commenting but I meant comparable to the old Samsung buttons.
The buttons showed up today. It paired quickly but used the generic device driver. I changed it to the Sonoff driver and ran configure. It still wasn't recognized. So I did a reset and repaired the button. After the second time it is now responding.
First impression isn't bad. Other than the pairing issues it seems solid. It has a fairly strong magnet built in and comes with a metal plate you can mount to the wall for it to stick to, The stickers are a bit cheesy. I might run one through the laser to see if it takes an engraving.
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