While it is not as versatile, it is suitable for most simple DIY IoT projects. However, it has some limitations in the GPIO mapping, and it may not have enough pins to perform the operations you intend to perform. In terms of cost, both are low-cost products, but the cost of ESP32 is slightly higher, and the cost of ESP32 is twice that of ESP8266. Since the ESP8266 has been on the market for a longer time, it can get more support in terms of software and will be easier to use and more compatible. However, the ESP8266 has some limitations in GPIO mapping and does not have enough pins to operate.

ESP32 vs. ESP8266 – Which Microcontroller is Right for Your IoT Project?

For comparison, here is the pinout diagram for the ESP8266 ESP-12E NodeMCU development board. The ESP32 does have a ULP (Ultra Low Power) processor that is anentirely separate processor which can do simple tasks, even while themain system is asleep. The big problem with this processor is that ithas a subset language and is very difficult to use. That said, if youreally need ulra low power battery operation then this is the way to doit.

Project: Running Wifi Microcontrollers on Battery

We won’t focus solely on the fastest MCU, the most power-efficient one, or the one offering the best value for money. Instead, we’ll consider various factors, including processing power, connectivity features, hardware specifications, development environments, pricing, and more. Both have 32-bit processor, ESP32 is dual core 80Mhz to 240MHz CPU and ESP8266 is 160MHz single core  processor. The ESP32 is much more powerful than the ESP8266, with more versatile GPIOs, faster Wi-Fi, and support for Bluetooth. However, many people think that the ESP32 is harder to handle than the ESP8266 because it is more complex.

Microcontroller Unit

This explains why the ESP8266 remains a popular choice for many, despite not being the top performer. If you have an Internet of Things project in mind, you’ll inevitably face the choice between these two MCU heavyweights. They are small, low-power Wi-Fi-enabled microcontrollers with 32-bit CPUs ideal for controlling a wide range of electronics projects. NodeMCU is basically a development board for ESP8266, it contains 3.3V power supply required for ESP8266 and USB to serial converter  for easy programming. With this board and a USB cable you can start your development of ESP8266. Our more common ESP32 and ESP8266 development boards are the ESP32 DEVKIT DOIT Development Board and the ESP8266 ESP-12E NodeMCU Kit, and these are the ones we recommend for beginners.

The ESP32 has more GPIO pins than the ESP8266 and also supports more analog input. It’s often used in more complex projects that require multiple sensors with multiple variables. Suppose you’re building a smart home system that controls the lighting and temperature in your home using a mobile app. In this case, you need a board with Wi-Fi connectivity, enough GPIOs to connect to a few sensors and actuators, and low power consumption, as the system will run 24/7. However, the ESP32 is still an affordable option for building IoT projects, and its additional features and capabilities make it a better choice for more complex applications. MCUs are designed for simpler applications that don’t need a full-fledged operating system.

ESP8266 Pinout

The ESP8266 is more mature in terms of software support and is easier to use, while the ESP32 may have some software support limitations in some areas. In this instance, you don’t need the device powered up and continuously doing WiFi operations. This is also why you can dedicate some of the Flash memory to afile system called SPIFFS or FATFS. That allows you to do some fancy stuffemulating an SD card within the flash memory itself.

Both boards have advanced power-saving technologies to minimize power consumption effectively. If not set in code, the default is on the defined pins, as shown below (using the ESP32 DEVKIT V1 DOIT board (36GPIOS version) as an example) – pin locations can vary by manufacturer). When the number of elements that need to communicate in a chip is small, a simple crossbar approach to the interconnect function is a possible choice. 1 The energy-efficient design is low, which may have some impact on battery life, especially in low-power applications that need to run for long periods of time. 2 Built-in Bluetooth and WiFi functionality, eliminating the need to purchase additional modules and reducing costs. The ESP8266 has been on the market for a long time and can get more support in software, which will be more convenient and compatible to use.

You can choose to either copy & paste the parts number and quantity into our bulk search function to find all your parts faster! From the search results, easily add any parts to your RFQ as required. The ESP32 emerges as the overall winner, earning the title of the top Wi-Fi-enabled MCU. Your decision should be guided by your project’s specific needs rather than just performance metrics. While the ESP32 excels in many areas, it lags behind in simplicity and power efficiency, which is why the ESP8266 remains popular for many users.

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1. ESP32 is a more expensive and powerful option, with more RAM and ROM, as well as support for Bluetooth and WiFi.
2. Therefore, in terms of programming support and community resources, both the ESP8266 and ESP32 offer extensive options and robust support.
3. Temperature sensor will not be very accurate, since is influenced by the CPU activity.
4. It offers a single-core processor and is known for its simplicity, making it an attractive choice for entry-level projects and applications where Wi-Fi connectivity is the primary requirement.
5. Other than warnings that the ESP8266 demanded a high -power supply due to its high peak current consumption, I have seen little data published on ESP8266 energy consumption, or power management.

The ESP32 development has power, which allows better security and larger RAM  for projects, which you cannot run in ESP8266. This is only because of its broad range of the operating temperature. It also offers an energy-saving architecture and a Tensilica processor of 32-bit.

The board also has 34 GPIOs and 2 ADC pins, providing ample connectivity options for various sensors and other peripherals. Both the ESP8266 and ESP32 SoC microcontrollers provide makers with an Internet communication device, but the ESP32 is the clear winner in this case. The ESP8266 can be directly programmed by the Arduino IDE, although it is often more complex to do so whereas the ESP32 is easily programmed. The faster processor and greater memory size of the ESP32 allow for considerably larger projects to be designed on a single SoC, and the strong security features of the ESP32 make it a more secure device. Moreover, the ESP32 is a reliable board, granted its firmware and connected peripherals may at times be unreliable.

This implies that, more often than not, the same script can be applied interchangeably for both ESP32 and ESP8266. Furthermore, the ESP32 incorporates 10 capacitive sensing GPIOs capable of detecting touch, facilitating event triggering, or waking up the ESP32 from a deep sleep, among other applications. Please use the security code from your email to reset your password. Here’s a table that compares the ESP8266 and ESP32 specifications and features in depth. This table serves as a reference point, summarizing each microcontroller’s capabilities and offerings.

Therefore, if you are building a simple IoT project, the ESP8266 may be able to do so at a lower price. However, as time goes on and ESP32 is widely adopted, these differences in development and libraries will not be noticed. The ESP32 has embedded flash memory of different sizes and supports multiple external QSPI flash and SRAM chips (up to 16MB). The ESP32 has more GPIOs than the ESP8266, and you can decide which pins are UART, I2C, SPI – you need to set this in your code. This is possible because the multiplexing feature of the ESP32 chip allows you to assign multiple functions to the same pin. We update the value displayed on the arc by calling the lv_arc_set_value() function.

On the other hand, if you need more processing power, extra memory, and features like Bluetooth, the ESP32 is the clear winner. When comparing two microcontrollers, it’s important to know what types of peripheral interfaces they have. These interfaces are the primary means by which the microcontrollers communicate with sensors and other devices, and they have a big impact on the complexity and type of projects that you can build. The ESP32, which was introduced in 2016, is the successor to the ESP8266 and offers several improvements over it. These include a faster processor, faster Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity, more GPIO pins, and several other features.

But AT commands can be complex to work with which is why it is often advised to use a pre-existing library on the microcontroller to handle these commands. Additionally, both microcontrollers support programming in MicroPython, https://traderoom.info/brainwagon-the-esp32-vs-the-esp8266/ Lua, JavaScript, and other languages (a comprehensive list is available on their wiki). The developer community for both boards is large and active, offering plenty of online forums, extensive libraries, and tutorials.