ESP8266 and ESP32 Differences in One Single Table

Espressif Systems ESP8266 is a very popular platform for IoT applications relying on WiFi, at least for hobbyists, while Espressif ESP32 is the new solution from the company that adds a CPU core, faster WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, and various I/Os which should launch very soon. Amica.io released a table showing the main differences between the two processors which are expected to coexist in the market with ESP8266 used in the lower-cost segment, and ESP32 in applications requiring WiFi and Bluetooth, or some of the new interfaces.

ESP8266 vs ESP32

Some of the features were clearly listed when ESP32 was first announced, but for example, I was not aware that an Ethernet MAC, and a temperature sensor were built into the new SoC. Other interesting features for the new ESP32 processor include a touch sensor, and hardware PWM both of which are missing in ESP8266.

The new dual-core processor also builds on existing features, as ESP32 provides more GPIO, additional software PWM channels,  higher SRAM capacity, and an increased ADC resolution to 12-bit. The operating temperature range remains the same at -40°C to 125°C, as well as the maximum SPI flash capacity of 16 MB.

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22 Comments
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onebir
onebir
7 years ago

Has the frequency really doubled? 160MHz is pretty fast for an MCU…

chris
chris
1 year ago

Most ESP32’s are 240mhz actually

Marius Cirsta
7 years ago

This makes ESP32 look really exciting. ESP8266 wasn’t bad but this new one seems even better and it seems to have almost anything you could ask for.

Jon Smirl
7 years ago

And there are still things hidden in the ESP32 that haven’t been found yet. It is like an Easter Egg hunt!

paul
paul
7 years ago

Is there any data on energy consumption, both in idle when no data is being sent/received, when transmitting, and during periods of max consumption ?

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.

deets
deets
7 years ago
deets
deets
7 years ago

Is 512k correct? I thought it was closer to 400k and approx 200k free for user app.

bob
bob
7 years ago

@onebir
Esp8266 support already 160mhz cpu frequency so no change with esp32

Alex
Alex
5 years ago

esp8266 is 80MHz – 160MHz, esp32 is 160MHz – 240MHz. When the 8266 is clocked at 160MHz, wifi reliability goes down. Since the 32 is duel core, I suspect it doesn’t have the same drawback at higher clock speeds.

John Gentilin
John Gentilin
7 years ago

Any update on how many https sessions will be supported, 8266 is only 1.

xxiao
xxiao
7 years ago

what will be the price then, relative to ESP8266

Jon Smirl
7 years ago

@xxiao

I don’t think they have set the price exactly yet. But that have said “only a little more”.

deets
deets
7 years ago

@John Gentilin
Esp8266 can support multiple SSL if you customize the firmware but ram is limited. With close to 4x as much ram and hardware crypto engine esp32 should support many more. Of course still depends on the right SDK configurations.

Iridiumsat
Iridiumsat
7 years ago

Refer to above table,
if ESP8266 really has a second uart, so no need to switch uart from programming and run mode anymore!

Drone
Drone
7 years ago

“One Single Table” is redundant. But thanks for the post regardless 🙂

BCatalin
7 years ago

Temperature sensor will not be very accurate, since is influenced by the CPU activity. EspressIf also recommend to read temperature before starting the wifi, which also influence the value.

Wno
Wno
6 years ago

@onebir
Acctually isn’t too fast.. You can find ST and Renesas MCU up to 240 MHz..

Watcharakorn
Watcharakorn
5 years ago

Hi, dose the ESP 32 support OTA?

Erik Johnson
4 years ago

The 8266 does not have an I2C, and only 1 I2S device

Ken
Ken
4 years ago

What is the support model in US? Staff, locations, FAE?sales?

Jon Smirl
4 years ago

All of the big distributors in the US/EU carry Espressif now. They should have FAE support.

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