A comparison of ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3 and ESP8266 modules

The ESP32-S3 chip is equipped with an Xtensa 32-bit LX7 dual-core processor clocked at up to 240 MHz, supports 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 LE, and boasts AI instructions, as well as a reliable security encryption engine, specially built for the AIoT market.

Modules based on the ESP32-S3 processor bring many benefits to designers with support for Bluetooth Long Range mode, plenty of resources with 512 KB SRAM (TCM), 45 programmable GPIO pins, and rich communication interfaces. They can also handle high-speed Octal SPI flash with higher capacities, as well as off-chip PSRAM.

So, what are the differences between the new ESP32-S3 modules, and typical ESP32-C3 and ESP8266 modules? Let’s find out.

Module's CPU	ESP32-S3	ESP8266	ESP32-C3
Frequency Range	2400~2483.5MHz
Operating Temperature	-40~85°C
Storage Temperature	-40~125°C, <90%RH
Power supply range	3.0V - 3.6V, 500mA+
Supported Interfaces	UART, GPIO, ADC, PWM, I2C, I2S, SPI, LCD, DVP, RMT, SDIO, USB OTG, MCPWM DMA, TWAI	UART, GPIO, ADC, PWM, SPI, I2C
Number of IOs	38	9	22
Typical PSRAM	64 MBit	-
Typical SPI flash	64 Mbit	16Mbit/32Mbit
CPU	Dual-core Xtensa LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with additional vector instructions for AI acceleration ULP core to handle low power modes	Single-core Xtensa L106 32-bit RISC microprocessor @ 160 MHz	Single 32-bit RISC-V (RV32IMC) core @ 160 MHz
On-chip RAM	512KB	160KB	400KB
On-chip ROM	384KB		N/A
WiFi	WiFi 4 (802.11n)
Bluetooth	BLE 5.0	N/A	BLE 5.0
Power Consumption
Modem sleep	20mA		15mA
Light sleep	240μA	2mA	130μA
Deep sleep	8μA	20μA	5μA
Hibernation	7μA	-
Power off	1μA	0.5μA	1μA

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.