Olimex ESP32-C5-Devkit-Lipo is a compact ESP32-C5 board with dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth LE, and a 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter connectivity with support for LiPo battery for a charging circuit.
It follows the company’s ESP32-C5-EVB board with isolated inputs and relays launched in September 2025, and offers a minimal design with two USB-C ports, a UEXT connector for expansion module, the usual breadboard-compatible GPIO headers, and not much else, which makes it ideal for space-constrained applications and prototyping.
Olimex ESP32-C5-Devkit-Lipo specifications:
- Wireless module – ESP32-C5-WROOM-N8R4
- SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-C5
- CPU
- Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz
- Low-power RISC-V core @ 40 MHz acting as the main processor for power-sensitive applications
- Memory – 384 KB SRAM on-chip, support for external PSRAM
- Storage – 320 KB ROM, support for external flash
- Connectivity
- Dual-band 802.11ax WiFi 6 in the 2.4GHz and 5 GHz bands, with 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 standard support for backward compatibility
- Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy (LE)
- 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee 3.0, Thread 1.3, and Matter
- CPU
- Memory – 4MB PSRAM
- Storage – 8MB SPI flash
- PCB antenna
- SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-C5
- USB – 2x USB-C ports, one for UART, one for JTAG
- Expansion
- 2x 16-pin GPIO headers
- UEXT connector for Olimex modules
- Misc
- Reset and Boot/User buttons
- User LED, charging LED
- Power Supply
- 5V via either USB-C port, or pin 14/15 on J1/EXT1 header
- 2-pin connector for 3.7V LiPo battery; UPS charger & step-up converter
- Dimensions – 53 x 25mm; two mounting holes
The ESP32-C5 board can be programmed with Espressif ESP-IDF framework or the Arduino IDE. We’ve promised an Arduino demo, but the link is not up yet. However, the board is open-source hardware and the KiCad design files and a user manual are can already be found on GitHub.
I’ve just noticed there aren’t that many ESP32-C5 boards on the market, and besides the official ESP32-C5-DevkitC-1 board and its many copies on AliExpress, and the two Olimex boards mentioned in the post, companies don’t seem to have that much interest in making dual-band IoT boards, or we may just need to wait a little longer. We also found an ESP32-C5 module in the Wireless Tag WT99P4C5-S1 ESP32-P4 board, but it’s only used as a wireless co-processor.
The ESP32-C5-Devkit-Lipo board can be purchased for 12.95 Euros on the Olimex store. If you don’t already have your own LiPo battery, you may want to add a 1,400 mAh battery for 5.95 Euros to your order.
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.
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