ESP32 vs ESP8266 module
17 August 2023Let’s compare the ESP32 and ESP8266 differences. Both the ESP32 and ESP8266 are systems on chips (SOCs) that rely on WiFi. Both have 32-bit processors; the ESP8266 has a single core running at 160 MHz and the ESP32 has a dual core running at 80 to 240 MHz. The comparison is detailed below.
Difference between ESP32 and ESP8266
| Feature | ESP32 | ESP8266 |
| CPU | Xtensa Dual-Core 32-bit LX6 with 600 DMIPS | Xtensa Single-core 32-bit L106 |
| WiFi Speed | 802.11n up to 150 Mbps | Up to 72.2 Mbps |
| WiFi Protocol | 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 Ghz) | 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 Ghz) |
| GPIO | 36 | 17 |
| Bluetooth | YES | NO |
| DAC | Two 8-bit DAC Channels | NO |
| ADC | 12-Bit SAR | 10-Bit SAR |
| ADC Channels | 8 Channels | Single Channel |
| ADC Reference V | 1100mV | 1100mV |
| SPI/I2C/I2S/UART | 4/2/2/3 | 2/1/2/2 |
| WiFi Modes | Station/SoftAP/SoftAP+Station/P2P | Station/SoftAP/SoftAP+Station/P2P |
| Touch Sensor | YES (8-Channels) | NO |
| Temperature Sensor | YES | NO |
| Hall effect sensor | YES | NO |
| SRAM | 520 kB (8 kB of SRAM in RTC) | RAM size < 50 kB |
| FLASH (external) | 4Mbytes (also available higher) | 4Mbytes |
| ROM | 448 kB of ROM for booting and core functions | No programmable ROM |
| Network Protocols | IPv4, IPv6, SSL, TCP/UDP/HTTP/FTP/MQTT | IPv4, TCP/UDP/HTTP/MQTT |
| Peripheral Interface | UART/SDIO/SPI/I2C/I2S/IR Remote Control GPIO/ADC/DAC/Touch/PWM/LED |
UART/SDIO/SPI/I2C/I2S/IR Remote Control GPIO/ADC/PWM/LED |
| Operating Temperature Range | –40°C ~ +85°C | –40°C ~ 125°C |
| Operating Voltage | 2.5V ~ 3.6V | 2.5V ~ 3.6V |
| Operating Current | Average: 80 mA | Average value: 80 mA |
| Price | $4 – $10 | $3 – $6 |
What is ESP32 module?
Antenna switches, an RF balun, a power amplifier, a low-noise receive amplifier, filters, and power management modules are all built into the ESP32. With only a small amount of Printed Circuit Board (PCB) needed, ESP32 enhances your applications with priceless functionality and versatility.
The ESP32-WROOM-32 is a potent, all-purpose Wi-Fi+BT+BLE MCU module that can handle a wide range of tasks, including voice encoding, music streaming, and MP3 decoding, as well as low-power sensor networks.
The ESP32-D0WDQ6 chip* is the heart of this module. Scalable and adaptive design features are built into the embedded chip. The CPU clock frequency can be changed from 80 MHz to 240 MHz, and there are two independent CPU cores. The CPU can be turned off if the user prefers, and the low-power co-processor can be used to continuously check the peripherals for changes or the crossing of thresholds. A wide variety of peripherals, including capacitive touch sensors, Hall sensors, an SD card interface, Ethernet, high-speed SPI, UART, I2S, and I2C, are integrated into the ESP32.
A wide number of applications can be targeted because to the module’s integration of Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, and Wi-Fi, which also makes it future-proof: While Bluetooth enables a convenient connection to the phone or the broadcast of low energy beacons for its detection, Wi-Fi offers a wide physical range and a direct connection to the internet through a Wi-Fi router. The ESP32 chip is excellent for battery-powered and wearable electronics applications because its sleep current is less than 5 A. In order to achieve the greatest physical range, ESP32 enables a data rate of up to 150 Mbps and 20.5 dBm output power at the antenna. Upgrade is also available, allowing developers to keep improving their products even after they have been released.
As a result, the chip provides the finest performance for electronic integration, range, power consumption, and connection as well as parameters that set the industry standard. The freeRTOS with LwIP operating system was selected for the ESP32, and TLS 1.2 with hardware acceleration is also integrated. Additionally supported is secure (encrypted) over-the-air (OTA) upgrading, allowing developers to maintain their products long after they have been released.
What is ESP8266 module?
The ESP8266 series, or family, of Wi-Fi chips is produced by Espressif Systems, a fabless semiconductor company operating out of Shanghai, China. The ESP8266 series presently includes the ESP8266EX and ESP8285 chips.
ESP8266EX (simply referred to as ESP8266) is a system-on-chip (SoC) which integrates a 32-bit Tensilica microcontroller, standard digital peripheral interfaces, antenna switches, RF balun, power amplifier, low noise receive amplifier, filters and power management modules into a small package. It provides capabilities for 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n, supporting WPA/WPA2), general-purpose input/output (16 GPIO), Inter-Integrated Circuit (I²C), analog-to-digital conversion (10-bit ADC), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), I²S interfaces with DMA (sharing pins with GPIO), UART (on dedicated pins, plus a transmit-only UART can be enabled on GPIO2), and pulse-width modulation (PWM). The processor core, called “L106” by Espressif, is based on Tensilica’s Diamond Standard 106Micro 32-bit processor controller core and runs at 80 MHz (or overclocked to 160 MHz). It has a 64 KiB boot ROM, 32 KiB instruction RAM, and 80 KiB user data RAM. (Also, 32 KiB instruction cache RAM and 16 KiB ETS system data RAM.) External flash memory can be accessed through SPI. The silicon chip itself is housed within a 5 mm × 5 mm Quad Flat No-Leads package with 33 connection pads — 8 pads along each side and one large thermal/ground pad in the center. Read about For Overview, Datasheet, Technical Reference.
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Hi, I’m Harshvardhan Mishra. Tech enthusiast and IT professional with a B.Tech in IT, PG Diploma in IoT from CDAC, and 6 years of industry experience. Founder of HVM Smart Solutions, blending technology for real-world solutions. As a passionate technical author, I simplify complex concepts for diverse audiences. Let’s connect and explore the tech world together!
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