ESP32 Explained: ESP32, S3, C6 and P4 Compared, and Which One Should You Use?
ESP32 development boards have quickly become some of the most useful microcontroller platforms for electronics projects. They combine programmable GPIO, sensors and peripheral interfaces with built-in wireless connectivity, making them a natural choice for IoT devices, automation, robotics, displays, remote sensors and embedded systems.
But there is no longer just one ESP32. The family now includes several different versions designed for very different jobs, including the original ESP32, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C6 and the much more powerful ESP32-P4.
To make these options easier to find and compare, Vetco Electronics has created a new ESP32 Boards & Development Kits section that brings together our ESP32 development boards, starter kits, display boards, camera boards and useful ESP32 accessories.
Which ESP32 Should I Use?
The short answer is:
- Choose a classic ESP32 for general-purpose WiFi, Bluetooth, sensors, automation and everyday microcontroller projects.
- Choose an ESP32-S3 when you need more advanced displays, USB, audio, voice interfaces or embedded AI-oriented features.
- Choose an ESP32-C6 when modern wireless connectivity is the priority, especially WiFi 6, Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, Thread or Matter-related development.
- Choose an ESP32-P4 when you need substantially more processing capability for displays, cameras, multimedia, advanced HMI or edge-processing applications.
Each version has strengths of its own, so the newest chip is not automatically the best choice for every project.
The Original ESP32: Still an Excellent General-Purpose Microcontroller
The classic ESP32 remains one of the most practical choices for general electronics development. It provides WiFi, Bluetooth, plenty of GPIO and a dual-core processor, while being supported by an enormous ecosystem of libraries, examples and development tools.
For many projects, there is no need to move to a newer ESP32 version. If you are building a WiFi-connected sensor, remote control, automation system, data logger, robot or other general-purpose embedded project, a traditional ESP32 can still be an excellent choice.
Our ESP32-WROOM-32 Development Board is a straightforward option for learning, prototyping and general-purpose development.
We also carry a 38-pin ESP32 Development Board with USB-C for customers who prefer USB-C connectivity and easy access to a large number of I/O pins.
ESP32-E and the DFRobot FireBeetle 2
The DFRobot FireBeetle 2 ESP32-E is another strong general-purpose ESP32 option. It uses a dual-core 240MHz ESP32-E processor and adds a development-board design aimed at portable and IoT projects, including battery support, USB-C charging and convenient expansion connections.
This is a good choice when you want the processing capability and mature ecosystem of the classic ESP32 but also want a board designed around battery-powered and embedded applications.
ESP32-CAM: Add a Camera Without Building the Whole System Yourself
For WiFi camera projects, the ESP32-CAM Development Board with Camera combines an ESP32 with camera hardware in a compact package.
It is useful for applications such as remote image capture, experimental security cameras, machine-vision prototypes, monitoring systems and other projects where adding a camera to a standard microcontroller board would otherwise require additional hardware.
ESP32-S3: A Better Fit for Displays, USB, Audio and More Advanced Interfaces
The ESP32-S3 is designed for more advanced embedded applications. It is especially attractive for projects involving graphical interfaces, touchscreens, USB devices, audio, voice interfaces and workloads that can benefit from its vector-processing capabilities.
That makes the S3 a natural fit for modern user interfaces and self-contained smart devices.
For compact display projects, we carry the ESP32-S3 2.16 Inch AMOLED Display Development Kit, which combines an S3 with a high-resolution AMOLED touchscreen, battery support, audio hardware and onboard sensors.
For projects that need a circular user interface, the ESP32-S3 1.85 Inch Round LCD Display Board combines the ESP32-S3 with a round touchscreen, WiFi, Bluetooth, battery support, audio hardware and expansion interfaces.
For larger control panels and HMI projects, the ESP32-S3 4.3 Inch AI Voice Touch Display Board provides a much larger touchscreen and combines the processor, display, touch interface, wireless connectivity, audio hardware and I/O in one platform.
ESP32-C6: The ESP32 for WiFi 6, Zigbee, Thread and Modern IoT
The ESP32-C6 is one of the most interesting members of the ESP32 family because its main advantage is not raw processor speed. Its strength is its modern wireless hardware.
The ESP32-C6 supports 2.4GHz WiFi 6, Bluetooth Low Energy and IEEE 802.15.4. The 802.15.4 radio makes technologies such as Zigbee and Thread possible, which makes the C6 particularly attractive for smart-home, IoT and Matter-related development.
The C6 uses a 32-bit RISC-V processor running up to 160MHz. That means a classic dual-core 240MHz ESP32 can actually provide more general CPU throughput in some applications. The C6 should therefore be viewed as a newer wireless platform, not simply as a faster replacement for every older ESP32.
Vetco now carries the ESP32-C6-WROOM-1-N16 Development Board with 16MB Flash. This gives developers a general-purpose C6 platform with substantially more flash than many basic 4MB ESP32-C6 boards.
The 16MB of SPI flash provides additional room for larger firmware, libraries, web assets, file systems and OTA update partitions. That makes this board especially attractive for more complex connected applications where the newer C6 wireless capabilities are important.
We also carry the ESP32-C6 1.47 Inch Touchscreen LCD Computer for projects that need C6 wireless capability and a compact graphical interface in the same device.
Why Would I Choose ESP32-C6 Instead of a Standard ESP32?
Choose the C6 when your project needs newer wireless technology. Good examples include:
- Zigbee devices
- Thread networks
- Matter smart-home development
- WiFi 6 IoT devices
- Bluetooth Low Energy projects
- Modern wireless sensors
- Home automation controllers
If your project simply needs WiFi, Bluetooth and plenty of processing power, a classic ESP32 may still be the simpler and sometimes faster choice.
ESP32-P4: A Major Step Up in Processing Capability
The ESP32-P4 moves the ESP family into a different class of embedded applications. It uses a dual-core 32-bit RISC-V processor running up to 360MHz and is designed for applications such as advanced displays, cameras, multimedia processing and more demanding local computation.
One important difference is that the ESP32-P4 itself does not include the integrated wireless radio found in many other ESP32 chips. Development boards can pair it with another ESP device to add wireless connectivity.
The DFRobot FireBeetle 2 ESP32-P4 AI Kit does exactly that. It combines the high-performance ESP32-P4 with an ESP32-C6 wireless coprocessor, giving the platform WiFi 6 and Bluetooth Low Energy while leaving the P4 available for heavier processing workloads.
The kit also includes 32MB of PSRAM, 16MB of flash, high-speed USB and hardware H.264 video encoding, making it a very different product from a basic ESP32 development board.
What Is ESP32-P4 Good For?
The P4 is worth considering for projects such as:
- Advanced touchscreen HMIs
- Large graphical displays
- Camera systems
- Local video processing
- Embedded AI experiments
- Voice and multimedia interfaces
- High-performance embedded controllers
If you only need to read a temperature sensor and send the value over WiFi, the P4 is unnecessary. If you are building a sophisticated graphical control system, camera-based device or multimedia interface, it becomes much more interesting.
What About the ESP8266?
Before ESP32 became the dominant platform, the ESP8266 helped make inexpensive WiFi-enabled microcontroller development widely accessible.
We still carry the NodeMCU ESP8266 ESP-12 WiFi Development Board because a large number of existing projects, tutorials and installed devices still use the ESP8266.
It remains useful for maintaining older projects and for simple WiFi applications, but for a new design we would generally start by looking at one of the ESP32-family boards instead.
New to ESP32? Start with a Complete Kit
If you are learning ESP32 or microcontroller electronics for the first time, a bare development board is only part of what you need.
Our ESP32 Starter Kit includes an ESP32 board along with a breadboard, OLED display, sensors, LEDs, relays, jumper wires and other components so you can build circuits and experiment with real inputs and outputs.
It is also compatible with the Arduino IDE, which makes it a practical transition for people who have already worked with Arduino-style development.
One Important ESP32 Difference: Most GPIO Uses 3.3V Logic
One of the most important things to understand when moving from traditional 5V Arduino hardware to ESP32 is that ESP32 GPIO normally operates at 3.3V logic.
That matters because a large number of older sensors, modules and digital devices were designed around 5V logic. You should not assume that a 5V logic signal can be connected directly to an ESP32 GPIO pin.
A Very Useful ESP32 Accessory: Logic Conversion and 5V Power from One Board
This is where the 4-Channel Bi-Directional Logic Level Converter with Built-In 5V Boost becomes especially useful.
A normal logic level converter can translate a 3.3V digital signal into a 5V digital signal, but it usually expects the project to already have both the 3.3V and 5V voltage rails available.
This board is different because it combines logic-level translation and a 5V boost converter on the same board.
With a suitable low-voltage input, the board can generate a regulated 5V rail while also translating up to four digital signals between the low-voltage side and the 5V side.
That means an ESP32 project can potentially use one small board to:
- Translate ESP32 3.3V GPIO signals to 5V logic
- Translate compatible 5V logic signals back to 3.3V
- Generate a regulated 5V supply
- Power a compatible 5V peripheral
- Reduce the need for separate boost-converter and level-shifter boards
This is especially useful when an ESP32 needs to communicate with a 5V peripheral and the project does not already have a convenient 5V rail available.
The board uses a TXB0104 automatic bidirectional logic translator and is well suited to push-pull signals such as SPI, UART and general-purpose GPIO.
Important: this particular converter is not intended for I2C, Qwiic or other open-drain buses. Those interfaces should use a level converter designed specifically for open-drain signaling.
What If My Project Already Has Both 3.3V and 5V?
If your project already provides both voltage rails, you may not need a converter with a built-in boost supply.
The BOB-12009 4-Channel Bi-Directional Logic Level Converter translates signals between existing low-voltage and high-voltage systems.
For a typical ESP32-to-5V application, the board requires 3.3V on its low-voltage reference and 5V on its high-voltage reference. It does not generate the 5V rail itself.
This distinction is useful when choosing between the two converters:
- BOB-12009: Use it when the project already has both voltage rails and you need logic-level translation.
- Single-Supply Converter: Use it when you want logic translation and also need to generate a 5V rail from the available supply.
ESP32 Version Comparison
| ESP Family | Main Strength | Good For |
|---|---|---|
| ESP8266 | Legacy low-cost WiFi | Existing projects, older tutorials and simple WiFi devices |
| ESP32 / ESP32-E | General-purpose performance | IoT, automation, sensors, robotics, WiFi and Bluetooth projects |
| ESP32-S3 | Displays, USB, audio and advanced interfaces | Touchscreens, HMI, voice, graphical devices and embedded AI applications |
| ESP32-C6 | Modern wireless connectivity | WiFi 6, BLE, Zigbee, Thread, Matter and smart-home projects |
| ESP32-P4 | High processing performance | Large displays, cameras, multimedia, advanced HMI and edge processing |
Frequently Asked Questions About ESP32 Boards
Is ESP32-C6 faster than the original ESP32?
Not necessarily. The ESP32-C6 uses a single high-performance RISC-V core running up to 160MHz, while many classic ESP32 devices use dual 240MHz cores. The C6's main advantage is its newer wireless technology, including WiFi 6, Bluetooth Low Energy and 802.15.4 support for Zigbee and Thread.
Which ESP32 is best for Matter, Thread or Zigbee?
ESP32-C6 is the most relevant choice in this group because it includes an IEEE 802.15.4 radio in addition to WiFi 6 and Bluetooth Low Energy. That hardware supports Thread and Zigbee applications and makes the C6 well suited to Matter-related development.
Vetco's ESP32-C6-WROOM-1-N16 Development Board also includes 16MB of flash, making it a strong general-purpose platform for larger connected applications.
Which ESP32 is best for a touchscreen?
ESP32-S3 is an excellent choice for many touchscreen and graphical-interface projects. Vetco carries several ESP32-S3 boards with integrated displays, including the 2.16 Inch AMOLED ESP32-S3 Development Kit, the 1.85 Inch Round LCD ESP32-S3 Board and the 4.3 Inch ESP32-S3 Touch Display Board.
For substantially more demanding display, camera and multimedia applications, the ESP32-P4 FireBeetle 2 AI Kit provides considerably more processing capability.
Which ESP32 should a beginner buy?
A standard ESP32 development board remains one of the easiest places to start because of its mature software ecosystem, large number of tutorials and broad hardware support.
A complete ESP32 Starter Kit can make learning easier by providing sensors, displays, breadboards and prototyping parts in the same kit.
Can I connect a 5V module directly to an ESP32?
Do not assume that a 5V logic signal is safe for an ESP32 GPIO pin. ESP32 devices normally use 3.3V logic.
When a peripheral uses incompatible logic levels, use an appropriate level converter. The Single-Supply 4-Channel Logic Level Converter with Built-In 5V Boost is particularly useful when your ESP32 project also needs a 5V power rail.
What is the difference between a logic level converter and a boost converter?
A logic level converter changes the voltage of digital communication signals. A boost converter increases a power-supply voltage.
The single-supply converter combines both functions. It can generate a 5V rail and translate compatible digital logic signals between voltage domains. A conventional level shifter such as the BOB-12009 only translates the signals and requires the appropriate voltage rails to already exist.
Explore Vetco's ESP32 Boards & Development Kits
There is no single ESP32 board that is best for every project. The original ESP32 remains an excellent general-purpose platform, the S3 is well suited to displays and advanced interfaces, the C6 brings newer wireless standards, and the P4 provides a major increase in processing capability for demanding embedded applications.
Browse the complete ESP32 Boards & Development Kits section at Vetco Electronics to compare development boards, display systems, camera boards, starter kits and accessories for your next ESP32 project.