ESP32 or 8266 for beginner projects

Posted by: @nsshore

Hi, any reason not to use a 8266 rather than the ESP32 board for simple projects? Both boards are available from a local supplier and some websites state (Adafruit for example) that the 8266 may be less problematic for those with little experience. I would be using Arduino IDE.

Thanks

Mike

@nsshore Both are good to start. The esp32 is more advanced, has more available pins but you have to do your research. I recommend the site  HERE  as it has lot's of beginner info on both boards including several esp32 boards. The statement that the 8266 may be less problematic makes no sense. Adafruit can be a useful resource, but remember you are paying extra for what may be adafruit unique stuff. I and many others here use them but we know what to expect.

BTW, it helps to fill in your profile and do an intro in the intro/welcome forum so we know where 'local' is at a minimum.

It's what Ron writes. In many cases, the 8266 is sufficient. In purchase, the ESP8266 is much cheaper than the ESP32, at least here in the Netherlands. I bought some ESP8266-01 a few weeks ago for €2.00 each.
Douwe

Thanks for the quick replies. 

Mike

@nsshore

Posted by: @nsshore

Hi, any reason not to use a 8266 rather than the ESP32 board for simple projects? Both boards are available from a local supplier and some websites state (Adafruit for example) that the 8266 may be less problematic for those with little experience. I would be using Arduino IDE.

Thanks

Mike

The ESP8266 has been around longer, thus *is* easier to set up and use, due to driver software and libraries available, and as such, the ESP32 probably does not have such ease of deployment!  Having said that however, the ESP32 has much better features, as long as you do some research to install the relevant O/S drivers, and is a superior alternative once you get it set up and running!

Good luck!

I've been pondering the same question: 

From my place in the world, I can't find any price difference between the 8266 vs 32 - all are going to be shipped by some Chinese company and they are charging the same or similar price

Hi @dazza,

   If you are happy to buy carefully from the likes of Banggood or AliExpress, and you only want one or two boards, then the price difference is probably small, since only a modest amount of the cost is the actual processor, whilst the rest of the components, PCB, assembly and transport costs are roughly the same, regardless of the processor. Of course these sources are something of a lottery, both in terms of price and product, so tread carefully and be prepared for the occasional failure.

If you have a project that uses more than (say) 5 similar processor boards, then it might be worth looking into the pricing more deeply, but probably not for just one or two. I would generally advise against buying stocks for too far into the future, since new models with increasing performance are coming out.

Note that the "ESP32" is no longer a single processor type, but a small and somewhat disjointed family, the additions being signified by "-something" notations like "ESP 32-Cx" or "ESP32-S3". Furthermore, the "ESP32-something" strictly only applies to one small component, usually hidden under the rectangular metal shield. The common small boards you are likely to purchase contain extra parts including memories, voltage regulators, USB interface, etc. Whilst these follow a similar 'pattern' they are far from identical. These additional choices are still relatively new and the rest of the software infrastructure is still 'maturing', so be prepared for additional upsets if you choose one of the newer "-something" types.

These extra choices can be confusing, but potentialy offer higher performance in some cases ... choose carefully.

Best wishes,

Dave

@dazza Welcome to the forum. You could consider the esp32 as the bigger brother of the 8266. I have a few of both but often choose the 32 as it has more available pins. It is a family of processors with the latest being the 3rd as in ESP32-S3. I have yet to get my hands on a 3. Tell us what you plan to do, that might let us be more specific, however if you are finding the prices to be similar then I would get the 32 as it is more versatile. My last order from Ali was 5 for $4.37CDN and $5.61 shipping. These were units with the external antenna connector, a little cheaper without that. Shopping on Ali is something of an art form, just make sure your currency, country are correct and always check shipping. Banggood is next, it's a little more expensive and Amazon is fast but the most expensive. I almost never use E-Bay as I have had several bad experiences with it.

Every case where I did not receive an item from Ali was 100% refunded. I think I had one or maybe 2 cases on Ali I was not happy with what I got for some reason and again I was fuly refunded and told to just keep the product as shipping back was too expensive. Good luck. BTW, I would get a few of each board just in case.

@zander Thanks Zander, I appreciate the reply. 

Currently I'm working on a HeadsUp display (sure it will 'noody') - and a quality ESP will be needed to drive the display, I am needing a satellite ESP to read the CAM (I2C) signals from the and relay (ESP Now maybe) that info to the HeadsUP unit. 

I did pick up the Round Waveshare 1.28inch LCD module, but it seems a little small for a reflected HeadsUp display (I digress on this, a screen is a screen).

To answer your question, I am needing 'worker bee' ESP32's (mostly for wireless data transferring or activating a relay/mosfet)

I have a Jtag device, so a USB connection is not needed with the PC, the idea is to upload the OTA code and move on from there

@dazza I am not sure where the 'master list' is of all the ESP modules, but just as FYI, I just got the following modules mostly for WiFi but can also be used for 'work'. These are quite small, maybe an inch square. https://amz.run/69uX

I previously ordered some ESP-01-S. https://amz.run/69uY I imagine these are the smallest.

BTW, if you think any esp module comes from a country other than China then I have some land in Florida to sell you, water access all 6 sides.

@zander Tell more about the 6 sided ocean access 🤣

@zander OK, so I've done some research.

ESP-01 not much availability

ESP-12 more availability

However I hit the 'Mother Load' with Digi-key ESP IC's Lowest to Highest Digi-Key   

With the ESP8266EX $2.60 AUD and the ESP32-DOWD-V3 at $2.92

The ESP32-S3 $3.31 (correction)

I don't think I could find anything better at this stage, I will double check on Mouser, but I'm sure we are down to cents here (Mouser vs DK)

I suspect that the Naming Chart, is universal to most ESP32's 

@dazza I guess I got lucky so far. The first few I bought were simply random, then I bought what the Nerds recommended. Of less interest and importance to me as I am switching my focus to PICOW.