All about the ESP32 & ESP8266

The ESP8266 is a SOC specifically designed to connect to the internet.

Espressif released the ESP8266 in 2014 and it is still very popular for all IoT related projects. You can use the ESP8266 by using the AT command firmware or by connecting it to a microcontroller. By using the UART (universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter). You can also write your own firmware with an SDK.
The ESP8266 can use analog, input, output, PWM, SPI, I2C pins. This allows you to easily use the ESP together with a microcontroller.

You can also use the ESP8266 as a microcontroller (for this it is smart to use a module with an ESP). This is a popular choice because the ESP8266 is cheaper than an Arduino and it can connect to the internet.

The ESP8266 has enough pins for components like LEDs, servos, lcd screens, etc. It is important to know that some pins can not handle 5 volts and therefore only output 3.3. The ESP8266 has 17 pins that seems enough but due to an error you can not use pins GPIO6 to GPIO11. You can also not use the GPIO1 for LEDs otherwise the ESP will crash. (source)

The NODEMCU ESP8266 Development board is also widely used to control the ESP8266. You program this board with LUA script. LUA is a programming language just like C+ and Python. LUA is often used for video games. NodeMCU also has an open-source software to use this board. This is an easy alternative for those who do not want to use an Arduino.

To use an ESP8266 you need to be able to control it. This can be done with an SDK (software development kit). In 2014 Espressif released their own SDK to program the chip without a microcontroller. However, there are many other ways to use the ESP8266. A popular way is the Arduino.
To use the ESP8266 with an Arduino, all you need to do is download the appropriate library and connect the ESP.
Furthermore, you can program the ESP8266 in languages such as Python, Lua or JavaScript.

Of course, there are also several choices when it comes to programming for the ESP32.
For example, you can use the Arduino library for the ESP32 in the same way you would program the ESP8266.
Just like for the ESP8266, you can also use NodeMCU for the ESP32.
The ESP-IDF (ESP IoT Development Framework) is the official software from Espressif and specifically designed for use with the ESP32.

After the success of the ESP8266 came the ESP32 it can do everything the ESP8266 can but is only much more powerful. The ESP32 is also used in the NINA-W10. This module is used in almost all Arduino boards that can connect to the internet. The ESP32 can also use bluetooth a function its predecessor did not have.
All these extra features make the ESP32 sometimes twice as expensive as the ESP8266.
The ESP32 is better than the ESP8266 in many ways, but especially in the extra built-in features.

To start with, the ESP32 has 34 pins, which is double the ESP8266 with only 17 pins.

CAN (Controller Area Network)

This is a feature that only the ESP32 has. This feature ensures that electromagnetic interference does not have such a big influence on the signal transmission.

Touch sensor

The ESP32 has 10 capacitive Touch GPIO pins. This means that they can pick up small variations in electricity, like human skin.

Temperature Sensor

This allows the ESP32 to measure the temperature. Only because everything in the chip is very close together, this value can be inaccurate due to the heat of the rest of the chip.

Hall effect sensor

With this sensor, the ESP32 can measure changes in the magnetic field. This can be used to detect if something is moving nearby, to observe the rotations on a wheel, and much more.

A commonly used board for the ESP32 is the ESP32 Development board .

This board has 30 to 36 pins and has Lua script support through the NodeMCU software. You can also use it in the Arduino IDE through the USB-to-UART connection.

The best way to decide between the ESP32 and the ESP8266 is to compare their specifications.

We found the use of the ESP8266 and ESP32 very easy. After installing the right boards it was as easy as programming an Arduino. I mainly used the ESP32 DEVKIT DOIT. This module was difficult to set up but once that was done the programming was very easy. I had a lot of fun with the ESP32. If you want to start a project that uses the internet the ESP32 is definitely recommended.