11 of the 20 features in our table differ between the ESP32 and the ESP32-S2.
Dual-core, Bluetooth Classic, Ethernet MAC, DAC
The original: two cores, Wi-Fi, and the only chip here with Bluetooth Classic, an Ethernet MAC and a DAC together. The most boards, examples and libraries.
Watch out: ADC2 pins stop working while Wi-Fi is on, and strapping and flash pins limit the free GPIOs. No native USB.
Single-core, USB OTG, 14 touch pins, no Bluetooth
One core with native USB OTG, 14 touch pins and a DAC, but no Bluetooth. The S3 has largely replaced it.
Watch out: No Bluetooth and a single core, and the highest deep-sleep current in this list (25 µA).
| Feature | ESP32 | ESP32-S2 |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 2 × Xtensa LX6, 240 MHz | 1 × Xtensa LX7, 240 MHz |
| Low-power core | ULP (FSM) | ULP RISC-V + FSM |
| SRAM | 520 KB | 320 KB |
| PSRAM | External (4 MB mapped, up to 8 MB via himem); 2 MB in-package on some versions | In-package or external |
| Bluetooth | Classic (BR/EDR) + LE 4.2 | No |
| USB | No (USB-serial chip on the board) | OTG full speed |
| GPIO | 34 | 43 |
| ADC channels | 18 (ADC1: 8) | 20 (ADC1: 10) |
| Touch pins | 10 | 14 |
| Ethernet MAC | Yes (RMII) | No (SPI module) |
| Deep sleep | 10 µA | 25 µA |
Same on both: Wi-Fi, Thread / Zigbee, DAC, Camera, Display interface, TWAI (CAN), AI / DSP, ESPHome, and Arduino-ESP32.
Open the ESP32 comparison →Tick what your project needs and see which of the eight chips fits best.
ESP32 pinout: safe GPIO, strapping pins and ADC2 →
The ESP32 has Bluetooth LE, Bluetooth Classic, wired Ethernet with the built-in MAC, and a second CPU core. The ESP32-S2 has USB OTG, more GPIO (43 against 34), and more analog inputs usable with the radio on (10 against 8).
The ESP32: 10 µA against 25 µA for the ESP32-S2, as typical figures for the chip alone in Espressif’s datasheets. On a development board the regulator, the LEDs and the USB-serial chip usually draw more than the chip itself.
Arduino-ESP32 and ESP-IDF support both chips, so most code builds for either; pin numbers, strapping pins and some peripherals change. Anything that uses Bluetooth LE or Bluetooth Classic won’t carry over: the ESP32-S2 doesn’t have that hardware.
ESP32 vs ESP32-C3 ESP32 vs ESP32-C5 ESP32 vs ESP32-C6 ESP32 vs ESP32-H2 ESP32 vs ESP32-P4 ESP32 vs ESP32-S3 ESP32-C3 vs ESP32-S2 ESP32-C5 vs ESP32-S2 ESP32-C6 vs ESP32-S2 ESP32-H2 vs ESP32-S2 ESP32-P4 vs ESP32-S2 ESP32-S2 vs ESP32-S3
Figures from Espressif datasheets, ESPHome and Arduino-ESP32 documentation, checked in November 2026.