PenESP operates via serial terminal (115200 baud). Any ESP32 board with WiFi + BLE will work. Displays are not used by the firmware.
Required: ESP32 chip with WiFi + BLE support
Interface: Serial terminal over USB (115200 baud)
Optional: SD card for logging (not required for core functionality)
Note: Screens/displays are NOT used by PenESP firmware - all interaction is via serial commands.
Budget-friendly ESP32 boards - perfect for PenESP serial operation
Classic ESP32 development board. WiFi 2.4GHz + BLE, 520KB RAM, USB-to-Serial chip. The most popular ESP32 board.
Buy on AliExpressOfficial Espressif S3 board. WiFi 2.4GHz + BLE 5.0, 512KB RAM, dual-core 240MHz, USB OTG support.
Buy on AliExpressUltra-compact RISC-V ESP32. WiFi 2.4GHz + BLE 5.0, 400KB RAM, USB-C, smallest form factor.
Buy on AliExpressOfficial Espressif C3 board. WiFi 2.4GHz + BLE 5.0, 400KB RAM, RISC-V core, USB-Serial-JTAG.
Buy on AliExpressRaspberry Pi Zero-sized C3 board. WiFi 2.4GHz + BLE 5.0, compact design, castellated pins.
Buy on AliExpressMini C3 board with USB-C. WiFi 2.4GHz + BLE 5.0, breadboard-friendly, low cost.
Buy on AliExpressLatest ESP32-C6 with WiFi 6. WiFi 6 2.4GHz + BLE 5.3, 512KB RAM, Thread/Zigbee support.
Buy on AliExpressNext-gen dual-band ESP32. WiFi 2.4GHz + 5GHz + BLE 5.4, 512KB RAM. Test PenESP on 5GHz networks.
Buy on AliExpressWiFi-only ESP32 variant. WiFi 2.4GHz, 320KB RAM, USB OTG. Note: No BLE - limited PenESP functionality.
Buy on AliExpressNodeMCU-style ESP32 board. WiFi 2.4GHz + BLE, breadboard-friendly, wide pin spacing.
Buy on AliExpressHigh-memory S3 variant. WiFi 2.4GHz + BLE 5.0, 16MB Flash, 8MB PSRAM, great for complex operations.
Buy on AliExpressPopular 30-pin ESP32 board. WiFi 2.4GHz + BLE, CP2102 USB-Serial, all GPIO exposed.
Buy on AliExpressNext-generation high-performance ESP32-P4 boards
Official Espressif P4 evaluation board. Dual-core 400MHz, 768KB RAM, advanced peripherals, USB OTG.
Buy on AliExpressStandard P4 development board. Dual-core 400MHz, all GPIO broken out, USB-C, ideal for prototyping.
Buy on AliExpressCompact P4 board with powerful specs. Dual-core 400MHz, smaller footprint, perfect for portable projects.
Buy on AliExpressQuality boards with additional features - compact and well-designed
Tiny S3 board with built-in battery management. WiFi + BLE, USB-C, perfect for portable PenESP projects.
Buy on AliExpressCompact S3 board with display (screen unused by PenESP). WiFi + BLE, USB-C, 16MB Flash.
Buy on AliExpressMulti-feature S3 board with display (screen unused). WiFi + BLE, rotary encoder, compact design.
Buy on AliExpressSerial Terminal Required: PenESP operates entirely via serial terminal at 115200 baud. Connect via USB and use any serial terminal (Arduino IDE, PuTTY, screen, minicom, etc.).
Displays Not Used: The firmware does NOT use screens/displays - all boards with screens will work fine, but the screen won't show PenESP output.
BLE Required: BLE spam features (iOS, Android, Samsung, Windows spam) require BLE support. WiFi-only boards (ESP32-S2) will have limited functionality.
SD Card Optional: SD cards mentioned on boards are for potential data logging but not required for core PenESP operations.
5GHz Support: Only ESP32-C5 supports 5GHz WiFi. All other boards are 2.4GHz only.