ESP32-C6
Hacker ApprovedRanked 15 of 28 microcontrollers by recommenders
People recommend it as a cheap microcontroller with Wi-Fi 6 and Zigbee radios, a RISC-V core that suits Rust, and MicroPython support that can replace a Raspberry Pi for some jobs. One critic notes it lacks SIMD extensions.
People recommend it as a cheap microcontroller with Wi-Fi 6 and Zigbee radios, a RISC-V core that suits Rust, and MicroPython support that can replace a Raspberry Pi for some jobs. One critic notes it lacks SIMD extensions.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 93%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 13 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Cheap for capable hardware
“with micro python it pretty much made all RPi's obsolete for a quarter of price”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “News about Raspberry Pi 6 and Microcontroller Development – Jeff Geerling” “They are really cheap, get an esp32-c6 while you are at it.”
Comment from 7 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Look Ma, No Linux: Shell, App Installer, Vi, Cc on ESP32-S3 / BreezyBox” “smaller but looks nicer for just ten bucks”
Comment from 26 Jan 2026 in “Building a Real-Time HN Display for $15” Wi-Fi 6 and Zigbee radios
“since it has massive compute, and radio with wifi6 and zigbee, which covers 90% of IOT”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: AI in SolidWorks” “I wanted Zigbee so the ESP32 C6 was the way to go.”
Comment from 13 Sep 2026 in “I added a non-wi-fi Mitsubishi AC to Home Assistant” RISC-V core good for Rust
“The newer model, C3, C6, C5 all have RSIC-V cores which make it a dream to run Rust”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Running Bare-Metal Rust Alongside ESP-IDF on the ESP32-S3's Second Core” “Also espressif RISC V mcu's like the ESP32-C3 and -C6 are fantastic.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Embassy: Modern embedded framework, using Rust and async” Strong performance for its size
“since it has massive compute, and radio with wifi6 and zigbee, which covers 90% of IOT”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: AI in SolidWorks” “The ESP32‑C6, in particular, offers significantly better performance.”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Show HN: ESPectre – Motion detection based on Wi-Fi spectre analysis”
Other microcontrollers people recommend
The four most recommended other microcontrollers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESP32 | 190 | 35 | 84% | 12 | 5 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Arduino boards | 81 | 73 | 53% | 12 | 16 yrs7 owners | — |
| Raspberry Pi Pico | 72 | 16 | 82% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Raspberry Pi RP2350 | 47 | 13 | 78% | 11 | — | Approved |
| ESP32-C6This page | 13 | 1 | 93% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
15 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the lack of SIMD extensions on the C5/C6 holds it back”
“I wanted Zigbee so the ESP32 C6 was the way to go.”
“buying an esp32-c6 and you can fill the gaps”
“I have a CC1101 hooked up to an ESP32C6”
“At least get a -C6 if you're trying to replace a Pi with a microcontroller.”
“I am just hyped about ESP I have.”
“with micro python it pretty much made all RPi's obsolete for a quarter of price”
“The newer model, C3, C6, C5 all have RSIC-V cores which make it a dream to run Rust”
“They are really cheap, get an esp32-c6 while you are at it.”
“ESP32 is an awesome rabbit hole”
“smaller but looks nicer for just ten bucks”
“since it has massive compute, and radio with wifi6 and zigbee, which covers 90% of IOT”
“really excited to start playing with it”
“Also espressif RISC V mcu's like the ESP32-C3 and -C6 are fantastic.”
“The ESP32‑C6, in particular, offers significantly better performance.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.