The NodeMCU with ESP8266-12E has for years been the cheapest way to get something onto WiFi. Everything needed for that sits on the board: the radio chip with its own processor, the voltage regulator, the USB socket for programming, and a pin header that fits a breadboard. Plug in the cable, load the code, done — no programmer, no external circuitry. For a sensor that sends readings to a server, or a switch that can be controlled over the network, this is still the shortest route from idea to working build.

• 80 MHz4 MiB flash, 64 KiB RAM
• WiFi802.11 b/g/n built in
• 16usable GPIO pins
• micro-USBprogramming and power

What it is made for

• Everything on one board: radio chip, voltage regulator, USB-to-serial converter and reset button are all present. With the bare module you have to build all of that yourself — here you plug in a cable.
• Familiar tools: programmable from the Arduino environment, with MicroPython or with the manufacturer’s SDK. Ready-made libraries exist for almost every sensor.
• Fits the breadboard: the pin headers sit so that a row stays free left and right — unlike some wider boards that take up the whole breadboard.
• Enough connections: 16 GPIO plus I2C, SPI, UART and one analogue input. For the vast majority of builds that is enough with room to spare.
• Cheap enough to leave in place: at this price a build stays built instead of being taken apart again after the experiment.

Available versions

Technical data

Help with the build

Not sure whether your sensor can go straight onto the board or needs a level shifter? Send us the sensor type — that is settled in a minute and saves a burnt-out board. And if it turns into a project — sizing, pre-configuration or commissioning — we will gladly put together a quote.