[Martin] decided that using the ESP8266 with an external microcontroller was overkill, and decided to implement his project entirely on the module with a built-in web server.

Sharing the peripheral set with the ESP32 will help alleviates some of these woes on the ESP32-C3, even though it has the same number of pins as the ESP8266.

While they differ a lot in terms of functionality, you can combine the IoT-centric ESP32 boards with the all-powerful Raspberry Pi SBC family to build some truly remarkable DIY projects.

Take a Deep Dive into Games & Electronics Building with 7-Hour of Content on ESP32, Web Server, Email Alert, Arduino Interfacing, & More.

I've been playing around with a couple of ESP32 microcontrollers, and that experimentation has taught me a lot about sensors and what you can build for really, really cheap.