# ESP-IDF vs Zephyr RTOS

| Attribute | ESP-IDF | Zephyr RTOS |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 49.1 (35% (low)) | 48.6 (35% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 1 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 19,233 | 16,789 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A production-grade development kit for Espressif system-on-chip platforms that offers consistent APIs and tooling across different chip variants. Supports building applications ranging from sensor prototypes to Matter-certified devices and AI-powered edge systems. It is indexed under Embedded IOT Dev.","source":"https://idf.espressif.com","question":"What is ESP-IDF?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"ESP-IDF supports Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://idf.espressif.com","question":"What platforms does ESP-IDF support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. ESP-IDF is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf","question":"Is ESP-IDF open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"Zephyr is a real-time operating system optimized for resource-constrained embedded devices, ranging from simple sensors to sophisticated IoT devices and gateways. It provides a small-footprint kernel supporting multiple processor architectures and is built with security and long-product-lifecycle support as core design principles. It is indexed under Embedded IOT Dev.","source":"https://zephyrproject.org","question":"What is Zephyr RTOS?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Zephyr RTOS is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://zephyrproject.org","question":"Is Zephyr RTOS free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Zephyr RTOS can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://zephyrproject.org","question":"Can Zephyr RTOS be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Zephyr RTOS is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr","question":"Is Zephyr RTOS open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | - | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | ESP-IDF is the production-grade software development kit for Espressif system-on-chip products, providing a consistent API and build system across different processor families. It includes device drivers, networking stacks, security frameworks, and build automation for developing embedded applications. | An RTOS that enables real-time task management on memory and power-limited embedded devices, supporting a wide range of processor architectures from simple sensors to network-connected applications. |
| features.capabilities | `{"ota_updates":true,"rust_support":true,"target_class":"both","tls_dtls_stack":true}` | `{"open_source":true,"target_class":"both"}` |
| integrations.count | 1 | 1 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"CLion"}]` | `[{"name":"PlatformIO"}]` |
| language.primary | C | C |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | - |
| pricing | - | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://zephyrproject.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-21T13:40:59.448Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | - | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | - | free |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 10 | 6 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.3.6","date":"2026-09-15T12:37:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.3.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.2.8","date":"2026-09-11T10:45:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.2.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v6.0.3","date":"2026-09-02T11:55:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v6.1","date":"2026-08-27T01:56:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v6.1-rc1","date":"2026-08-18T15:26:58Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v6.1-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.5.5","date":"2026-07-17T15:35:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.5.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v6.1-beta1","date":"2026-06-29T12:07:01Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v6.1-beta1"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v6.0.2","date":"2026-06-29T01:29:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.2.7","date":"2026-05-19T11:17:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.2.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v6.0.1","date":"2026-04-27T13:23:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.4.4","date":"2026-04-17T07:49:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.4.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.5.4","date":"2026-03-27T09:23:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.5.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.3.5","date":"2026-03-24T10:51:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.3.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v6.0","date":"2026-03-20T04:17:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v6.0-rc1","date":"2026-03-13T06:10:15Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v6.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.5.3","date":"2026-02-18T12:06:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.5.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v6.0-beta2","date":"2026-01-30T10:17:14Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v6.0-beta2"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.1.7","date":"2026-01-27T02:13:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.1.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.5.2","date":"2025-12-25T15:36:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v6.0-beta1","date":"2025-11-12T03:54:48Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v6.0-beta1"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.4.2","date":"2026-08-07T15:36:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.4.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v3.7.3-rc1","date":"2026-08-06T00:38:42Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.7.3-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.4.2-rc1","date":"2026-07-29T20:54:38Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v4.4.2-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.3.1","date":"2026-06-23T12:27:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.3.1-rc1","date":"2026-06-13T07:08:30Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v4.3.1-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.4.1","date":"2026-06-10T18:06:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.4.1-rc1","date":"2026-06-03T21:23:41Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v4.4.1-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.4.0","date":"2026-04-14T21:33:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.4.0-rc3","date":"2026-04-08T20:33:53Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v4.4.0-rc3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.4.0-rc2","date":"2026-04-02T21:06:28Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v4.4.0-rc2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v3.7.2","date":"2026-03-31T19:09:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.7.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.4.0-rc1","date":"2026-03-24T23:16:10Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v4.4.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.2.2","date":"2026-03-23T16:05:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v3.7.2-rc2","date":"2026-03-14T12:19:10Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.7.2-rc2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.3.0","date":"2025-11-13T19:56:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.3.0-rc3","date":"2025-11-08T14:43:55Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v4.3.0-rc3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.3.0-rc2","date":"2025-11-01T14:49:19Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v4.3.0-rc2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.3.0-rc1","date":"2025-10-25T14:38:11Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v4.3.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.2.1","date":"2025-10-07T22:55:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/releases/tag/v4.2.0","date":"2025-07-19T01:11:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.0"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 2.8 | 7.1 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fespressif%2Fesp-idf&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fzephyrproject-rtos%2FZephyr&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Embedded IOT Dev)

| Capability | ESP-IDF | Zephyr RTOS |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Target class | Both | Both |
| Rtos type | - | - |
| Low power support | - | - |
| Tls dtls stack | ✓ | - |
| Ota updates | ✓ | - |
| Device management console | - | - |
| Device provisioning | - | - |
| Open source | - | ✓ |
| PSA certified | - | - |
| Rust support | ✓ | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:59:49.045Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*