# ESP-IDF vs FreeRTOS

| Attribute | ESP-IDF | FreeRTOS |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 42.6 (28% (low)) | 47 (29% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 2 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 1 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 18,875 | 7,722 |
| deployment.options | - | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | An open-source real-time operating system designed for resource-constrained microcontrollers and small processors. Offers kernel with multiprocessing, integrated TCP/IP networking with IPv6, and security-validated connectivity libraries for cloud integration. |
| features.capabilities | - | `{"rtos_type":"preemptive","open_source":true,"ota_updates":true,"target_class":"microcontroller/RTOS","psa_certified":true,"tls_dtls_stack":true,"device_provisioning":true,"device_management_console":true}` |
| integrations.count | 1 | 8 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"CLion"}]` | `[{"name":"AWS IoT Device Shadow"},{"name":"AWS IoT Jobs"},{"name":"AWS IoT Device Defender"},{"name":"AWS IoT Fleet Provisioning"},{"name":"AWS IoT OTA"},{"name":"MbedTLS"},{"name":"WolfSSL"},{"name":"Percepio Tracealyzer"}]` |
| language.primary | C | C |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | - |
| pricing | - | `{"type":"open_source","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"FreeRTOS","description":"Open-source under MIT license"},{"free":false,"name":"OpenRTOS","description":"Commercially licensed version with support from WITTENSTEIN high integrity systems","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free (MIT license); commercial support available via OpenRTOS","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://freertos.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-21T12:46:49.512Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | - | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | - | free |
| release.cadence_days | 19 | 83 |
| release.history | `[{"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/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.4.3","date":"2025-10-23T11:55:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.4.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.2.6","date":"2025-10-01T16:51:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.2.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.5.1","date":"2025-09-01T05:04:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v5.3.4","date":"2025-08-19T06:49:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.3.4"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/202411.00","date":"2024-11-21T06:51:00Z","type":"stable","version":"202411.00"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/202212.01","date":"2023-03-03T23:12:52Z","type":"stable","version":"202212.01"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/202212.00","date":"2022-12-10T01:22:17Z","type":"stable","version":"202212.00"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/202112.00","date":"2021-12-22T17:24:30Z","type":"stable","version":"202112.00"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/202111.00","date":"2021-11-13T02:40:47Z","type":"stable","version":"202111.00"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/202107.00","date":"2021-07-24T00:35:47Z","type":"stable","version":"202107.00"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/202104.00","date":"2021-04-29T18:45:32Z","type":"stable","version":"202104.00"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/202012.00","date":"2020-12-15T22:39:49Z","type":"stable","version":"202012.00"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/202011.00","date":"2020-11-10T22:51:06Z","type":"stable","version":"202011.00"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/V10.4.1","date":"2020-09-17T23:19:59Z","type":"stable","version":"V10.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/V10.4.0","date":"2020-09-11T17:20:15Z","type":"stable","version":"V10.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/V200717_LTS_development_snapshot","date":"2020-07-17T22:42:06Z","type":"prerelease","version":"V200717_LTS_development_snapshot"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/V10.3.1","date":"2020-02-19T05:06:39Z","type":"stable","version":"V10.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/FreeRTOS/FreeRTOS/releases/tag/V200218_LTS_development_snapshot","date":"2020-02-19T05:09:57Z","type":"prerelease","version":"V200218_LTS_development_snapshot"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 2.8 | - |
| 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}` | - |

## Capabilities (Embedded IOT Dev)

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

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T14:44:29.662Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*