# ESP-IDF vs RIOT OS

| Attribute | ESP-IDF | RIOT OS |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 42.6 (28% (low)) | 36.2 (23% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 1 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 18,875 | 5,778 |
| deployment.options | - | `{"on_prem":true,"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. | A lightweight, modular OS designed to enable secure, distributed IoT applications across microcontrollers and edge devices. It abstracts hardware differences through vendor-agnostic APIs while supporting both cloud-connected and decentralized network architectures. |
| integrations.count | 1 | 1 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"CLion"}]` | `[{"name":"LwM2M"}]` |
| language.primary | C | C |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-2.1 |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | - | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://riot-os.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-20T16:36:24.432Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | - | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | - | free |
| release.cadence_days | 19 | 88 |
| 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/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2026.07","date":"2026-08-21T07:49:39Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.07"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2026.04.01","date":"2026-05-22T09:39:42Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.04.01"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2026.04","date":"2026-05-06T13:59:35Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.04"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2026.01","date":"2026-02-10T09:28:23Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.01"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2025.10","date":"2025-12-06T13:46:06Z","type":"stable","version":"2025.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2025.07","date":"2025-08-04T07:31:31Z","type":"stable","version":"2025.07"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2025.04","date":"2025-04-29T11:42:43Z","type":"stable","version":"2025.04"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2025.01","date":"2025-02-04T15:34:41Z","type":"stable","version":"2025.01"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2024.10","date":"2024-11-29T20:59:58Z","type":"stable","version":"2024.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2024.07","date":"2024-07-31T07:55:30Z","type":"stable","version":"2024.07"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2024.04","date":"2024-05-07T11:26:58Z","type":"stable","version":"2024.04"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2024.01","date":"2024-02-08T16:58:21Z","type":"stable","version":"2024.01"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2023.10","date":"2023-11-21T08:38:21Z","type":"stable","version":"2023.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2023.07","date":"2023-08-13T19:23:37Z","type":"stable","version":"2023.07"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2023.04","date":"2023-04-28T06:34:21Z","type":"stable","version":"2023.04"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2023.01","date":"2023-01-31T15:06:45Z","type":"stable","version":"2023.01"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2022.10","date":"2022-12-02T15:31:28Z","type":"stable","version":"2022.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2022.07","date":"2022-08-29T13:47:12Z","type":"stable","version":"2022.07"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2022.04","date":"2022-05-09T12:04:28Z","type":"stable","version":"2022.04"},{"url":"https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2022.01","date":"2022-02-01T11:43:13Z","type":"stable","version":"2022.01"}]` |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| 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}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=cargo&package_name=riot&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Embedded IOT Dev)

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

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:00:34.348Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*