Adafruit QT Py ESP32-C3

Overview

The Adafruit QT Py ESP32-C3 brings the RISC-V ESP32-C3 microcontroller into the compact QT Py / Seeed XIAO form factor at 22 × 17.8 mm. Despite being the most affordable QT Py WiFi variant, it includes both WiFi (2.4 GHz) and Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0 with Mesh support — making it the smallest and cheapest board in the QT Py line with full BLE.

The ESP32-C3 uses a 32-bit single-core RISC-V architecture at 160 MHz, which is more power-efficient than the Xtensa cores in the ESP32 family. This makes the QT Py ESP32-C3 a strong choice for always-on BLE beacons or sensors that need to run for months on a small battery. Deep sleep current sits at around 300 µA and light sleep at 500 µA.

A STEMMA QT / Qwiic connector provides instant I2C sensor integration, and five 12-bit ADC inputs (A0–A3, SDA) cover typical analogue sensing needs. PWM is available on any pin. Unlike the ESP32-S2/S3 variants, the C3 uses a USB-to-UART bridge rather than native USB, so it is not natively HID-capable but is fully compatible with the Arduino IDE without any extra setup.

Hardware I2S enables audio input/output, and a hardware UART plus SPI bus are exposed on the breakout pads. The board is compatible with CircuitPython, MicroPython, and Arduino. A NeoPixel RGB LED with power-control pin, Reset button, and GPIO 9 bootloader button are included.