ThemisReviews
Smart home tech, weighed fairly.
ESP32 boards that extend Home Assistant's Bluetooth range, ranked.
We pulled the ESP32 boards on Amazon that work as ESPHome Bluetooth proxies and scored them on rating, review volume, and features: a case, Ethernet or PoE, and USB-C.
Prices, ratings, and review counts captured from Amazon on 2026-10-04.
The classic Bluetooth proxy: a cased 24 mm ESP32 that ESPHome's ready-made firmware supports, for $14.37.
Three USB-C ESP32 boards for $19.99, rated 4.7 stars with 2K+ bought last month.
Wired Ethernet with a PoE option keeps Bluetooth and Wi-Fi from sharing one radio.
A thumb-sized ESP32-C6 with Wi-Fi 6, BLE 5, and an external antenna connector, for $11.90.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| # | Board | Price | Rating | Reviews | Works with | Chip | Network | Case | Pack | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ELEGOO ESP-32 dev boards (3-pack) | $19.99 | 4.7 | 515 | ESP32 (WROOM-32) | Wi-Fi | No | 3 | 79 | |
| 2 | Aitrip ESP-WROOM-32 board | $16.99 | 4.4 | 1,273 | ESP32 (WROOM-32) | Wi-Fi | No | Not stated in bullets | 76 | |
| 3 | M5Stack ATOM Lite | $14.37 | 4.4 | 68 | ESP32 | Wi-Fi | Yes | 1 | 76 | |
| 4 | XKD ESP32-DevKitC-32 (6-pack) | $29.96 | 4.4 | 71 | ESP32 | Wi-Fi | No | 6 | 68 | |
| 5 | M5Stack ATOMS3 Lite | $14.90 | 4.8 | 26 | ESP32-S3 | Wi-Fi | Yes | 1 | 68 | |
| 6 | Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C6 | $11.90 | 4.7 | 155 | ESP32-C6 | Wi-Fi 6 | No | 1 | 67 | |
| 7 | UeeKKoo ESP32-S3 PoE Ethernet board | $30.71 | 4.6 | 44 | ESP32-S3 | Ethernet (PoE module optional) | No | 1 | 67 | |
| 8 | Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C6 (3-pack) | $22.99 | 4.5 | 103 | ESP32-C6 | Wi-Fi 6 | No | 3 | 63 | |
| 9 | Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C3 (pre-soldered) | $10.99 | 4.7 | 57 | ESP32-C3 | Wi-Fi | No | 1 | 63 | |
| 10 | Waveshare ESP32-S3 ETH (camera + PoE) | $34.99 | 4.4 | 28 | ESP32-S3 | Ethernet, PoE (802.3af) | No | 1 | 63 |
Works with: hover or tap an icon for the system name. A system is shown when it supports the product directly or through the hub the listing requires. Bluetooth proxies run ESPHome and work only with Home Assistant.
Scored out of 100: 45% customer rating, 30% review volume, 25% features.
Three standard ESP32 boards with USB-C that take ESPHome's generic proxy firmware.
The most-reviewed generic ESP32 board here.
The go-to Bluetooth proxy: tiny, already in a case, and one click to flash from ESPHome.
Six USB-C ESP32 boards for about $5 each.
The newer ESP32-S3 Atom, with 8 MB of flash and an IR transmitter for extra projects.
A thumb-sized board with Wi-Fi 6, BLE 5, and a connector for an external antenna.
An ESP32-S3 with wired Ethernet and a PoE option, so Bluetooth gets the radio to itself.
Three XIAO C6 boards to cover a whole house with proxies.
The cheapest board here, with an external antenna connector for extra range.
Waveshare's Ethernet ESP32-S3 with the PoE module and a camera included.
A small ESP32 board running ESPHome that listens for Bluetooth devices and forwards them to Home Assistant over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Put one in each part of the house and Home Assistant can read Bluetooth sensors, locks, and lights far from the server.
Plug the board into a computer, open ESPHome's Bluetooth proxy page in Chrome or Edge, and install the ready-made firmware in a few clicks. Home Assistant finds the proxy automatically.
Ethernet is more reliable because the ESP32 uses the same 2.4 GHz radio for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. If you have lots of Bluetooth devices, a PoE board is worth the extra few dollars.