... low-cost Wi-Fi microchip with full TCP/IP stack and microcontroller capability. It WAs developed by Espressif Systems and has become very popular due to its low cost and ease of use in Internet of Things (IoT) projects and other applications requiring wireless communication. NodeMCU: On the other hand, NodeMCU primarily refers to two things associated with the ESP8266: Development Board: The NodeMCU development board is based on the ESP8266 microchip. It's a user-friendly and open-source IoT platform. It includes a firmware that runs on the ESP8266 ...

... due to its low cost, small size, and decent processing power. The ESP8266 itself is just a chip, and while you can use it directly, it’s typically integrated into modules or development boards for easier use. NodeMCU: This term means two things: NodeMCU Development Board: This is a development board that features the ESP8266 chip (typically the ESP-12E or ESP-12F module). The NodeMCU board makes it easier to work with the ESP8266 chip by providing additional features like USB-to-serial conversion, a power regulator, and easy access to the GPIO (input/o ...