diff --git a/esphome/espidf/framework.py b/esphome/espidf/framework.py
index b8e0d4cfca..a9b3fd9644 100644
--- a/esphome/espidf/framework.py
+++ b/esphome/espidf/framework.py
@@ -679,6 +679,16 @@ def _check_esphome_idf_framework_install(
                 )
             raise RuntimeError(f"ESP-IDF {version} framework installation failure")
 
+        # idf_tools.py extracts tool archives from <IDF_TOOLS_PATH>/dist into tools/; the
+        # archives are not needed afterward and, already compressed, dominate the cached install.
+        # Best-effort: a failure to prune must not fail an otherwise successful install.
+        try:
+            rmdir(
+                get_idf_tools_path() / "dist", msg="Remove ESP-IDF tool download cache"
+            )
+        except RuntimeError as err:
+            _LOGGER.debug("Could not remove ESP-IDF tool download cache: %s", err)
+
         _write_stamp(env_stamp_file, stamp_info)
 
     return framework_path, install
diff --git a/tests/unit_tests/test_espidf_framework.py b/tests/unit_tests/test_espidf_framework.py
index a1af5ae54c..f18a219878 100644
--- a/tests/unit_tests/test_espidf_framework.py
+++ b/tests/unit_tests/test_espidf_framework.py
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ def espidf_mocks(setup_core: Path):
     # extracted-marker touch writes into.
     _get_framework_path(_IDF_VERSION).mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     with (
-        patch("esphome.espidf.framework.rmdir"),
+        patch("esphome.espidf.framework.rmdir") as rmdir_mock,
         patch(
             "esphome.espidf.framework.download_from_mirrors",
             return_value="https://example.com/idf.tar.xz",
@@ -344,6 +344,7 @@ def espidf_mocks(setup_core: Path):
             run_ok=run_ok,
             tool_paths=tool_paths,
             clone=clone,
+            rmdir=rmdir_mock,
         )
 
 
@@ -358,6 +359,27 @@ def test_check_esp_idf_install_fresh(espidf_mocks: SimpleNamespace) -> None:
     espidf_mocks.extract.assert_called_once()
     espidf_mocks.venv.assert_called_once()
     espidf_mocks.clone.assert_not_called()
+    # the tool download cache (<IDF_TOOLS_PATH>/dist) is pruned after install
+    espidf_mocks.rmdir.assert_any_call(
+        get_idf_tools_path() / "dist", msg="Remove ESP-IDF tool download cache"
+    )
+
+
+def test_check_esp_idf_install_dist_prune_failure_ignored(
+    espidf_mocks: SimpleNamespace,
+) -> None:
+    """A failure to prune the tool download cache must not fail the install."""
+    tools_dist = get_idf_tools_path() / "dist"
+
+    def rmdir_side_effect(directory: Path, msg: str | None = None) -> None:
+        if directory == tools_dist:
+            raise RuntimeError("cannot remove dist")
+
+    espidf_mocks.rmdir.side_effect = rmdir_side_effect
+
+    # install still succeeds despite the failed prune
+    framework_path, _ = check_esp_idf_install(_IDF_VERSION, force=True)
+    assert framework_path == _get_framework_path(_IDF_VERSION)
 
 
 def test_check_esp_idf_install_git_source(espidf_mocks: SimpleNamespace) -> None: