diff --git a/esphome/components/sntp/sntp_component.cpp b/esphome/components/sntp/sntp_component.cpp
index 1457045d29e..331a9b35099 100644
--- a/esphome/components/sntp/sntp_component.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/sntp/sntp_component.cpp
@@ -42,16 +42,7 @@ void SNTPComponent::setup() {
 
   size_t i = 0;
   for (auto &server : this->servers_) {
-#if defined(USE_ESP8266)
-    // On ESP8266, server is PGM_P pointing to PROGMEM
-    // LWIP's sntp_setservername is not PROGMEM-aware, so copy to stack buffer first
-    char server_buf[64];
-    strncpy_P(server_buf, server, sizeof(server_buf) - 1);
-    server_buf[sizeof(server_buf) - 1] = '\0';
-    sntp_setservername(i++, server_buf);
-#else
     sntp_setservername(i++, server);
-#endif
   }
 
 #if defined(USE_ESP8266)
@@ -68,8 +59,7 @@ void SNTPComponent::dump_config() {
   ESP_LOGCONFIG(TAG, "SNTP Time:");
   size_t i = 0;
   for (auto &server : this->servers_) {
-    // LOG_STR_ARG handles both PROGMEM (ESP8266) and regular pointers
-    ESP_LOGCONFIG(TAG, "  Server %zu: '%s'", i++, LOG_STR_ARG(server));
+    ESP_LOGCONFIG(TAG, "  Server %zu: '%s'", i++, server);
   }
 }
 void SNTPComponent::update() {
diff --git a/esphome/components/sntp/sntp_component.h b/esphome/components/sntp/sntp_component.h
index d5ce25e8eeb..de40faa2593 100644
--- a/esphome/components/sntp/sntp_component.h
+++ b/esphome/components/sntp/sntp_component.h
@@ -4,10 +4,6 @@
 #include "esphome/components/time/real_time_clock.h"
 #include <array>
 
-#ifdef USE_ESP8266
-#include <pgmspace.h>
-#endif
-
 namespace esphome {
 namespace sntp {
 
@@ -22,7 +18,7 @@ namespace sntp {
 /// \see https://www.gnu.org/software/libc/manual/html_node/TZ-Variable.html
 class SNTPComponent : public time::RealTimeClock {
  public:
-  template<typename... Args> SNTPComponent(Args... servers) : servers_{servers...} {}
+  SNTPComponent(std::array<const char *, SNTP_SERVER_COUNT> servers) : servers_(servers) {}
 
   void setup() override;
   void dump_config() override;
@@ -34,13 +30,10 @@ class SNTPComponent : public time::RealTimeClock {
   void time_synced();
 
  protected:
-#ifdef USE_ESP8266
-  // On ESP8266, store pointers to PROGMEM strings to save RAM
-  std::array<PGM_P, SNTP_SERVER_COUNT> servers_;
-#else
-  // On other platforms, store regular const char pointers
+  // Store const char pointers to string literals
+  // ESP8266: strings in rodata (RAM), but avoids std::string overhead (~24 bytes each)
+  // Other platforms: strings in flash
   std::array<const char *, SNTP_SERVER_COUNT> servers_;
-#endif
   bool has_time_{false};
 
 #if defined(USE_ESP32)
diff --git a/esphome/components/sntp/time.py b/esphome/components/sntp/time.py
index 78b586ea5a9..afa7f6d1fd3 100644
--- a/esphome/components/sntp/time.py
+++ b/esphome/components/sntp/time.py
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ from esphome.const import (
     PLATFORM_RTL87XX,
 )
 from esphome.core import CORE
-from esphome.cpp_generator import ProgmemAssignmentExpression
 
 DEPENDENCIES = ["network"]
 sntp_ns = cg.esphome_ns.namespace("sntp")
@@ -49,25 +48,12 @@ async def to_code(config):
     # Define server count at compile time
     cg.add_define("SNTP_SERVER_COUNT", server_count)
 
-    # Generate PROGMEM strings for ESP8266, regular strings for other platforms
-    if CORE.is_esp8266:
-        # On ESP8266, use PROGMEM to store strings in flash
-        server_vars = []
-        for i, server in enumerate(servers):
-            var_name = f"{config[CONF_ID].id}_server_{i}"
-            # Create PROGMEM string: static const char var_name[] PROGMEM = "server";
-            assignment = ProgmemAssignmentExpression(
-                "char", var_name, cg.safe_exp(server)
-            )
-            cg.add(assignment)
-            server_vars.append(cg.RawExpression(var_name))
-        # Pass PROGMEM string pointers to constructor using ArrayInitializer
-        var = cg.new_Pvariable(config[CONF_ID], cg.ArrayInitializer(*server_vars))
-    else:
-        # On other platforms, pass regular string literals to constructor
-        var = cg.new_Pvariable(
-            config[CONF_ID], cg.ArrayInitializer(*[cg.safe_exp(s) for s in servers])
-        )
+    # Pass string literals to constructor - stored in flash/rodata by compiler
+    # On ESP8266, LWIP doesn't support PROGMEM pointers, so strings are in rodata (RAM)
+    # but we still avoid the ~24 byte std::string overhead per server
+    var = cg.new_Pvariable(
+        config[CONF_ID], cg.ArrayInitializer(*[cg.safe_exp(s) for s in servers])
+    )
 
     await cg.register_component(var, config)
     await time_.register_time(var, config)