diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 11d073e7e3..6c89712e05 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -193,9 +193,10 @@ jobs:
     needs:
       - common
     # PR-branch cache saves are invisible to other PRs, so dev pushes seed
-    # the shared entry test-esp8266-native restores. Only dev: the composite
-    # action saves nowhere else, so a beta/release push would download the
-    # toolchain and discard it.
+    # the shared entry the component matrix, the memory impact jobs and
+    # test-esp8266-native restore. Only dev: the composite action saves
+    # nowhere else, so a beta/release push would download the toolchain and
+    # discard it.
     if: github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/dev'
     timeout-minutes: 15
     steps:
@@ -1127,6 +1128,11 @@ jobs:
         uses: ./.github/actions/cache-sdk-nrf
         with:
           restore-only: true
+      - name: Cache the native ESP8266 toolchain
+        # Only batches whose test platforms include esp8266; never saves
+        # here, it reuses the install the dev seed job cached.
+        if: matrix.batch.needs_arduino8266
+        uses: ./.github/actions/cache-arduino8266
       - name: Validate and compile components with intelligent grouping
         run: |
           . venv/bin/activate
@@ -1479,12 +1485,9 @@ jobs:
           python-version: ${{ env.DEFAULT_PYTHON }}
           cache-key: ${{ needs.common.outputs.cache-key }}
 
-      - name: Cache platformio
-        if: steps.check-script.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.check-tests.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.cache-memory-analysis.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
-        uses: actions/cache/restore@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
-        with:
-          path: ~/.platformio
-          key: platformio-memory-${{ fromJSON(needs.determine-jobs.outputs.memory_impact).platform }}-${{ hashFiles('platformio.ini') }}
+      - name: Cache the native ESP8266 toolchain
+        if: steps.check-script.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.check-tests.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.cache-memory-analysis.outputs.cache-hit != 'true' && fromJSON(needs.determine-jobs.outputs.memory_impact).needs_arduino8266
+        uses: ./.github/actions/cache-arduino8266
 
       - name: Build, compile, and analyze memory
         if: steps.check-script.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.check-tests.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.cache-memory-analysis.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
@@ -1569,11 +1572,9 @@ jobs:
         with:
           python-version: ${{ env.DEFAULT_PYTHON }}
           cache-key: ${{ needs.common.outputs.cache-key }}
-      - name: Cache platformio
-        uses: actions/cache/restore@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
-        with:
-          path: ~/.platformio
-          key: platformio-memory-${{ fromJSON(needs.determine-jobs.outputs.memory_impact).platform }}-${{ hashFiles('platformio.ini') }}
+      - name: Cache the native ESP8266 toolchain
+        if: fromJSON(needs.determine-jobs.outputs.memory_impact).needs_arduino8266
+        uses: ./.github/actions/cache-arduino8266
       - name: Build, compile, and analyze memory
         id: extract
         run: |
diff --git a/script/determine-jobs.py b/script/determine-jobs.py
index aa93074581..a45951a52a 100755
--- a/script/determine-jobs.py
+++ b/script/determine-jobs.py
@@ -724,11 +724,17 @@ def _esp8266_native_path_or_file_trigger(files: list[str]) -> bool:
 
 
 def esp8266_native_components_to_test(branch: str | None = None) -> list[str]:
-    """Subset of ``ESP8266_NATIVE_TEST_COMPONENTS`` the job needs to
-    compile (same narrowing as ``esp32_platformio_components_to_test``)."""
-    return _toolchain_components_to_test(
-        branch, ESP8266_NATIVE_TEST_COMPONENTS, _esp8266_native_path_or_file_trigger
-    )
+    """The smoke set on a native-build change, nothing otherwise.
+
+    Unlike the esp32 PlatformIO job, this one does not narrow to the changed
+    components: the component matrix already compiles every esp8266 fixture
+    with this toolchain, so the only gap left is a change to the native build
+    itself that brings no component along.
+    """
+    files = changed_files(branch)
+    if core_changed(files) or _esp8266_native_path_or_file_trigger(files):
+        return sorted(ESP8266_NATIVE_TEST_COMPONENTS)
+    return []
 
 
 def determine_cpp_unit_tests(
@@ -1286,6 +1292,7 @@ def detect_memory_impact_config(
         "components": compatible_components,
         "platform": platform,
         "use_merged_config": "true",
+        "needs_arduino8266": platform.startswith("esp8266"),
     }
 
 
@@ -1516,12 +1523,20 @@ def main() -> None:
         for batch in batches:
             platforms: set[str] = set()
             for component in batch:
-                platforms.update(get_component_test_platforms(component))
+                # Variants included: the compile stage builds them, so a
+                # component tested only by test-<variant>.<platform>.yaml
+                # still needs that platform's toolchain
+                platforms.update(
+                    get_component_test_platforms(component, base_only=False)
+                )
             component_test_batches.append(
                 {
                     "components": " ".join(batch),
                     "needs_idf": any(p.startswith("esp32") for p in platforms),
                     "needs_nrf": any(p.startswith("nrf52") for p in platforms),
+                    "needs_arduino8266": any(
+                        p.startswith("esp8266") for p in platforms
+                    ),
                 }
             )
 
diff --git a/tests/script/test_determine_jobs.py b/tests/script/test_determine_jobs.py
index 4903f1a88a..c3f30b8ed1 100644
--- a/tests/script/test_determine_jobs.py
+++ b/tests/script/test_determine_jobs.py
@@ -250,6 +250,82 @@ def test_main_all_tests_should_run(
         assert len(batch["components"]) > 0
         assert isinstance(batch["needs_idf"], bool)
         assert isinstance(batch["needs_nrf"], bool)
+        assert isinstance(batch["needs_arduino8266"], bool)
+
+
+def test_main_batch_flags_count_variant_tests(
+    mock_determine_integration_tests: Mock,
+    mock_should_run_clang_tidy: Mock,
+    mock_should_run_clang_format: Mock,
+    mock_should_run_python_linters: Mock,
+    mock_should_run_import_time: Mock,
+    mock_should_run_device_builder: Mock,
+    mock_esp32_platformio_components_to_test: Mock,
+    mock_esp8266_native_components_to_test: Mock,
+    mock_changed_files: Mock,
+    mock_determine_cpp_unit_tests: Mock,
+    capsys: pytest.CaptureFixture[str],
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    """The compile stage builds test-<variant>.<platform>.yaml too, so a
+    component tested on esp8266 only by a variant still needs the toolchain."""
+    monkeypatch.delenv("GITHUB_ACTIONS", raising=False)
+    mock_determine_integration_tests.return_value = (False, [])
+    mock_should_run_clang_tidy.return_value = False
+    mock_should_run_clang_format.return_value = False
+    mock_should_run_python_linters.return_value = False
+    mock_should_run_import_time.return_value = False
+    mock_should_run_device_builder.return_value = False
+    mock_esp32_platformio_components_to_test.return_value = []
+    mock_esp8266_native_components_to_test.return_value = []
+    mock_determine_cpp_unit_tests.return_value = (False, [])
+    mock_changed_files.return_value = ["esphome/components/safe_mode/__init__.py"]
+
+    def platforms(component: str, *, base_only: bool = True) -> set[str]:
+        return set() if base_only else {"esp8266-ard"}
+
+    with (
+        patch("sys.argv", ["determine-jobs.py"]),
+        patch.object(determine_jobs, "_is_clang_tidy_full_scan", return_value=False),
+        patch.object(
+            determine_jobs, "get_changed_components", return_value=["safe_mode"]
+        ),
+        patch.object(
+            determine_jobs,
+            "filter_component_and_test_files",
+            side_effect=lambda f: f.startswith("esphome/components/"),
+        ),
+        patch.object(
+            determine_jobs,
+            "get_components_with_dependencies",
+            return_value=["safe_mode"],
+        ),
+        patch.object(determine_jobs, "_component_has_tests", return_value=True),
+        patch.object(
+            determine_jobs,
+            "detect_memory_impact_config",
+            return_value={"should_run": "false"},
+        ),
+        patch.object(
+            determine_jobs,
+            "create_intelligent_batches",
+            return_value=([["safe_mode"]], {}),
+        ),
+        patch.object(
+            determine_jobs, "get_component_test_platforms", side_effect=platforms
+        ),
+    ):
+        determine_jobs.main()
+
+    output = json.loads(capsys.readouterr().out)
+    assert output["component_test_batches"] == [
+        {
+            "components": "safe_mode",
+            "needs_idf": False,
+            "needs_nrf": False,
+            "needs_arduino8266": True,
+        }
+    ]
 
 
 def test_main_no_tests_should_run(
@@ -1530,6 +1606,7 @@ def test_detect_memory_impact_config_with_common_platform(tmp_path: Path) -> Non
     assert set(result["components"]) == {"wifi", "api"}
     assert result["platform"] == "esp32-idf"  # Common platform
     assert result["use_merged_config"] == "true"
+    assert result["needs_arduino8266"] is False
 
 
 @pytest.mark.usefixtures("mock_target_branch_dev")
@@ -1634,6 +1711,8 @@ def test_detect_memory_impact_config_no_common_platform(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     assert result["platform"] == "esp8266-ard"
     assert result["components"] == ["logger"]
     assert result["use_merged_config"] == "true"
+    # The esp8266 build is native, so the job restores that toolchain
+    assert result["needs_arduino8266"] is True
 
 
 @pytest.mark.usefixtures("mock_target_branch_dev")
@@ -3212,13 +3291,13 @@ def test_esp8266_native_components_full_list_on_infra_change(changed: str) -> No
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     ("changed_files", "dependency_closure", "expected"),
     [
-        # Tested component changed -- narrow to the intersection.
+        # A tested component alone does not schedule this job: the component
+        # matrix already compiles its esp8266 fixtures with this toolchain.
         (
             ["esphome/components/mqtt/mqtt_client.cpp"],
             ["mqtt", "json"],
-            ["mqtt"],
+            [],
         ),
-        # Components outside the test set return an empty list (job skipped).
         (
             ["esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component.cpp"],
             ["wifi", "network"],
@@ -3236,7 +3315,7 @@ def test_esp8266_native_components_to_test_narrowing(
     dependency_closure: list[str],
     expected: list[str],
 ) -> None:
-    """Component changes narrow the native-ESP8266 test list."""
+    """Only a native-build change schedules the native-ESP8266 job."""
     with (
         patch.object(determine_jobs, "changed_files", return_value=changed_files),
         patch.object(
diff --git a/tests/test_build_components/build_components_base.esp8266-ard.yaml b/tests/test_build_components/build_components_base.esp8266-ard.yaml
index 1e2d614392..a20aa573ae 100644
--- a/tests/test_build_components/build_components_base.esp8266-ard.yaml
+++ b/tests/test_build_components/build_components_base.esp8266-ard.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ esphome:
 
 esp8266:
   board: d1_mini_pro
+  toolchain: arduino
 
 logger:
   level: VERY_VERBOSE