Thoracoscopic esophagectomy is a less invasive surgical procedure; however, evidence of its effect on long-term survival is limited. We evaluated long-term survival after the procedure in patients with esophageal carcinoma. This retrospective multicenter study involved 1,559 consecutive patients with esophageal carcinoma who underwent thoracoscopic esophagectomy or open esophagectomy between 2012 and 2019 at two Japanese high-volume cancer centers. Propensity score matching analysis was performed to compare short- and long-term outcomes. Additionally, stage-specific survival rates were compared between the two groups. Three-hundred-and-thirteen patients were matched and analyzed. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 84.5%, 60.5%, and 52.1%, respectively, in the matched open esophagectomy group; and 87.2%, 68.6%, and 61.8%, respectively, in the matched thoracoscopic esophagectomy group. The weighted Cox regression model showed significantly better survival in the thoracoscopic esophagectomy group than in the open esophagectomy group (hazard ratio = 0.74, 95% confidence interval: 0.582-0.941). Deaths from other causes occurred more frequently in the open esophagectomy group than in the thoracoscopic esophagectomy group. Stratified analysis showed no significant survival differences between the cStage I or II and pStage 0 or I subgroups. However, the thoracoscopic esophagectomy groups with cStage III or IV and pStage II, III, or IV had significantly better overall survival. This study demonstrated the survival benefits of thoracoscopic esophagectomy particularly for highly advanced esophageal carcinoma.