Owing to the high natural abundance and non-toxicity of all the constituents, the copper-zinc-tin-sulfide compound has been attracting attention in recent years for the production of cheap solar absorber materials. Solution-based low-cost approaches are being developed for the deposition of this compound. In this comparative study, we have investigated Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films prepared by using successive ionic layer adsorption-reaction and sol-gel methods. X-ray diffraction studies indicated the polycrystalline nature of the films. No secondary phases were observed. The sol-gel grown Cu2ZnSnS4 film was found to have smaller crystallite size and higher microstrain and dislocation density values. Phase purity and good crystalline quality of the studied films were proved through the Raman studies. From the scanning electron microscopy images, sol-gel grown Cu2ZnSnS4 film was found to have more homogenous and smooth morphology. Possible chemical formula of the films was determined. The optical absorption of the sol-gel grown film covered a wider wavelength range by means of absorbing more visible photons. The optical band gap values were estimated to be 1.45 and 1.40 eV for the successive ionic layer adsorption-reaction and sol-gel grown samples, respectively. It was concluded that both methods are effective and can be used to produce high-quality Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films for cheap and green solar cell applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.