The flexibility in structural design of organic semiconductors endows organic solar cells (OSCs) not only great function-tunabilities, but also high potential toward practical application. In this work, four simple and low-cost non-fullerene acceptors with fluorene or carbazole as central cores, 2-(6-oxo-5,6-dihydro-4H-cyclopenta[c] thiophen-4-ylidene)malononitrile (TC) as terminal groups, and thiophene or furan as linkers, named DTC-T-F, DTC-F-F, DTC-T-C and DTC-F-C, are developed through twostep synthesis, and their photophysical properties, electrochemical behavior and photovoltaic performance are systematically and comparatively studied. The results revealed that fluorene-based acceptors exhibited superior photophysical properties and morphology characteristics than carbazole-based counterparts, and thiophene is more suitable as bridging groups. Combining the advantages of both, the BHJ-OSC based on PTB7-Th:DTC-T-F blend film showed a high PCE of 8.8%, with a V oc of 0.78 V, a J sc of 17.46 mA cm −2 , and an FF of 0.65, which is the highest value in the PTB7-Th and fluorene-based acceptors coupled devices, implying its potential application. Four simple and low-cost non-fullerene acceptors were synthesized and systematic comparative investigated, in which the DTC-T-F based BHJ-OSC showed a high PCE of 8.8%. • Four simple, low-cost non-fullerene acceptors were synthesized and systematic comparative investigated. • Both electron-donating donors and bridging groups have direct effects on the properties of non-fullerene acceptors. • PTB7-Th:DTC-T-F based OSC showed a high PCE of 8.8%, which is the highest value in the fluorene-based acceptors devices.