Abstract Solar drying systems are becoming a popular alternative to traditional energy-based drying systems for agricultural products due to their effectiveness and reduced fuel consumption. Although the efficiency of solar drying systems has been thoroughly investigated, their sustainability has not been studied enough. This study aims to fill that gap by conducting a life cycle assessment of two new solar drying systems built in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. The environmental implications of an innovative cylindrical solar-assisted drying system and a phase change material-based solar drying system were evaluated using cradle-to-gate life cycle analysis. The study uses the ReCiPe 2016 endpoints (H) technique to calculate various aspects such as midpoint, endpoint, single score, normalization result, and network diagram for phase change material-based solar drying and cylindrical solar-assisted drying. Results show that phase change material-based solar drying has an average of 40% more impact on the environment than cylindrical solar-assisted drying, with a high impact found in human non-carcinogenic toxicity, mainly due to the production of phase change material However, cylindrical solar-assisted drying crossovers phase change material-based solar drying in terms of its impact on human carcinogenic toxicity and fossil resource scarcity. The contribution to global warming by phase change material-based solar drying is 13.7% more than cylindrical solar-assisted drying. The endpoint characterization indicates that phase change material-based solar drying exceeds in terms of human health (40%) and ecosystem (37.04%), whereas cylindrical solar-assisted drying surpasses phase change material-based solar drying in impacts on resources with 14%. The early drying in phase change material-based solar drying makes up for its higher impact than cylindrical solar-assisted drying, which took 3 hours longer to dry. This study offers guidance and method for making the best choice of solar-powered dryers.