Abstract Hybrid photovoltaic (PV) cells based on cadmium sulphide (CdS) single crystal and phthalocyanine (Pc) films have been developed and their PV performance was measured. Five different Pcs have been selected as candidates for the PV cell, PcCu, PcMn, PcZn, PcMg, and PcVO. It was found that all the chosen Pcs are capable of forming a hybrid heterojunction with the CdS surface, and that illumination results in charge separation at the interface. However, the performance of the In/CdS/Pc/Au device was dependent on the Pc used. PV cells with PcMg and PcZn showed the best results. An unoptimized cell with the PcZn film showed an open-circuit voltage V oc =0.595 V, a short-circuit current density J sc =1.88 μA/cm 2 , a fill factor FF=0.265, and a power conversion efficiency PCE=3.0×10 −4 % under the AM1.5 conditions.