Two solar polygeneration systems were investigated for electricity, cooling and fresh water production. In the first scenario ( LF PS ), the linear Fresnel (LF) solar field was used as thermal source of the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), absorption chiller (ACH) and multi-effect desalination (MED) unit. In the second scenario ( PV PS ), photovoltaic (PV) panels were considered as the electricity source to supply the electricity load that is required for lighting, electrical devices, compression chiller (CCH) and reverse osmosis (RO) units. A techno-economic comparison was made between two scenarios based on the land use factor (F), capacity utilization factor (CUF), payback period, levelized cost of electricity (LCE), levelized cost of cooling energy (LCC) and levelized cost of water (LCW). The calculations were conducted for four different locations in order to determine the effect of solar radiation level on the LCE, LCC and LCW of systems in both scenarios. The results showed that the LCE and LCW of PV PS is lower than that of LF PS and the LCC of LF PS is lower than that of PV PS . Also, the payback period of LF PS and PV PS systems are obtained as 13.97 years and 13.54 years, respectively, if no incentive is considered for the electricity sale.