The ability of appliances, particularly communication nodes, to function independently has gained popularity in recent years. This can be accomplished by using a RF energy harvesting (RFEH) system, in which a low-power rectifier is an essential component. The RFEH rectifier design is difficult because it needs to be able to provide good Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE) at a lower input power. Moreover, due to low-power consumption and good fabrication compatibility, MOSFET-based designs are preferred. As cross-coupled differential-drive (CCDD) rectifiers are known for their inherent higher sensitivity, this paper proposes a modified dual MOSFET-based CCDD rectifier for realistic applications. The design achieves a peak efficiency of 89.41% at − 2 dBm and 70.17% at 8 dBm input power in a single-stage configuration. This harvesting is attained at available GSM bands with the utilization of 8 MOSFETs and 8 capacitors, which clearly indicates its area efficiency. This proposed design can be stated to be very useful for any real-world application for its simplicity, area efficiency, and satisfactorily higher PCE at low input power.