Getting good quality drinking water is a significant challenge for developing countries. It is a fundamental human need, and life without it is impossible. Besides, the expanding population and industrialization lead to an increased demand for potable water. The potable water scarcity in society could be resolved by harnessing solar energy, the best form of renewable energy, which contributes towards the sustainability goals of our country. This investigation aims to explore the influence of wick materials, namely, black cotton cloth (C) and jute (J) on the performance of two pyramid solar stills, i.e., conventional solar still (CSS) and modified solar still (MSS). In the MSS, fins and phase change materials (PCM) are used to improve heat transfer. Experiments were conducted for six cases, i.e., CSS only, MSS only, CSS + C, MSS + C, CSS + J, and MSS + J at GNIOT, Greater Noida (28°28'N, 77°30'E), India, during the month of November 2023. The performance of solar stills was assessed via productivity and economic analysis. The results indicate an improvement of about 15%, 12.7%, 11.2%, 8.2% and 6% in daily yield for MSS + C, CSS + C, MSS + J, CSS + J and MSS, respectively, compared to CSS. The payback period for six different cases ranging from 0.42 to 1.2 years. Notably, CSS + C demonstrated a reduction in cost per litre (CPL) in productivity and payback period, each by 10.1%, compared to CSS. Additionally, the distillate produced using cotton was 4% higher than that produced using jute.