In dry and semi-arid areas, freshwater scarcity is a serious problem. By employing solar energy to transform brackish water into drinkable water, solar stills provide a sustainable alternative. However, low productivity and efficiency are common problems with traditional solar stills. The goal of this project is to create and statistically assess improved passive and active pyramid solar still designs in order to greatly increase water yield and energy efficiency in comparison to conventional setups. A new method that combines passive and active pyramid solar stills with a hemispherically finned absorber is suggested. The active arrangement offers enhanced thermal performance and longer operating capabilities by utilizing nanofluid to integrate a heat exchanger with a parabolic trough collector (PTC). The governing conservation equations of heat and mass transmission for three configurations-traditional, passive-enhanced, and active-enhanced pyramid solar stills-were solved numerically using COMSOL Multiphysics. Thermal performance, energy efficiency, and water productivity were the main topics of the comparative study. The accumulated freshwater production of the passive and active systems was significantly higher than that of the conventional still, increasing by 116.23 % and 510.25 %, respectively. The highest hourly average thermal and exergy efficiencies were 24.75 % & 1.44 % (traditional), 82.2 % & 8.79 % (active), and 40.79 % & 2.82 % (passive). The results validate that the suggested solutions are appropriate for both domestic and commercial settings, including greenhouse irrigation and hospitals in water-stressed areas.