Water treatment using solar thermal energy is more attractive for rural and remote communities as both desalination and detoxification can be carried out effectively in a single unit. In the present investigation, a hybrid solar still which has the capability to generate both potable water and hot water has been proposed and its performance has been simulated using transient mathematical modeling. The proposed still incorporates both inclined still and conventional basin type still and is ease of construction. The distillate yield from the proposed system is nearly 107 % higher than conventional inclined type solar still. The optimum gap between evaporating and condensing surface is 0.10 m. The optimum thickness of fluid film and depth of water in the basin is 0.001 m and 0.01 m. The unit is capable of generating 7.12 kg/d of distillate. The average temperature of hot water generated by the unit during summer and winter is 56.28 °C and 45.09 °C, respectively. The average overall efficiency of the unit is around 67.018 % and 59.61 % during summer and winter, respectively. The unit is found to meet the drinking water and hot water requirements of remote and rural communities. © 2016. The Authors. Published by International Solar Energy Society.