Hydrothermal methods have been exploited to prepare two materials of the copper(II)/bisterpy/sulfate family. Compound [Cu 2 (bisterpy)(H 2 O) 2 (SO 4 ) 2 ]·2H 2 O (1·2H 2 O) exhibits a one-dimensional ladder structure, constructed of inorganic {Cu(SO 4 )} n rails linked through bisterpy rungs. In contrast, [Cu 2 (bisterpy)(SO 4 )]·1.5H 2 O (2·1.5H 2 O) is two-dimensional. Although 2 also exhibits {Cu(SO 4 )} n chains as a building blocks, alternating bisterpy groups project to opposite sides of these inorganic chains to provide overall two-dimensional connectivity. The structures of 1 and 2 are compared to those of the previously reported [Cu 2 (bisterpy)(SO 4 )] and [Cu 2 (bisterpy)(H 2 O) 2 (SO 4 )(Mo 4 O 13 )].