CdS films were fabricated using Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) technique from starting solutions having S:Cd ratio 1:1, 3:1, 5:1 and 7:1 and their structural, surface morphological and optical properties were investigated and compared with that of their chemical bath deposited counterparts. The X-ray diffraction profiles showed that the films have cubic crystal structure with preferential orientation along the (111) plane and the intensity of the (111) plane increases for both the techniques as the S:Cd ratio increases. The energy dispersive X-ray analysis revealed that for SILAR deposited films, the S/Cd ratio in the sample increases from 0.8308 (for S:Cd 1:1) to 1.04 (for S:Cd 7:1) as the molar concentration of sulphur in the starting solution increases. But for CBD films, the S/Cd is only ~0.80 for all concentrations of sulphur in the starting solution. The optical band gap increases with the increase in S:Cd ratio in the starting solution in both the techniques.