An energy‐economical dye‐sensitized solar cell (DSSC) with highly flexible Ti/TiO2 photoanode was developed through a low‐temperature process, using a binder‐free TiO2 paste. Ti foils, coated with the binder‐free TiO2 films were annealed at various temperature. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images of the films show uniform, mesoporous and crack‐free surface morphologies as well as interpenetrated TiO2 network. DSSCs with binder‐free TiO2 films annealed at 450, 350, 250 and 120°C show solar‐to‐electricity conversion efficiencies (η) of 4.33, 4.34, 3.72 and 3.40%, respectively, which are comparable to the efficiency of 4.56% obtained by using a paste with binder and annealing it at 450°C; this observation demonstrates the benefits of a binder‐free TiO2 paste for the fabrication of energy‐fugal DSSCs. On the other hand, when organic binder was used in the TiO2 paste for film preparation, a drastic deterioration in the cell performance with decreasing annealing temperature is noticed. Laser‐induced photo‐voltage transient technique is used to estimate the electron lifetime in various Ti/TiO2 films. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) analysis shows that the lower the annealing temperature of the TiO2 coated Ti foil, the larger the charge transfer resistance at the TiO2/dye/electrolyte interface (Rct2). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.