Abstract Objectives To compare simple enucleation (SE) and standard partial nephrectomy (SPN) in terms of surgical results in a multicenter dataset (RECORd Project). Materials and methods patients treated with nephron sparing surgery (NSS) for clinical T1 renal tumors between January 2009 and January 2011 were evaluated. Overall, 198 patients who underwent SE were retrospectively matched to 198 patients who underwent SPN. The SPN and SE groups were compared regarding intraoperative, early post-operative and pathologic outcome variables. Multivariable analysis was applied to analyze predictors of positive surgical margin (PSM) status. Results SE was associated with similar WIT (18 vs 17.8 min), lower intraoperative blood loss (177 vs 221 cc, p  = 0.02) and shorter operative time (121 vs 147 min; p  < 0.0001). Surgical approach (laparoscopic vs. open), tumor size and type of indication (elective/relative vs absolute) were associated with WIT >20 min. The incidence of PSM was significantly lower in patients treated with SE (1.4% vs 6.9%; p  = 0.02). At multivariable analysis, PSM was related to the surgical technique, with a 4.7-fold increased risk of PSM for SPN compared to SE. The incidence of overall, medical and surgical complications was similar between SE and SPN. Conclusions Type of NSS technique (SE vs SPN) adopted has a negligible impact on WIT and postoperative morbidity but SE seems protective against PSM occurrence.