Display omitted •Tin sulfide films are grown by chemical bath deposition.•Role of complexing agent concentration on the physical properties is studied.•Control on structure is obtained over the triethanolamine (TEA) concentration range.•Films exhibit direct band gap which is found not affected significantly with TEA. This paper reports the experimental results studying the structure, optical and dielectric properties of tin monosulfide thin films. Tin monosulfide (SnS) films were deposited on glass substrate by chemical bath deposition to study the role of triethanolamine (TEA: complexing agent) concentration on the film properties. X-ray diffraction spectra reveal that the films exhibit mainly cubic phase which remain stable over the range of TEA concentration (3.0 M − 5.0 M). FTIR spectra indicate the S-Sn bond stretching in all films. Raman spectroscopy analysis shows the presence of minor trace of secondary SnS2 phase (along with main cubic π-SnS phase) in all films. SEM micrographs show cauliflower-like surface morphology of all films. Optical results reveal that the films possess high value of absorption coefficient (≥105 cm−1) in the visible region. Direct optical transition behavior is observed in all films. From Tauc plots, the calculated optical band gap (Eg) varies from 1.79 eV to 1.91 eV with the variation in TEA concentration. The dielectric constant, refractive index and an extinction coefficient are also calculated and observed to decrease with increasing TEA concentration. Experimental results suggest that an appropriate concentration of a complexing agent (TEA) can be chosen to obtain crystalline films without deterioration of crystalline structure and phase, not effecting Eg significantly.