Background/aim: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and cryotherapy and to scrutinize the therapeutic success of the RENAL (radius, exophytic/endophytic, nearness to collecting system, anterior/posterior, and location) nephrometry score in terms of possible complications and the predictive status of oncological results.Materials and methods: Forty-five patients with biopsy-proven renal cell carcinomas (32 males, 13 females) treated with RFA and cryotherapy were included. Patients were 22-90 years old (average: 59.2 years). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS for Windows. Results: A total of 79 lesions with dimensions varying between 0.9 and 4.5 cm (average: 2.2 cm) were ablated. Complete ablation was achieved for 72 (91.1%) lesions. Six repeat RFA sessions were applied for 4 (5%) lesions with residue/recurrence. The average RENAL nephrometry scores of lesions that underwent complete ablation and those that developed residue/recurrence were 6.3 and 7.7, respectively. The average recurrence-free survival time was 34.8 months (range: 3-55 months), while it was 44.6 months (range: 6-55 months) for cryotherapy and 28.6 months (range: 3-50 months) for RFA.Conclusions: Ablative therapies are minimally invasive and effective methods for treating small renal tumors. RENAL nephrometry scoring is a valuable system for standardizing renal tumors and evaluating the success of ablative therapies, possible complications, and oncological results.