Context: In sub-Saharan Africa, farmers are still perceiving minimum or no tillage to come at the expense of short-term economic profits. Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the effect of strip-till one-pass (ST) and direct seeding (DS) on crop yield and profitability within a cotton-maize rotation system, in comparison with conventional tillage (CT) and strip till plus hoeing and ridging (STHR), as a farmer adaptation of minimum tillage. Methods: An experiment was conducted in a split-plot design in 2022 and 2023 in northern Benin. Agronomic performance and economical profitability of cotton and maize were measured. Results: Yield penalties were observed in both years with ST and DS while STHR resulted in a 4–9¿% increase in cotton yield with respect to CT. The highest number of bolls per cotton plant was observed with ST and DS. Compared to CT, STHR led to a 3–8¿% increase in gross income and a 20–70¿% increase in gross margin for cotton. Regarding maize, the STHR resulted in an increase in gross income and margin by 13¿% and 27¿%, respectively, in comparison to CT in 2022. In 2023, the later exhibited the highest gross income and margin. Conclusions: In our case, STHR appears to be reasonable compromise to minimize yield penalties while increasing profitability in an early transition to Conservation Agriculture.