This study evaluated the irrigation schemes for tomato production using the environmental, economic, and social pillars of sustainability. A pot-scale experiment was conducted using drip- and furrow-irrigations (DI; FI), with three irrigation water levels (60%, 80%, and 100%). An integrated AHP–TOPSIS model was employed as a decision-support system for determining the best irrigation practices using ten sub-criteria and six alternatives. The DI100 scheme maintained the best irrigation alternative with the highest scoring value of 0.903, followed by DI80 (0.755), DI60 (0.743), FI100 (0.239), FI60 (0.113), and FI80 (0.085). Based on the sustainable development goals (SDGs)-related criteria, DI100 also demonstrated the best alternative strategy followed by deficit DIs, whereas FIs showed the least preferable choice. The most influential factors defined by the sensitivity analysis were “nitrate leaching”, “yield”, and “net return”. Varying those factors by − 20%, + 20%, and + 20% would enhance the fulfillment of DI100-related SDGs by 3.99%, 8.73%, and 2.02%, respectively. In the same manner, meeting the overall SDGs for FI100 would be improved by 22.59%, 9.42%, and 2.31%, respectively. Applying the ± 20% variation to the highly ranked indicators would enhance the tackling of SDGs by 14.74% for DI100 and 34.31% for FI100. Hence, the study successfully assessed the irrigation strategies based on SDGs, giving appropriate guidance to enhance tomato competitiveness. Further investigations would be essential for raising the farmers’ educational and awareness levels about the irrigation strategy-SDGs interlinkages, making the tomato industry more sustainable.