The synthesis and spectroscopic data of (E)-2-{4-[3-(thiophen-3-yl)acryloyl]phenoxy}acetic acid are described. Crystallization from an ethanol–water mixture resulted in the title compound, C30H23KO8S2 or [K(C15H11O4S)(C15H12O4S)]
n
, containing one molecule of the acid and one molecule of the potassium salt in the asymmetric unit. Both molecules share the H atom between their carboxyl groups and a potassium ion. The C=C bonds display an E configuration. The thiophene and phenyl rings in the two molecules are inclined by 43.3 (2) and 22.7 (2)°. The potassium ion is octahedrally coordinated by six O atoms. This distorted octahedron shares on opposite sides two oxygen atoms with inversion-related octahedra, resulting in chains of octahedra running in the [010] direction, which form ladder-like chains by C—H...π interactions. A Hirshfeld surface analysis indicates that the highest contributions to the surface contacts arise from interactions in which H atoms are involved, with the most important contribution being from H...H (31.6 and 31.9% for the two molecules) interactions.