Two cubane-type tetranuclear nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes, [Ni-4(L-1)(4)(CH3OH)(4)] (1) and [Cu-4(L-2)(4)]center dot H2O (2), where L-1 and L-2 are the dianionic forms of the tridentate Schiff bases 4-nitro-2-[(2-hydroxyethylimino)methyl]phenol (H2L1) and 5-methoxy-2-[(2-hydroxyethylimino)methyl]phenol (H2L2), respectively, have been synthesized and characterized by physicochemical methods and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The magnetic properties of the complexes show the presence of ferromagnetic interactions for complex 1 and antiferromagnetic interactions for complex 2, mediated by hydroxyl bridges.