The fluorescence of ethidium bound to DNA, poly[d(A-T)$_2$], and poly[d(G-C)$_2$] at a [ethidium]/[DNA] ratio of 0.005 was quenched by porphyrins when both ethidium and the porphyrins simultaneously bound to the same polynucleotide. The quenching was tested using the "inner sphere" and the "Forster resonance energy transfer" (FRET) models, with the latter found to contribute, at least in part, to the quenching. Meso-tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin (TMPyP) exhibited a higher quenching and FRET efficiency than cis-bis(N-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin (BMPyP) for all of the tested DNA and polynucleotides, demonstrating that energy transfer efficiency is affected by the number of positive charges of porphyrins.