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Voltage stability is very important, as without it voltage collapse will occur. There is therefore a need to incorporate the consideration of voltage stability into the optimal power flow (OPF). This paper presents a comparison of the effectiveness of five voltage stability indices (VSIs) when incorporated in an OPF. The improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) algorithm is used to solve the OPF problem. The five VSIs investigated are the L‐index, fast voltage stability index (FVSI), line stability index (Lmn), online voltage stability index (LVSI), and voltage collapse proximity indicator (VCPI). The effectiveness of each VSI is considered in the terms of the generation cost, emission, transmission loss, and voltage stability. The IEEE standard 14‐, 30‐, 57‐, and 118‐bus test systems are used for the comparison. It is found that considering each voltage stability index as part of the objective function for the OPF provided different values of generation cost, emission, transmission loss, and maximum loadability. The results suggest that FVSI and Lmn provide the minimum generation cost values for all test systems, while VCPI and LVSI provide lower emission values for most systems. VCPI gives the lowest transmission losses for all systems, and the L‐index provides the maximum loadability for most systems. Incorporation of these indices into the OPF can provide the optimal values in different terms, and the most suitable voltage stability index will depend on the situation and size of the system, which needs to be judiciously chosen. © 2018 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]