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Summary: This paper develops model predictive control with a finite control set (FCS‐MPC) for a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) based on hybrid cascaded H‐bridge and neutral point clamped (HC‐HNPC) multilevel inverter. By applying FCS‐MPC to basic multilevel structures such as the cascaded H‐bridge (CHB), the dynamic performance is improved; but, as the number of output voltage levels increases, the method suffers from a high computation burden as a result of a significant number of switching states. In HC‐HNPC based STATCOM, the number of power switches and switching states is reduced compared to CHB STATCOM for an equal number of output voltage levels. As a result, while keeping the number of output voltage levels the same as CHB, the FCS‐MPC computational burden decreases, and the control objectives are achieved easier. Furthermore, HC‐HNPC STATCOM as a hybrid multilevel STATCOM contains different types of cells with different capacitors voltage. Utilizing the introduced FCS‐MPC, each capacitor voltage is kept balanced without using a complex balancing system. For a detailed investigation, a single‐phase 9‐level HC‐HNPC is employed in this research. The FCS‐MPC control is developed for 9‐level HC‐HNPC STATCOM and the mathematical equations are extracted. Finally, the control performance is verified by simulation and validated with experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]