Purpose: This paper aims to examine the design and control of a symmetric multilevel inverter (MLI) using grey wolf optimization and differential evolution algorithms. Design/methodology/approach: The optimal modulation index along with the switching angles are calculated for an 11 level inverter. Harmonics are used to estimate the quality of output voltage and measuring the improvement of the power quality. Findings: The simulation is carried out in MATLAB/Simulink for 11 levels of symmetric MLI and compared with the conventional inverter design. A solar photovoltaic array-based experimental setup is considered to provide the input for symmetric MLI. Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based controller is used to provide the switching pulses for the inverter switches. Originality/value: Attempted to develop a system with different optimization techniques. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.