Abstract The four‐level nested neutral point clamped (4L‐NNPC) converter is a new multi‐level converter with a simple topology, which is suitable for the medium‐voltage application. But it has voltage balancing problems under the low output frequency condition. A space virtual vector modulation (SVVM) algorithm is introduced in this paper, and the dwell time formulas are given. It uses the synthesis between vectors to optimize the dwell time of each level in the virtual vector, in order to balance the flying capacitor voltage in the carrier period. In order to explore the boundary of the voltage regulation ability of the 4L‐NNPC converter, this paper analyses the mechanism of the voltage fluctuation of the flying capacitors and derives the voltage fluctuation formulas. The voltage regulation ability is calculated in different sectors, and the influence of the modulation ratio and power factor is explored. Finally, the voltage regulation ability under the sudden load and the flying capacitor voltage deviating from the rated value were investigated through simulation and experiments, which verified the correctness of the proposed theory.