The selection of inverter topology is the major constraint for the grid-connected system to meet the power quality issues. In this paper, performance analysis of multilevel inverter topologies for a standalone Photovoltaic (PV) system is presented. Comparison of the Voltage Source Inverter (VSI), Cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter (CHB-MLI) and Multilevel DC link inverter (MLDCLI) is done based on harmonic contents, switch count and the filter selection. The variation in real power, reactive power and power factor of the system is also analyzed for changes in temperature, irradiation and load conditions. In this work, the load is an induction motor whose performance is analyzed for different inverter topologies. The system is simulated using MATLAB/Simulink. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016.