Due to power losses, a sizeable portion of the electrical power produced is lost, which causes voltage deviation and instability as a result of rising load demand at the radial distribution network (RDN). Shunt capacitor penetration will enhance the RDN’s efficiency by reducing power losses, improving the voltage profile and stability. For the best sizing and allocation of shunt capacitors (SCs) in RDN, a novel human-based metaheuristic heap-based optimizer (HBO) influenced by the ideas of corporate rank hierarchy (CRH) of standard organization is presented. The real power loss, voltage variation, and voltage stability index are all minimized while equality and inequality criteria are met by the HBO optimal allocation of SCs. One, two, and three numbers of SCs were investigated when installing the reactive compensating devices. Using typical IEEE 33-bus and 69-bus RDNs, covering a range of scenarios in the form of single- and multi-objective functions, the effectiveness of the HBO technique was examined. The real power loss for the conventional IEEE 33-bus and 69-bus RDN was reduced by 34.46% and 35.50%, respectively compared to their respective base cases. By contrasting the outcomes of the power loss with well-established and new optimization approaches, the efficacy and superiority of the suggested HBO were demonstrated.