The Sandia direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) molecular/transition gas flow simulation code has significant potential as a computer‐aided design tool for the design of vacuum systems in low pressure plasma processing equipment. The purpose of this work was to verify the accuracy of this code through direct comparison to experiment. To test the DSMC model, a fully instrumented, axisymmetric vacuum test cell was constructed, and spatially resolved pressure measurements made in N2at flows from 50 to 500 sccm. In a ‘‘blind’’ test, the DSMC code was used to model the experimental conditions directly, and the results compared to the measurements. It was found that the model predicted all the experimental findings to a high degree of accuracy. Only one modeling issue was uncovered. The axisymmetric model showed localized low pressure spots along the axis next to surfaces. Although this artifact did not significantly alter the accuracy of the results, it did add noise to the axial data.