Guide
MVP vs Prototype
These two words get used interchangeably and cost very different amounts. Picking the wrong one is how founders end up with something beautiful that nobody can use, or something expensive that answered a question they had not asked yet.
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Short answer
A prototype tests whether people understand and want your idea. An MVP tests whether they will use and pay for it, because it is a real deployed product. If you need behaviour data or revenue, you need an MVP.
- $3,500
- fixed price
- 14 days
- to launch
- 100%
- code ownership
- No equity
- ever taken
- No retainer
- no hourly billing
01
The difference in one table
| Prototype | MVP | Full product | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proves | Comprehension and desire | Real usage and willingness to pay | Scale and retention |
| Real data | No | Yes | Yes |
| Users can rely on it | No | Yes, for one workflow | Yes, broadly |
| Typical effort | Days | Weeks | Months and ongoing |
| Right when | The concept is unclear | The concept is clear, demand is not | Demand is proven |
02
Signs you need a prototype, not an MVP
- You cannot yet describe the core workflow in a single sentence
- Three people you trust have each described your idea differently back to you
- The main risk is whether anyone understands the concept at all
- You need something visual for a conversation this week
03
Signs you need an MVP
- You know exactly what the product does for one specific person
- The open question is whether they will actually use it or pay for it
- You have people willing to try it as soon as it exists
- You are being asked for traction rather than for a vision
If you can name five people who would use it next week, stop designing and ship something they can log into.
04
What 'minimum' should actually mean
Minimum applies to scope, never to quality. The mistake is shipping half of five features instead of all of one. Users forgive a narrow product; they do not forgive a broken one.
Our blueprint stage exists to make that cut deliberately, in writing, before anyone starts building — so the thing that ships is small on purpose rather than incomplete by accident.
Questions
Straight answers.
Is a clickable Figma file an MVP?
No. It is a prototype. It tests whether people understand and want the idea, which is valuable, but nobody can use it, pay for it or generate real data with it.
Can a prototype raise money?
Sometimes, at the earliest stage. Increasingly investors expect something real with users, because building something real has become fast enough that a prototype signals less than it used to.
What makes an MVP 'production-ready'?
It is deployed on infrastructure you own, handles real accounts and real data, has basic security and error handling, and can be changed by another engineer because it is documented. Without those, it is a demo with a login screen.
Should I do both?
Often the fastest path is a short design pass inside the build rather than a separate prototype project. Our blueprint stage plays that role: it settles the flows on paper before any code, without becoming a project of its own.
Next step
Find out if your idea fits in 14 days.
Tell us what you want to build. We reply within one business day with a straight yes, no, or here is what we would cut.