TL;DR
This is a single reference for every MVP-adjacent term used across our guides: the acronym comparisons (POC, SLC, MLP, RAT, and 14 more), the 11 recognized types of MVP, and the vertical-specific terms that show up once an MVP touches a regulated industry (ethical wall, rating engine, IDX feed, and others). Each entry is one or two sentences, with a link to the full guide if you want the deeper version.
If you only remember one thing: MVP itself means minimum viable product, the smallest real thing you can build and ship to learn whether people want it. Everything below is a variation on, or a companion to, that one idea.
Key Takeaways
- Every term below links to a full guide, this page is the fast reference, not the deep dive.
- The acronym comparisons mostly answer the same question: how much polish, completeness, or delight does "minimum" allow, for your specific market.
- The 11 MVP types split into three families: manual (you do the work by hand), demand (you test intent before building), and product validation (you build the smallest real thing).
- The vertical terms exist because "minimum" moves in regulated industries, confidentiality, licensing, and data rights aren't optional the way features are.
Every acronym at a glance
The 16 MVP variants people actually use, in one place. Each row is expanded below.
| Term | Stands for | The one-line difference from an MVP |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | Beta release | Tests readiness to launch, not whether anyone wants it |
| EVP | Exceptional Viable Product | Delays launch to ship polished from day one |
| Full product | Full product | The scaled version built after demand is proven |
| MAP | Minimum Awesome Product | Ships the least that delights, not the least that works |
| MBI | Minimum Business Increment | A slice that delivers business value, not just learning |
| MDP | Minimum Delightful Product | Adds the delight an MVP deliberately skips |
| MLP | Minimum Lovable Product | Optimises for love rather than viability |
| MMF | Minimum Marketable Feature | One feature you can sell, not a whole product |
| MMP | Minimum Marketable Product | Ready to sell, where an MVP is ready to learn |
| MVE | Minimum Viable Experience | The experience layer rather than the feature set |
| Pilot | Pilot programme | Tests a known solution with a limited group |
| POC | Proof of Concept | Proves it can be built, not that anyone wants it |
| Pretotype | Pretotype | Tests demand before anything is built at all |
| Prototype | Prototype | Demonstrates the idea, does not serve real users |
| RAT | Riskiest Assumption Test | Tests one assumption, not a whole product |
| SLC | Simple, Lovable, Complete | Complete and small, rather than incomplete and small |
Comparisons: MVP vs. everything else
Most of these answer the same underlying question, phrased differently for a different market or stage: how much can "minimum" actually cut.
MVP vs Beta
An MVP tests whether people want a product; a beta tests whether an already-validated product is ready to launch. Full comparison →
MVP vs EVP (Exceptional Viable Product)
An MVP ships bare-bones to learn fast; an EVP delays launch to ship something polished and market-ready from day one. Full comparison →
MVP vs Full Product
An MVP validates demand with the smallest real build; a full product is the scaled, feature-complete version built once that demand is proven. Full comparison →
MVP vs MAP (Minimum Awesome Product)
An MVP ships the least that works; a MAP ships the least that delights. Full comparison →
MVP vs MBI (Minimum Business Increment)
An MVP is an investment in learning whether a market exists; an MBI is the smallest increment that delivers realized business value. Full comparison →
MVP vs MDP (Minimum Delightful Product)
An MVP is the smallest build that tests whether an idea works; an MDP is the smallest version that genuinely delights users. Full comparison →
MVP vs MLP (Minimum Lovable Product)
An MVP tests whether an idea works with the least build; an MLP is the smallest version people actually love, not just tolerate. Full comparison →
MVP vs MMF (Minimum Marketable Feature)
An MVP is a whole product built to learn whether people want an idea; an MMF is the smallest single feature with real market value. Full comparison →
MVP vs MMP (Minimum Marketable Product)
An MVP tests whether anyone wants an idea with the least build; an MMP is the smallest version you can actually sell. Full comparison →
MVP vs MVE (Minimum Viable Experience)
An MVP tests whether a product works and is wanted; an MVE makes the whole user journey smooth and satisfying from day one. Full comparison →
MVP vs Pilot
An MVP tests whether people want an idea; a pilot tests whether an already-finished product works in the real world before a full rollout. Full comparison →
MVP vs POC (Proof of Concept)
A POC tests whether an idea can technically be built; an MVP tests whether people want it, once it exists. Full comparison →
MVP vs Pretotype
A pretotype fakes a product to test whether anyone wants it before anything is built; an MVP is the smallest real product that proves they will actually use it. Full comparison →
MVP vs Prototype
A prototype tests design with clickable, fake screens; an MVP tests demand with a real, working product. Full comparison →
MVP vs RAT (Riskiest Assumption Test)
A RAT tests a single riskiest belief before building anything; an MVP is the smallest real product built once that belief has held up. Full comparison →
MVP vs SLC (Simple, Lovable, Complete)
An MVP is a deliberately incomplete experiment built to learn; an SLC is a simple product you can ship and sell in full, without cutting the experience. Full comparison →
Fixed-Price vs Hourly MVP Billing
Fixed-price bills one agreed total for a defined scope; hourly bills for time spent, which shifts the cost-overrun risk from the vendor to the founder. Full comparison →
Freelancer vs Agency for MVP
A freelancer is cheaper and more flexible but carries more delivery risk alone; an agency costs more but brings a full team, process, and accountability. Full comparison →
The 11 types of MVP
Every MVP type falls into one of three families: manual (a human delivers the value), demand (you test intent before building anything), or product validation (you build the smallest real thing).
Concierge MVP
A concierge MVP delivers the service manually and openly, so the founder learns exactly what to build before automating any of it. Full guide →
Crowdfunding MVP
A crowdfunding MVP validates demand by asking strangers to pay for a product before it exists, and raises build capital in the same motion. Full guide →
Explainer Video MVP
An explainer video MVP demonstrates the product working before it exists, then measures who signs up after watching. Dropbox is the canonical example. Full guide →
Fake Door MVP
A fake door MVP tests demand for a specific feature with a real-looking button that leads to a "coming soon" message instead of the feature itself. Full guide →
Landing Page MVP
A landing page MVP tests real demand with a single page and a signup, before any product is built. Full guide →
Pre-Sales MVP
A pre-sales MVP validates demand by selling the product privately before it exists, through deposits, founding-member deals, letters of intent, or a pricing page test. Full guide →
Paid Ad MVP
A paid ad MVP buys a small, capped amount of cold traffic to test whether a promise lands with strangers, and what a signup costs. Full guide →
Piecemeal MVP
A piecemeal MVP assembles a working product from existing tools and no-code platforms instead of custom-built software. Full guide →
Prototype MVP
A prototype MVP uses a clickable, high-fidelity model to validate the experience and flow with real users before any of it is actually built. Full guide →
Single-Feature MVP
A single-feature MVP is a real, working product that does exactly one thing, the core feature that delivers the product's value, and cuts everything else. Full guide →
Wizard of Oz MVP
A Wizard of Oz MVP looks fully automated to the user, but a human is doing the work behind the scenes, so the real product can be validated before it's built. Full guide →
See the full map of all 11 types, how they relate, and when to use each.
Vertical-specific terms
These show up once an MVP touches a regulated industry, where "minimum" cannot cut the regulated core the way it cuts features elsewhere.
Ethical Wall
An access boundary that prevents someone working on one client's legal matter from seeing information tied to a conflicting or unrelated client's matter. Legal tech MVP guide →
Rating Engine
The system that calculates an insurance policy's price from filed, approved rates and underwriting rules, not a number a product team picks. Insurtech MVP guide →
MGA (Managing General Agent)
Writes insurance policies on an existing, already-licensed carrier's paper under delegated authority, without needing its own license or capital reserves. Insurtech MVP guide →
IDX Feed (Internet Data Exchange)
A licensed agreement that lets a real estate platform display MLS listing data, with real rules on what can be shown and how it must be attributed. Proptech MVP guide →
MLS (Multiple Listing Service)
The licensed database of property listings that most real estate search products are built on; access requires broker affiliation or a paid IDX feed, not scraping. Proptech MVP guide →
AEDT (Automated Employment Decision Tool)
Software that substantially assists or replaces a discretionary hiring decision, scoring, ranking, or filtering candidates, the category regulations like NYC's Local Law 144 actually target. HR tech MVP guide →
Get the right MVP built, not just the right term
Knowing the terminology is step one. Building the thing is the part that actually matters, and that's what we do at MVP Development: a funding-ready MVP shipped in 3–4 weeks, scoped to the one core flow your idea needs to prove, by senior engineers, on a fixed quote you approve before we start, with full code ownership.
Explore how to build an MVP for the full process, or tell us which term describes where you are and we'll scope the right next step.
Related guides
- What Is an MVP?: the definition everything else here builds on
- Types of MVP: the full map of all 11 types, how they relate
- MVP Validation: proving demand before you build
- How to build an MVP: the full step-by-step process
Frequently asked questions
What does MVP stand for?
MVP stands for minimum viable product, the smallest real version of a product a team can build and ship to learn whether people actually want it, before investing in a full build.
Is a POC the same as an MVP?
No. A POC (proof of concept) tests whether an idea is technically possible to build at all. An MVP tests whether people want it, once it exists as a real product. Most ideas that need a POC only need one because the technical risk is genuinely unclear, most ideas don't.
What's the difference between an MVP and a prototype?
A prototype is a clickable, often fake, model used to test the design and flow with users before anything is built. An MVP is a real, working product that a user can actually use, built to test whether the underlying idea has demand.
Which MVP type should I use?
It depends on what you're trying to learn. If you need to know whether people want the idea at all, start with a demand type (landing page, fake door, crowdfunding). If you already know people want it and need to prove the product itself works, build a single-feature MVP. If the value depends on human judgment you haven't automated yet, a concierge or Wizard of Oz approach lets you deliver it by hand first. See the full map of types for the complete decision guide.
Sources & references
- Eric Ries, The Lean Startup: the origin of the minimum viable product concept
- Atlassian, Minimum Viable Product: the MVP in agile product development
Each term above reflects how we scope and build MVPs at MVP Development; the full definition and reasoning live on each linked guide.
