Prototype vs MVP: What is the Best Choice for Your Project?

Have you ever wondered why some companies fail to attract customers for their new product, whereas some organizations make their product viral? The process included in the development of the product is an excellent concluding factor of its success.

Prototyping and MVP development are two of the most well-known processes of the product development process. They are both used in the early stage of the product development and get an overall idea of parameters, such as clients’ specifications, cost, time, user engagement, etc.

However, these terminologies often come out as unclear, and people get confused about which approach to use for developing their product and when. This Prototype vs MVP blog will deduce which is ideal for kicking off your project development process.

Prototype vs MVP: Which One is a Better Approach?

Here we have prepared the top differences between Prototype and MVP under specific categories.

MVP Prototype Meaning

A prototype is an early version of the final / under-developed product or feature, developed to showcase the design, interface, and user experience.

MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is a functional early-version of the product consisting of minimum features representing the product’s core functionality.

If you want to know more about the difference between Prototype and MVP, read our Prototype vs MVP guide.

Who is it for?

The primary target audience for Prototype are designers, product team, co-workers, clients, and developers.

Although MVP is not a final version of the product; however, MVP is developed for a much larger set of end-users.

Time-Taken to Develop a Prototype and MVP

Since Prototype is developed to showcase the look and feel of the product, it does not require much time and effort for its development. Depending on the project, it can take from 2 weeks to 1 month to build a prototype.

MVP portrays the product’s core features, so it can take more effort, time, and resources to develop an MVP.

Why Develop MVP or Prototype?

A prototype can help your developers understand the design concept and provide an overall idea of how users will interact with the product.

Minimum viable product is developed to evaluate and validate the product idea before launching the final version in the market.

Testing Approach

A prototype is developed and tested within a small audience of the product development team, clients, and co-workers.

MVP can be used to attract initial users. A top MVP development company uses market research and customer feedback based on the response of those valuable end-users.

Development Cost

With Prototype, you already have the design and user interface of the product, which makes the development process much more effortless and helps you save a lot of money.

An MVP product consists of minimum features; therefore, it takes less money to develop an MVP than a full-fledged project. Hence, if your product idea doesn’t work out, then you will only lose a small amount of money.

Final Note

Implementing new business ideas and building products that can satisfy the needs and demands of end-users is a hectic process. Many startups and enterprises struggle to evaluate the new ideas and validate their feasibility. So, we hope that this blog helps you understand how MVPs differ from a Prototype.

Select the best Prototype development company for your project if you need MVP or Prototype development services. They can also help you decide which approach is suitable for developing your product.