You have 30 features on your list. Your MVP budget can cover 8. Which ones do you build? Here's exactly what belongs in v1—and what's burning money you don't have.
The Harsh Truth About MVP Features
Most MVPs fail not because they have too few features, but because they have too many.
Every feature you add:
- Costs $2K-$8K to build
- Adds 1-2 weeks to timeline
- Increases bugs and complexity
- Needs ongoing maintenance
- Distracts from what matters
The goal isn't to build your vision. It's to test your riskiest assumption with the least amount of work.
✅ The 10 Must-Have Features (Core)
1. User Authentication
Why it's essential: You need to identify users and protect their data
What you actually need:
- Email + password signup/login
- Password reset flow
- Session management
- Basic security (rate limiting, hashing)
What you DON'T need yet:
- Social login (Google, Facebook)
- Two-factor authentication
- Single sign-on (SSO)
- Biometric login
Cost: $2K-$4K
Time: 3-5 days
2. Your Core Feature (The One Thing)
Why it's essential: This is literally why your product exists
The test: "If this feature doesn't work, the product is useless"
Examples:
- Uber: Request a ride + track driver
- Airbnb: Book a place to stay
- Instagram: Post photos
- Stripe: Accept payments
Notice what's NOT there: ratings, messaging, advanced search, profiles, etc. Those came later.
Cost: $8K-$25K
Time: 2-6 weeks
3. Basic User Profile/Settings
Why it's essential: Users need to manage their account
What you actually need:
- View/edit email
- Change password
- Delete account
- Basic preferences
What you DON'T need yet:
- Profile photos
- Detailed bio/about
- Social media links
- Cover images
- Custom themes
Cost: $1K-$3K
Time: 2-4 days
4. Payment Processing (If You're Charging Money)
Why it's essential: No revenue = no business
What you actually need:
- Stripe integration
- One or two pricing plans
- Basic checkout flow
- Payment confirmation
What you DON'T need yet:
- Multiple payment methods
- Usage-based pricing
- Coupons/discounts
- Invoice generation
- Multiple currencies
Cost: $3K-$6K
Time: 5-10 days
💡 Real Example
Dropbox MVP: Upload files, sync across devices, share links. That's it. No teams, no advanced permissions, no integrations. Just the core value prop. They validated with that, THEN added features.
5. Email Notifications (Critical Events Only)
Why it's essential: Users need to know when important things happen
What you actually need:
- Welcome email
- Password reset
- Critical action confirmations
- Error/security alerts
What you DON'T need yet:
- Marketing emails
- Email preferences/settings
- Weekly digests
- SMS notifications
- Push notifications
Cost: $1K-$2K
Time: 2-3 days
6. Basic Dashboard/Home Screen
Why it's essential: Users need somewhere to land and navigate
What you actually need:
- Clear main action (what do they do here?)
- Recent activity/items
- Basic navigation
- Critical stats/info
What you DON'T need yet:
- Customizable widgets
- Advanced analytics
- Multiple views
- Activity feeds
Cost: $2K-$5K
Time: 3-7 days
7. Search/Discovery (If It's Core to Your Product)
Why it's essential: Users need to find what they're looking for
What you actually need:
- Basic text search
- 2-3 key filters
- Simple sorting (date, name)
- Pagination or infinite scroll
What you DON'T need yet:
- Advanced filters (10+ options)
- Saved searches
- Search history
- AI-powered recommendations
- Faceted search
Cost: $3K-$7K
Time: 5-10 days
8. Basic Error Handling & Feedback
Why it's essential: Things will break; users need to know what's happening
What you actually need:
- Loading states
- Error messages (clear, helpful)
- Success confirmations
- Empty states
Cost: $1K-$2K
Time: 2-4 days
9. Mobile-Responsive Design
Why it's essential: 60%+ of traffic is mobile
What you actually need:
- Works on phone screens
- Touch-friendly buttons/links
- Readable text
- Basic responsive layouts
What you DON'T need yet:
- Native mobile apps
- Tablet-specific layouts
- Progressive Web App (PWA)
- Gesture controls
Cost: Included in design/dev
Time: Built into timeline
10. Basic Analytics
Why it's essential: You need to know if anyone's using it
What you actually need:
- Google Analytics or similar
- Basic event tracking
- User count
- Key action metrics
What you DON'T need yet:
- Custom dashboards
- Advanced funnels
- A/B testing
- Heat maps
- Session recordings
Cost: $500-$1K
Time: 1-2 days
❌ The 10 Nice-to-Haves (Skip for v1)
1. Social Login (Google, Facebook, Apple)
Why skip it: Email login works fine. Social login is convenience, not necessity.
Add it when: Users explicitly ask for it, or you see drop-off in registration
Cost saved: $2K-$4K
Time saved: 3-5 days
2. Advanced User Profiles
Why skip it: Photos, bios, cover images, badges—all nice, none essential
Add it when: Community/social features become core to your product
Cost saved: $3K-$6K
Time saved: 5-8 days
3. In-App Messaging/Chat
Why skip it: Email or external chat (WhatsApp, email) works fine initially
Add it when: Users complain about communication friction, or it's core to your product
Cost saved: $8K-$15K
Time saved: 2-3 weeks
4. Push Notifications
Why skip it: Email notifications work. Push requires mobile apps or browser permissions
Add it when: You have mobile apps, or data shows users miss important updates
Cost saved: $3K-$6K
Time saved: 5-8 days
5. Advanced Search Filters
Why skip it: Basic search + 2-3 filters cover 90% of use cases
Add it when: Users have too many results and can't find what they need
Cost saved: $4K-$8K
Time saved: 1-2 weeks
6. Dark Mode
Why skip it: It's aesthetic, not functional. Users will survive light mode
Add it when: You have bandwidth, or it's specifically requested by many users
Cost saved: $2K-$4K
Time saved: 3-5 days
7. Advanced Analytics Dashboard
Why skip it: Basic metrics (users, actions, revenue) are enough for v1
Add it when: You need to make data-driven optimization decisions
Cost saved: $5K-$10K
Time saved: 1-2 weeks
8. Integrations (Slack, Zapier, etc.)
Why skip it: Focus on core product first. Integrations can wait.
Add it when: Multiple customers specifically request the same integration
Cost saved: $3K-$5K per integration
Time saved: 5-10 days per integration
9. Onboarding Tutorial/Tour
Why skip it: If your product needs extensive onboarding, it's probably too complex
Add it when: You see users struggling with specific features
Cost saved: $2K-$5K
Time saved: 3-7 days
10. Advanced Permissions/Roles
Why skip it: Admin vs. User is enough for most MVPs
Add it when: Enterprise customers require it, or teams need granular control
Cost saved: $5K-$10K
Time saved: 1-2 weeks
💰 Total Savings
Skip these 10 "nice-to-haves" = Save $37K-$73K and 6-12 weeks. That's nearly half your MVP budget and timeline!
The Feature Prioritization Framework
For every feature, ask these 4 questions:
1. Does this test my core hypothesis?
If you're testing "will people pay for X," then features unrelated to X are distractions.
2. Can I launch without it?
If yes → Phase 2. If no → Must-have.
3. Can I do this manually first?
Admin dashboards, reporting, some automations—you can do these manually for the first 10-100 users.
4. What's the cost of NOT having it?
If users can't complete core action → Must-have
If it's just inconvenient → Nice-to-have
Real MVP Examples (What They Actually Launched With)
Airbnb v1
Had: Photo upload, basic listing, booking request, host contact
Didn't have: Reviews, instant book, payments through platform, messaging system, verified photos
Twitter v1
Had: Post 140 chars, follow users, feed
Didn't have: Retweets, likes, DMs, hashtags, media uploads, verified accounts
Stripe v1
Had: Accept card payments via API
Didn't have: Subscriptions, multiple currencies, advanced fraud detection, Connect, full dashboard
Buffer v1
Had: Schedule posts to Twitter
Didn't have: Multiple accounts, analytics, team features, other platforms, browser extension
Notice a pattern? They all launched with ONE core feature and basic infrastructure. Everything else came later.
Cost Breakdown: Minimal vs. Bloated MVP
Minimal MVP (10 Must-Haves)
- Auth: $3K
- Core feature: $15K
- Basic profile: $2K
- Payments: $5K
- Email notifs: $1.5K
- Dashboard: $4K
- Search: $5K
- Error handling: $1.5K
- Responsive: Included
- Analytics: $1K
Total: $38K, 8-10 weeks
Bloated MVP (Everything)
- Above + all 10 "nice-to-haves": $75K-$110K
- Timeline: 14-22 weeks
Result: Twice the cost, twice the time, same validation
Making the Cut
Here's a brutal exercise that works:
- List all your features
- Cut the list in half (yes, half)
- Cut that list in half again
- What's left? That's your MVP
If it hurts, good. You're doing it right.
Remember: You can always add features. You can't get back wasted time and money.
💡 Get Your Feature Priority List
Use our calculator and we'll tell you which features belong in your MVP and which to skip. Honest, data-driven advice.
The Bottom Line
Must-haves: Auth, core feature, basic profile, payments (if applicable), critical emails, simple dashboard, basic search (if applicable), error handling, mobile-responsive, basic analytics
Nice-to-haves: Everything else. Seriously.
The founders who succeed aren't the ones with the most features. They're the ones who launched fast with the minimum, learned quickly, and iterated based on real user feedback.
Your goal is not to build your dream product in v1. It's to test if anyone wants it. Build the smallest thing that can do that.
Features you skip today = money in the bank and weeks saved. You can always build them later if they actually matter.
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