Where to Launch an MVP: Places That Welcome Unfinished Products
Launch an MVP where the audience expects early work and where replies are easy: a free launch board, Show HN if the product runs without a sign-up, BetaList for a pre-launch page, Console for developer betas, and the store test tracks if it is a mobile app. The right place depends on which single assumption the MVP is testing, so pick that first and the venue second.
What is your MVP supposed to find out?
A minimum viable product exists to answer one question cheaply. Before you choose a venue, write that question down in a sentence: “will a freelance translator paste a contract into this and read the summary?” or “will anyone install a build with only the capture screen?” The venue should be a place where that exact person is likely to be, and where a reply costs them little.
This is why the best place for an MVP is often not the biggest. A large audience reacts to polish, and an unfinished product has none. A small audience that shares your problem reacts to the idea, which is what you are testing. If you are still choosing what to test, the ideas board shows problems other people posted in their own words. If you have not yet cut the scope down, the MVP scope planner forces the choice, and the guide to what an MVP is explains why.
| If the MVP tests… | Look first at | Why there |
|---|---|---|
| Whether the problem is real | A free launch board or a community thread | Readers answer in comments, no install needed |
| Whether a developer will adopt it | Show HN or Console’s beta listings | Developers try tools and report back |
| Whether people want a mobile build | TestFlight or a Google Play test track | The store handles invitations and crash feedback |
| Whether a model-based demo impresses | A Hugging Face Space | A live demo is the whole MVP |
Where does an unfinished product actually get accepted?
Facts below come from each site’s own pages, read on 13 November 2026, unless the entry says its pages could not be read.
01 Post your build ideas (our launch board)
A free launch board, ours, with no account and no queue, where an MVP can be public within minutes.
- Cost
- Free; no paid placement
- Fits
- An MVP with a working link and a plain description
- Catch
- A small audience; a logo and four images at most
The listing takes a name, URL, tagline, description, up to three categories, a pricing model and an email, and you launch your MVP free by pressing Publish on the emailed link. A published launch is final, so write it for the MVP as it is today and keep the parts that will change, such as a roadmap, on your own page.
Voters can comment in threads, which is where an MVP learns the most. Do not expect volume: it is new, and we promise no traffic. Its job is to give you a stable public URL on day one.
02 Hacker News (Show HN)
A place to show something you made that other people can try.
- Cost
- Free; account to post
- Stated stance
- Comfortable with work at an early stage
- Hard rule
- If it is not ready for users to try, do not post yet
The guidelines pull in two directions, and both matter to an MVP. They say a Show HN “needn’t be complicated or look slick” and that early work is welcome. They also say to make it easy to try, ideally without sign-ups or emails, and that a project not yet usable should wait.
So an MVP that runs for a stranger in a minute fits. A form collecting emails for a future product does not. Ask a specific question in your first comment; vague requests for thoughts get vague answers.
03 BetaList
A directory and newsletter for startups before or after launch, reviewed by a person.
- Fits
- A pre-launch page collecting early adopters
- Route
- Paste your URL, confirm your email, choose a plan
- Catch
- We could not confirm a free route
It is one of the few places that accepts a page where the product does not exist yet, which suits an MVP whose first test is a promise. Its submit page says nothing is published until you confirm and pick a plan.
Weigh the plan against what you will learn. If the question is whether people sign up for a described product, a free board plus a tagged waiting-list link may answer it at no cost. The waitlist-to-launch plan shows how to run that test.
04 Console (beta listings)
A free weekly newsletter on developer tools that has a separate section for beta and early-access releases.
- Fits
- Developer-facing MVPs before version 1.0
- Route
- Email hello@console.dev; no form was found
- Rule
- Betas must be pre-1.0 or labelled beta, with developers as the primary user
Console’s selection criteria say it lists early-access, alpha or beta releases only where developers are the primary user, and it uses version numbers below 1.0 or a visible “beta” label to decide. Its tool reviews also ask for self-service sign-up, so an MVP that needs a sales call will not qualify.
It does not run sponsored reviews, and selection is editorial, so a free note is a fair try, not a booking. Put the word beta in a place a reader can find it before you write to them.
05 TestFlight (Apple)
Apple’s beta distribution for iOS, iPadOS, macOS and other builds, with internal and external testers.
- Fits
- A mobile MVP that already builds
- Scale
- Up to 10,000 external testers
- Invites
- By email or by a public link
- Needs
- A build uploaded to App Store Connect, and the first external build approved by App Review for TestFlight
A public link lets you drop an invitation into a post, a forum thread or a message without collecting addresses first. Apple’s page says builds added to an external group are sent for review automatically, and that a beta description and beta review information are required, so budget a day or two before the first tester can install.
It is a distribution tool, not an audience. You still have to find the ten people, which is what the other places on this page are for.
06 Google Play testing tracks
Internal, closed and open testing tracks in Play Console, run before a production release.
- Fits
- An Android MVP
- Closed test
- A group you control
- Open test
- Anyone can join and send private feedback
- Rule to check
- New personal accounts must run a closed test with at least 12 opted-in testers for 14 days before applying for production
Google’s help page states the testing requirement for personal developer accounts created after 13 November 2023: a closed test with at least 12 opted-in testers, continuously for 14 days, before you can apply for production access. If that applies to you, recruiting twelve testers is not optional, so start early.
Open testing shows your test version on Google Play, so check that the listing is ready for public eyes first. For a pure-web MVP, ignore this entry.
07 Hugging Face Spaces
A directory of small apps that run on Hugging Face, titled by the site “The AI App Directory”.
- Fits
- A model-based demo as the MVP
- Account
- Yes, to create a Space
- Formats
- Gradio, Streamlit and Docker Spaces are documented
If your MVP is a model wrapped in an interface, a Space is a complete product page: people open it and use it, with no install and nothing to approve. Its documentation also covers using a Space as an API endpoint and as a tool for agents.
The audience is people who already use the platform, so this tests whether practitioners find the demo useful, not whether a business buyer would pay.
08 r/SideProject
A well-known subreddit where people show projects they are building.
- Fits
- Any MVP with a link anyone can open
- Catch
- Our automated check could not read Reddit; each community sets its own self-promotion rules
Read the community’s current rules and pinned posts before writing a word, and answer every reply. Post here alone, not in five communities on the same afternoon. The subreddits for sharing your project page lists more, each with a warning to read its own rules.
How do you describe a half-built product without losing trust?
Say what works, what does not exist yet and what you want to know. Readers forgive a missing feature faster than a hidden one. Use the same three sentences in every place, edited only for the venue.
[Name] does one thing today: [the single job]. It does not yet [the missing feature people will ask about]. I built it to find out whether [the assumption]. If you try it, the one thing I would like to know is [specific question].
Keep the question narrow. “What do you think?” invites nothing. “Did the summary match what you expected from the contract?” invites a yes or a correction. The feedback request template has more wordings.
When is it too early to launch anywhere?
- You cannot name the person it is for. Nothing on this page fixes that; the guide to validating an app idea does.
- The core action fails for a stranger. Ask one friend to try it without you in the room before you post anywhere.
- There is nowhere to reply. An MVP with no contact method wastes the reactions you worked to get.
- You would be hurt by silence. Silence is the most common result of a first launch. If that would end the project, invite five people directly first.
When none of those apply, launch on the free board first, then add one specialist place from the table above. The beta launch checklist covers the rest of the preparation.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the best place to launch an MVP?
It depends on the assumption you are testing. A free launch board with no account suits a first public page. Show HN suits a developer product that runs without sign-up, TestFlight or a Play test track suits a mobile build, and Hugging Face Spaces suits a model demo. Pick the audience that has your problem, not the biggest one.
Can I launch an MVP on Product Hunt?
You can, but it is rarely the first place to try. Its daily format rewards polish and early momentum, and an MVP has neither. A small, relevant audience gives better feedback on an unfinished product. Consider it for the version after your first round of changes.
Should an MVP have a landing page or a working product?
That depends on the question. A landing page tests whether people want the promise, and BetaList accepts one. A working product tests whether it solves the problem, and Show HN and SaaSHub expect that. Do not use a waiting-list page where a place asks for something people can try.
How many testers do I need for an MVP?
Nobody can give a universal number. Five to ten people who match your target user will show most major problems, while Google Play requires at least 12 opted-in testers for new personal accounts before production. Count by how many distinct people finished the core action, not by sign-ups.
How long should an MVP stay in testing before a full launch?
Until the core action works for strangers without your help and you have changed something based on what they told you. That might be days or months. Set the exit rule in advance, such as five strangers completing the main task, so testing does not drift.
Post your build ideas publishes this page and runs a free launch board that competes with some of the sites it names. Facts about other sites came from their own pages on the date shown above; terms, queues and prices change, so confirm on their sites before you decide. About the publisher.