Multi-level marketing (MLM) is a business model in which companies sell their products or services directly to consumers, through a network of independent distributors. The distributors earn income from the sale of products and also from network of distributors.
MLM compensation plans are often criticized for overpaying because they tend to heavily incentivize recruitment over actual sales of products or services.
A pyramid scheme is an illegal, unsustainable business model in which participants receive payment for recruiting others into the scheme, rather than for selling a legitimate product or service.