Yes there is a difference imo. Making too small of a starter for a given amount of yeast actually leave the yeast depleted of nutrients and less prepared to ferment a full batch of beer. That's why it is recommended to not make starters (using relatively fresh Activator packs/vials) less than 1L. It is also recommended to make each step 5x-10x the previous step (for the same reason).
Doing a little quick math it's easy to see that in order to 'step up' to a 2L starter, the previous step really should be 1/5-1/10 of that; or .2L-.4L. But you shouldn't really be making a .2L-.4L starter from a fresh vial/pack in the first place. So you should just make the 2L starter to begin with.
However, many times we don't start with a fresh vial/pack of yeast. It may only be 10% viable in which case you could step that up by starting small (and also slightly lower gravity than a typ starter too).