| Apple iTunes | Buymusic.com | eMusic | Listen.com Rhapsody | Musicmatch | Roxio Napster 2.0 | ||
| Catalog size | 400,000 | 315,000 | 250,000 | 333,000 | 200,000 | 500,000 | |
| Price per track | $0.99 | $0.79-$1.29 | n/a1 | $0.792 | $0.99 | $0.99 | |
| Price per album | $9.99 | $9.99 | n/a | n/a | $9.99 | $9.95 | |
| Monthly subscription | n/a | n/a | $9.99-$14.991 | $9.99 | n/a | $9.993 | |
| streaming access | radio4 | none | n/a | on-demand | radio5 | on-demand6 | |
| File Format | AAC | WMA | MP3 | WMA | WMA | WMA | |
| Bit rate | 128 | 128 | Variable (192 average) | 128 | 160 | 128 | |
| DRM | Fairplay | WM9 | none | WM9 | WM9 | WM9 | |
| Number of computers that can be granted access | 3 | 27 | unlimited | n/a | 3 | 3 | |
| Playlist burn limits8 | 10 | unlimited | n/a | 5 | 5 | ||
| Portable device support | unlimited iPods | unlimited WMA-compatible devices | unrestricted | none | unlimited WMA-compatible devices | unlimited WMA-compatible devices | |
| sharing features | Streaming music library to up to 5 computers on local network | none | n/a | none | none | Playlist sharing10 | |
| key licensors | 5 majors, 200 indies | 5 majors | 900 independent labels | 5 majors | 5 majors | 5 majors | |
| key partners | AOL, Pepsi | Vivendi Universal | Dell | Samsung, Gateway, Microsoft, Yahoo | |||
| system compatibility | Mac OS X, Windows 2000, XP | Windows XP, 2000, 98SE, ME with IE 5+ and WMP 9 | Any that can play MP3 | Windows XP, 2000, 98SE, NT 4.0 | Windows XP, 2000, 98SE, ME | Windows 2000, XP | |
| conflict of law provision | California | Orange County, California | San Diego County, CA | Washington10 | New York, NY | ||
| geographic limits | US only | US only | US only | US only | US only | US only |
1EMusic offers two levels of service: Basic, $9.99 per month with a maximum 40 downloads (as low as $0.25/track), and Plus, $14.99 per month with maximum 65 downloads (as low as $0.23 per track).
2Tracks can be purchased in order to burn directly to CD, but can not be downloaded and saved to the computer's hard drive.
3Subscription is optional and allows access to playlist sharing and streaming of tracks.
4Access to over 250 non-interactive radio streams
5200 "professionally programmed" radio stations
6Interactive streaming is available with $9.99/month subscription
7One computer is a "primary computer" which can transfer files to a portable device and burn CD's. The "secondary computer" can only listen to tracks, not transfer them to a portable device or CD. The computer used to purchase a track is the "primary computer."
8The number of times that the same playlist can be burned to CD.
9Only the "primary computer" can transfer files to a portable device.
10The "exclusive remedy for all disputes and claims... shall be determined exclusively by final and binding arbitration. The arbitration shall be conducted under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") before a panel of three arbitrators and conducted in the State of Washington."