| Replication | Transcription |
| Occurrence |
| S phase of the cell cycle | G1 and G2 phase of the cell cycle |
| Primer |
| Requires RNA primer for replication to start | Does not require a primer |
| Enzymes |
| DNA Polymerase, DNA Helicase | RNA polymerase, Transcriptase |
| Genome copy |
| Entire genome is copied | Only certain genes are copied |
| Position |
| Found along the DNA strand | Found only along 1 strand of DNA |
| Raw material |
| dATP, dTTP, dCTP and dGTP | ATP, GTP, CTP, and UTP |
| Intend |
| Conserving genome for further generations | Making copies of RNA of genes individually |
| Result |
| Two daughter strands | mRNA, rRNA, non-coding RNA and tRNA |
| Degradation |
| Products do not degrade | Products degrade |
