| Perfect Competition | Monopolistic Competition | Oligopoly | Monopoly |
| Number of Firms | very many | many | few | just one |
| Freedom of Entry | easy | easy | difficult (restricted) | nearly impossible |
| Nature of Product | indifferentiated | differentiated | differentiated and indifferentiated | ubiquitous, such as water, electricity, etc |
| Implications for Demand Curve | perfectly elastic | elastic | elastic and inelastic | mostly inelastic |
| Average Size of Firms | very small | small - medium | large | huge |
| Possible Consumer Demand | elastic | elastic | elastic or inelastic | elastic or inelastic |
| Profit Making Possibility | short run - economic profits if price is higher than average costs | short run - economic profit temporary until other firms enter industry due to easy entry. | short run - economic profits temporary until other firms enter industry, despite entry barriers. | short and long run - potentially indefinite economic profits if unregulated |
| Government Intervention | none | none | some - government licences to restrict entry, royalties to gov't in certain industries (oil and gas), collusion is illegal in most countries | yes - taxes, nationalization, price setting |
| Advertising Presence | none | low- medium | high | very minimal |
| Control over Price | none (price takers) | minimal | some | complete control (price maker) |
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