Yes, you have to pay for the equipment and the subscription... and XM is raising their rates in April to $12.95/month, the same as Sirius is now. I've had Sirius for about six months now and I love it... I have the plug and play unit. I had to buy a receiver, a car kit, and a boombox. I keep the boombox set up in my bedroom and listen to it at night and on the weekends. For the car I just pop out the receiver from the boombox and it sits in a little cradle in the car and broadcasts over the FM stereo. And at work I listen to the it on the computer via the free on-line streaming. I chose Sirius because they have a 24 hour gay station plus they tend to play more hits based music as opposed to XM which has less repeats, but plays more obscure tracks. But whatever you choose, it is far superior to the majority of FM out there. If you get a slightly older unit, you can get them pretty cheap. I got my whole set up as part of a deal for $150 plus the monthly charge...