What is the difference between cloning and expression vectors?

Cloning vectors are the DNA molecules that carry a specific gene of interest into the host cell and its main purpose is to make numerous copies of the inserted gene. A typical cloning vector consists of an origin of replication, a selectable marker, a reporter gene, and restriction sites.

Expression vectors are associated with the actual expression of the gene into mRNA and protein in the target organism. Therefore, the expression vectors not only contain all the elements of a typical cloning vector, but also contain all the regulatory sequences, such as promoter, ribosomal binding site, transcription initiation site, translation initiation site, which are essential for getting maximum expression.