The Bloomberg terminal is a computer software system used by professional investors as a source of real-time financial data and information. Users can place trades and monitor real-time financial market data. The Bloomberg terminal is seen by many as the gold standard in the financial industry; it is one of the oldest and most used financial terminals. However, it is also one of the most expensive options, costing upwards of $20,000 annually per person. For those who don’t want to pay the hefty price tag, there are many free and more cost-effective alternatives to choose from.
When selecting an alternative terminal, consider the quality and depth of the data, if it provides real-time news and data, and ease of use. We reviewed a number of terminal alternatives based on price, data quality, data visualization, usability, and customer reviews. You can use this information to help determine if a lower-cost terminal alternative can do the job or if you are willing to pay the high cost associated with the Bloomberg terminal.
Read on to see the results of our chosen list of the best Bloomberg terminal alternatives.
The Best Bloomberg Terminal Alternatives of 2024
- Best Overall: FactSet
- Best Free Terminal: Koyfin
- Best for Financial Data and Analytics: Refinitiv Eikon
- Best for Live Chat: Symphony
- Best for Data Visualization: YCharts
- Best for Market Research: AlphaSense
Best Overall : FactSet
FactSet
- Price: $12,000 (yearly)
- Free Trial: Yes
- Additional Features: Access to 60 exclusive data sets
Why We Chose It
FactSet offers its customers a vast amount of data, decades of experience in the industry, and top-of-the-line customer service, making it our choice for best overall terminal alternative.
Pros & Cons
Pros
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Cheaper than the Bloomberg terminal
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Strong customer service and support
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90% customer retention rate
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Four decades in the industry
Cons
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Still expensive at $12,000 per year
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Not as user friendly as some of the other terminals
Overview
FactSet has been helping its financial clients since the late 1970s and has 37 offices in 20 countries and serves over 180,000 financial professionals. With the FactSet platform, users are able to stay on top of market trends, monitor portfolio risk and performance, and even execute trades. It can be accessed by desktop as well as web and mobile applications.
FactSet must be doing something right because they have maintained a 90% customer retention rate over the last decade. However, becoming one of FactSet’s happy customers will cost you, though it isn’t as pricey as its top competitors (Bloomberg and Refinitiv). Terminal pricing is not included on the FactSet website, however, an article in Wall Street Prep reports that an annual membership costs $12,000. That’s approximately half of the price of the Bloomberg terminal. It’s not cheap, but with a history of stellar customer service as well as top-notch data and analytics, you might determine that it is worth the money.
Data:
- Access to more than 200 data sets (including 60 exclusive sets)
Features:
- Monitor global markets
- Research public and private companies
- Industry-level insights
- Comprehensive reports
- Real-time research tools
Best Free Terminal : Koyfin
Koyfin
- Price: Free plan, plus paid tiers of $15 to $70 per month
- Free Trial: Yes
- Additional Features: Customizable dashboards
Why We Chose It
We chose Koyfin as the best free terminal because it is a reliable alternative to high-cost terminals. With access to high-quality data, a user-friendly platform, and top trending financial news, it’s an excellent option for those who aren’t ready or able to invest thousands of dollars.
Pros & Cons
Pros
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Free plan available
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Customizable dashboards
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Wide data coverage
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Combines technical and fundamental data on charts
Cons
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Limited technical analysis tools
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No intraday charts
Overview
Koyfin is an investment analytics platform that was founded in 2016 by former Wall Street traders. The goal was to create a reliable alternative to the high-priced professional platforms on the market. Koyfin offers its customers a clear and easy-to-use interface with advanced graphing, customizable dashboards, access to comprehensive financial analysis, and a macro dashboard for keeping an eye on all of the markets.
Koyfin doesn’t have one particular special feature that will blow your socks off. But, if you’re looking for a platform that is powerful, customizable, and offers a breadth of data, then Koyfin might be the right fit. If you’re on the fence about whether or not to give Koyfin a try, you may want to note the free plan is available to all users. In addition to a free tier, Koyfin offers three paid tiers that provide additional data, functionality, market coverage, and customization. The Basic plan is $15 per month, the Plus plan is $35 per month, and the Pro plan is $70 per month.
Data coverage includes:
- Stocks
- ETFs
- Mutual funds
- Fixed income
- Indices
- Currencies
- Commodities
- Global economy data
- Top trending financial news
Best for Financial Data and Analytics : Refinitiv Eikon
Refinitiv Eikon
- Price: $22,000; $3,600 (year)
- Free Trial: Yes
- Additional Features: Exportable Excel data
Why We Chose It
Eikon offers its user access to cross-asset calculators, portfolio analytics, and StarMine quantitative analytics and models, which is why it stands out as the best terminal for financial data and analytics.
Pros & Cons
Pros
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Access to real-time financial news and data
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Export data using Microsoft Excel
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Open platform
Cons
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Expensive
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Prices not available online
Overview
Refinitiv Eikon is Bloomberg’s biggest competitor when it comes to market share. Refinitiv became part of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), further expanding Refinitiv’s capacity to impact the financial community.
Eikon provides an easy-to-use platform that can be downloaded onto your desktop or mobile device. Its open platform is easy to customize and allows you to plug in a variety of application programming interfaces (APIs) and apps so you can get exactly the kind of information that you want.
While Eikon does not post its prices online, an article in Wall Street Prep suggests that you can purchase Refinitiv Eikon for $22,000 per year, or you can get a more stripped-down version for $3,600 per year. While the full version is just as pricey as the Bloomberg terminal, Eikon’s cheaper version is a good option for those that want to be part of the Eikon club but lack the industry budget.
Data:
- Global pricing data
- Reuters news and insights
- Unique charting tools
- Research
- Estimate
- Fundamentals
Features:
- Intelligent search
- Mobile apps
- Customized alerts
- Trading
- Google Chrome extension
- Social media monitor
- Eikon Excel
- Eikon APIs
Best for Live Chat : Symphony
Symphony
- Price: Pricing available upon request
- Free Trial: Available upon request
- Additional Features: Real-time communication
Why We Chose It
Symphony offers live chat, voice, and video conferencing all on one platform. It is truly becoming one of the safest and most popular platforms for financial professionals to connect and build communities.
Pros & Cons
Pros
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End-to-end encryption
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Security and compliance based on federal and global standards
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Price at $240 annually
Cons
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Not an all in one resource—purely a collaboration tool
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Price not listed on the website
Overview
Founded in 2014, Symphony is the one-stop shop for communication and community building among financial industry professionals. Symphony was created to solve data security and compliance and facilitate real-time communication. You can get all of the up-to-date information you need in a safe environment. Symphony uses end-to-end encryption to protect all of your communications and they use bots and automation to improve everyday workflows.
Symphony works with more than 1,000 institutions. It has more than 500,000 users and are responsible for relaying millions of messages every month. For a free demo and for pricing, contact a member of the Symphony sales team. The price of Symphony is not listed on its website. Symphony provides an excellent and cost-effective alternative to those who want to connect and build communities with other industry professionals.
Features:
- Send messages
- Share files
- Automate trade flows
- Meet in real-time
Best for Data Visualization : YCharts
YCharts
- Price: Pricing available upon request
- Free Trial: Yes, 7-day
- Additional Features: Excel add-on with customizable templates
Why We Chose It
We chose YCharts as the best terminal for data visualization because it is known for its ability to create beautiful, clear, and compelling visuals.
Pros & Cons
Pros
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Easy to visualize charts
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User-friendly interface
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Excel integration
Cons
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Steep learning curve for beginner investors
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Standard plan users won’t have access to all features
Overview
YCharts is a web-based investment research platform that was founded in 2009 with the intention of democratizing investment research. YCharts helps its clients to make better investment decisions by providing easy-to-use tools capable of creating compelling visuals that make it simple to share insights and strategies.
With a series of model portfolios, YCharts makes it simple to build, visualize, and compare investment strategies. Users can create custom reports to compare portfolios or securities using client-friendly visuals. YCharts also includes an Excel add-on that comes with a series of powerful and customizable templates that can be used to fit any model that you create.
A team of dedicated support engineers is available to help and save you time. And before committing, you can reach out to a product specialist for a demo of the platform or sign up for a free seven-day trial of the software to see if it’s the right fit for you.
There are three different plan options: Standard, Professional, and Enterprise. Prices are not listed online, so it is necessary to reach out to customer support for that information.
Features:
- Customizable dashboard
- Model portfolios
- Custom reports
- Stock screener
- Fund screener
- Fundamental charting
- Excel Add-In
Best for Market Research : AlphaSense
AlphaSense
- Price: Pricing available upon request
- Free Trial: Yes
- Additional Features: AI and NLP search technology
Why We Chose It
AlphaSense provides access to thousands of premium data sources including broker research, SEC filings, and news and trade journals. It is the one-stop shop for market research and intelligence.
Pros & Cons
Pros
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Free trial
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Saves time
Cons
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Prices not listed on the website
Overview
AlphaSense was launched in 2011 with a mission to help businesses and financial firms make decisions more efficiently and confidently. AlphaSense uses AI and NLP search technology to help its users uncover relevant data across millions of documents in a matter of seconds. No matter where you are, you can quickly share insights with your team.
Thousands of organizations including half of the S&P and 70% of the top 50 hedge funds use AlphaSense to drive research and decision-making. With AlphaSense, companies can easily share insights and information, streamline their research workflow, and stay on top of industry trends.
Before committing to AlphaSense, visit their website to request a free trial. AlphaSense does not post pricing details so you will need to contact them directly.
Features:
- Access to millions of documents including SEC filings, earnings call transcripts, private company data, newspapers and trade journals, and regional and industry research
- Aggregated from over 10,000 sources
- Capable of recognizing millions of financial terms and their synonyms
Final Verdict
Although the Bloomberg Terminal is an expensive way to access real-time financial data and information, a cheaper solution won’t always get you the features you need to make sound investment decisions.
FactSet offers many of the same features for about $8,000 less per year and enjoys a more than 90% satisfaction rate from its customers, making it our top pick as the best alternative. For those who still find FactSet’s $12,000 price tag daunting, other companies like Koyfin offer a great free option to those who want the support of a terminal without breaking their budget.
Compare the Best Bloomberg Terminal Alternatives
| Company | Price | Free Trial | Additional Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| FactSet Best Overall | $12,000 (year) | Yes | Access to 60 exclusive data sets |
| Koyfin Best Free Terminal | $15-$70 (monthly) | Yes | Customizable dashboards |
| Refinitiv Eikon Best for Financial Data and Analytics | $22,000; $3,600 (year) | Yes | Exportable Excel data |
| Symphony Best for Live Chat | Pricing available upon request | Yes | Real-time communication |
| YCharts Best for Data Visualization | Pricing available upon request | Yes, seven-day | Excel add-on with customizable templates |
| AlphaSense Best for Market Research | Pricing available upon request | Yes | AI and NLP search technology |
Frequently Asked Questions
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Bloomberg terminals provide real-time market data that users can access almost anywhere worldwide. It provides a significant advantage, as well as convenient data access, to traders as well as portfolio managers and brokers. For those users, the benefits of Bloomberg’s terminals are worth the price tag.
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Investment bankers can use Bloomberg terminals, however, they tend to use them less than other groups in that industry. This is because investment bankers often share a small number of terminals at their job site while other types of investors often have access to their own.
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Yes, the Bloomberg terminal has been around since 1981 and continues to lead as the gold standard for trading tools and as a source of data and financial news. It offers a wide array of advantages through its extensive features, ranging from news to risk modeling and access to live chat with other users. It is Windows-based and compatible with Excel which provides a more simplified view of the data. The Bloomberg terminal also provides an integrated solution.
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Individual investors can get the Bloomberg terminal. According to the Bloomberg website, its terminal has 325,000 users. However, because this terminal comes with such a high price tag, it is typically used by large institutional investors, financial analysts, and portfolio managers.
Methodology
When determining the best Bloomberg terminal alternatives, we reviewed 13 alternatives and weighed a number of factors, including price, reliability, reputation, customer retention, and reviews from various websites. We encourage you to shop around to determine the terminal best suited to your needs and budget.
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