What Is a Bloomberg Terminal? Functions, Costs, and Alternatives

Will Kenton is an expert on the economy and investing laws and regulations. He previously held senior editorial roles at Investopedia and Kapitall Wire and holds a MA in Economics from The New School for Social Research and Doctor of Philosophy in English literature from NYU.

​Somer G. Anderson is CPA, doctor of accounting, and an accounting and finance professor who has been working in the accounting and finance industries for more than 20 years. Her expertise covers a wide range of accounting, corporate finance, taxes, lending, and personal finance areas.

Vikki Velasquez is a researcher and writer who has managed, coordinated, and directed various community and nonprofit organizations. She has conducted in-depth research on social and economic issues and has also revised and edited educational materials for the Greater Richmond area.

What Is a Bloomberg Terminal?

A Bloomberg terminal, sometimes called a BT, is a software system that provides access to Bloomberg data services and a proprietary trading platform.

The BT data service includes real-time global financial data, financial analysis tools, and news feeds. The BT trading system enables financial transactions such as stock and options trading.

The annual subscription fee for a single Bloomberg terminal is $27,660, with a discount for additional subscriptions.

Key Takeaways

• The Bloomberg terminal has been in use since 1982 when it was developed by the company owned by businessman Michael Bloomberg.
• Because of its relatively high cost, the Bloomberg terminal is used mostly by institutional investors, portfolio managers, and analysts for major financial services firms.
• Bloomberg offers independent stock research from more than 1,500 resources, charting tools, and trade analytics for both the buy-side and sell-side.
• Bloomberg's competitors include Refinitiv Eikon, Alpha Sense, and Morningstar Direct.
• Similar products like S&P Capital IQ Platform and FactSet Investment Research offer less expensive services that may be more usable by individual investors.

How a Bloomberg Terminal Works

The Bloomberg Terminal has been in use since 1982 and it continues to be one of the main product offerings from Bloomberg L.P. Its interface has retained a black background, which may have seemed outdated for years but by now has become virtually iconic.

Bloomberg Terminal's bland visuals are often seen on the company's television channel although the media empire also has visually rich content in its flagship magazine Bloomberg Businessweek.

Institutional investors are the typical customers of this product since their high ongoing cost makes them unaffordable to most individual investors. In addition to a trading platform, subscribers get access to financial news and data as well as analytical tools.

325,000

The approximate number of subscribers worldwide to Bloomberg terminal.

Benefits of a Bloomberg Terminal

The original Bloomberg Terminal introduced in 1982 was a "piece of dedicated, all-in-one hardware for connecting to a network." It now operates on a PC via Windows-compatible software, a custom Bloomberg keyboard, and a fingerprint scanner.

The system is compatible with Microsoft's Excel program, an important aspect of the system for those in the finance industry.

Bloomberg also offers access to the application online and through mobile devices via its Bloomberg Anywhere service. For portfolio managers and brokers, having the ability to access real-time market information from almost anywhere in the world is an important advantage of a Bloomberg subscription.

Bloomberg's instant messaging service is popular among traders, who use it to post quotes, updates on trades, and news about market activity.

The tools included in the Bloomberg terminal are widely used by portfolio managers, sell-side finance professionals, and buy-side analysts. Bloomberg's data sets are comprehensive and are quickly updated to reflect current market activity. Bloomberg's treasure trove of fixed-income data appeals to bond traders.

Bloomberg Terminal Competitors

The largest competitor to the Bloomberg Terminal is Refinitiv Eikon, the latest iteration of a system developed by Thomson Reuters and introduced in 1999 as the Reuters 3000 Xtra electronic trading platform. In 2018, Thomson Reuters sold a 55% stake in the company to the private equity firm Blackstone for about $17 billion in gross cash proceeds.

Now named Refinitiv, the service was later sold to the London Stock Exchange (LSE) Group.

As of 2022, Bloomberg commanded a market share of about 33%, with Refinitiv in second place at about 19%.

Bloomberg's competitors now include smaller companies that offer financial data and analysis at a much lower price point. Two such firms are S&P Capital IQ and FactSet.

Factors including the proliferation of big data, analytics, and machine learning look to cut into Bloomberg's stranglehold on the financial data space over the next few years.

Can I Get Bloomberg Terminal Access for Free?

Some libraries and universities provide access to Bloomberg Terminal to students, researchers, and academics. The most likely place to find one is, not surprisingly, a business school library.

What Are Some Alternatives to the Bloomberg Terminal?

While the Bloomberg Terminal remains the dominant technology platform in the financial world for market data, analysis, and breaking headlines, there are worthy competitors. According to Investopedia's reviewing, these are among the best:

• 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

Can I Invest in Bloomberg's Company?

No, Bloomberg, LP, the maker of the Bloomberg Terminal, is a privately-held company owned by billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The Bottom Line

The Bloomberg Terminal is the dominant brand among professionals who need access to comprehensive financial data, analytics, and trading services.

Its cost, at $27,660 a year, is beyond the reach of most individual investors. However, Bloomberg has competitors whose services are cheaper, easier to use, and more than adequate for individual investors.

1. Bloomberg Professional Services. "The Terminal."
2. Wall Street Prep. "Bloomberg vs. Capital IQ vs. FactSet vs. Refinitiv Eikon."
3. Fast Company. "How the Bloomberg Terminal Made History–And Stays Ever Relevant."
4. Bloomberg Professional Services. "Documentation Support," Download "Software Compatibility Matrix."
5. Thomson Reuters. "Thomson Reuters and Blackstone Announce Strategic Partnership for Thomson Reuters Financial & Risk (F&R) Business."
6. Thomson Reuters. "Thomson Reuters Announces Closing of Sale of Refinitiv to London Stock Exchange Group."
7. Financial Times. "The Bloomberg Terminal Can’t Be Terminated."
8. Forbes. "Michael Bloomberg."

The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Investopedia receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where listings appear. Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace.

Bloomberg is a global provider of financial news and information, including real-time and historical price data, financial data, trading news, and analyst coverage.

A hybrid market is an exchange through which traders can use automated trading systems and traditional floor brokers in order to execute transactions.

Payment for order flow is the practice of market makers paying a commission to brokers for sending trades to them.

Clearing is when an organization acts as an intermediary to reconcile orders between transacting parties. A clearing bank approves checks for payments.

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