One of the oldest providers of real-time financial data and news, Bloomberg Terminal is always on the radar of professionals seeking software solutions that enable them to scrupulously observe financial markets. With a market monitor, financial news feed, built-in messaging system, SWAP manager, and more, Bloomberg is a multifaceted tool most people in the financial sector would love.
However, with costs of upwards of $20,000 a year per person, Bloomberg Terminal may simply be far above your company’s budget, certainly prohibitive for individual traders. Alternatively, maybe you can afford Bloomberg, but you don’t find the software’s features to reflect what you might expect from the price tag.
There are countless alternatives and competitors to Bloomberg Terminal, but here are ten of the best you might consider for yourself as an individual or your company.
Top 10 Best Alternatives & Competitors
- Refinitiv – Most Similar Alternative
- FactSet – Most Condensed Alternative
- AlphaSense – Most Search Engine-Oriented Alternative
- Koyfin – Most Economical Alternative
- Symphony – Most Collaborative Alternative
- Ziggma – Most Portfolio-Focused Alternative
- YCharts – Most Infographic Alternative
- PitchBook – Most Private Corporation-Focused Alternative
- Sentieo – Most Attentive Alternative
- CapitalIQ – Most Mobile Alternative
1. Refinitiv – Most Similar Alternative
PRICING: starts at $3,600 per year
Refinitiv Eikon offers more-or-less all the features Bloomberg does, but at a much cheaper price. The stripped-down version of Refinitiv starts at $3,600 per year, about six times less than the annual cost of Bloomberg. Of particular popularity is the program’s integration with Excel, allowing users to export data as Excel files.
The interface of Refinitiv has received mixed reviews, but the general consensus is there’s a learning curve that must be traversed.
KEY FEATURES:
- Excel integration
- Real-time news updates
- Intelligent search
- Global pricing data
REASONS TO BUY:
- Affordable price
- Similar features to Bloomberg
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Confusing interface
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2. FactSet – Most Condensed Alternative
PRICING: starts at $12,000 per year
Factset doesn’t have all of the extensive features Bloomberg does, but it’s at a cheaper cost. You’ll just have to build your terminal from the ground up instead of being handed a smorgasbord of options you may not even use.
Even though FactSet is cheaper than Bloomberg, it still costs a hefty fee.
KEY FEATURES:
- Industry news
- Stock screening
- Market analysis
- Accounting management
- Compliance reporting
REASONS TO BUY:
- Integrated with third-party software like PowerPoint and Excel
- More bare-bones than Bloomberg
- Fairly integrative
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Still pricey
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3. AlphaSense – Most Search Engine-Oriented Alternative
PRICING: Quote-based
AlphaSense has received particular praise for its high-quality search engine. It’s extensive to the point where some users complain of information overload.
Alpha Senses also comes with business intelligence, accounting integration, and other handy features. In terms of cost, you would need to get a quote from them, but they accommodate teams of all sizes.
KEY FEATURES:
- Financial document search
- Email alerts
- Business Intelligence
- Commenting
- Accounting Integration
REASONS TO BUY:
- Reliability
- Filterable news alerts
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Information overload with searches
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4. Koyfin – Most Economical Alternative
PRICING: free to $100 per month
Koyfin is a great data and analytics platform for traders working on a budget. The beginner package is absolutely free, though you will only be granted two watchlists and two dashboards. Fortunately, even the most advanced plan is only $100 per month, and with this plan, you’ll be receiving the same financial data one might get through Bloomberg.
Koyfin only offers the bare essentials; for more advanced tools, you might prefer another software. Furthermore, while Koyfin’s interface is easily navigable, it’s not too customizable.
KEY FEATURES:
- Financial analysis
- Twitter streaming
- Stocks, mutual funds, EFTs, etc.
- Macro dashboards
REASONS TO BUY:
- Very affordable
- Offers barebones for research and market analysis
- Intuitive interface
REASONS TO AVOID:
- No mobile app
- Not incredibly customizable
- Lackluster visuals
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5. Symphony – Most Collaborative Alternative
PRICING: Free, $240 per person per year, or a customized plan
Symphony is a great app for the collaboration side of financial analysis. Symphony allows you to readily interact with individuals and organizations alike through chatrooms, video calls, and announcement feeds.
The essential plan is lacking in enough features that any business would need a paid plan. At $240 per person per year, this is rather expensive for a messaging app, and there are plenty of cheaper alternatives.
KEY FEATURES:
- Desktop and mobile app
- Screen sharing
- Video conferences
- Announcement feeds
REASONS TO BUY:
- Two-factor authentication
- Integrated with apps such as Zoom and WhatsApp
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Not compatible with Macs
- Much of the UI is not intuitive
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6. Ziggma – Most Portfolio-Focused Alternative
PRICING: starts free
Ziggma is a portfolio management platform that also offers stock analysis and portfolio tracking, among other apropos features.
For instance, Ziggma’s algorithms give each stock a profile across four metrics: growth, profitability, valuation, and financial position. These stock scores are available even to free accounts, though only premium users can see how each stock performs compared to competitors and total industry performance.
Some features of Ziggma are lacking. For instance, you can perform backtests to see your portfolio’s value had you made different decisions. However, you aren’t given the details of how individual stocks performed during this time period.
KEY FEATURES:
- Portfolio tracking
- Financial metrics
- Ziggma scores for holdings
- Stock and ETF screenings
REASONS TO BUY:
- User friendly
- In-depth portfolio analysis
- Smart-alerts feature
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Backtesting feature is lacking
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7. YCharts – Most Infographic Alternative
PRICING: basic account is free
YCharts is an investment research platform with plans for individual investments, investment advisors, hedge funds, and more.
As the name implies, when it comes to charts, the platform hits all the stops. You can compare data from over 4,000 financial metrics over timeframes ranging from a single day to two decades.
On the downside, the charting indicators have received criticism for being limited—all the basics are covered, though.
KEY FEATURES:
- Real-time newsfeeds
- 4,000 financial metrics
- YRatings scores
REASONS TO BUY:
- Integrated with Excel
- Steamlines financial analysis
- Navigable dashboard
- Highly technical charts
- Very data-rich
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Limiting charting indicators
- Will need premium account to get best features
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8. PitchBook – Most Private Corporation-Focused Alternative
PRICING: Free
Pitchbook’s data analyses are primarily geared toward private capital markets. PitchBook is highly recommended to PE and VC companies for the amount of data you receive in these areas. PitchBook has received praise for its responsive and intelligent customer support.
With PitchBook’s primary focus in mind, the subject is lacking in data regarding public companies.
KEY FEATURES:
- Data visualization
- Custom analytics
- News
- Private equity
- Venture capital
REASONS TO BUY:
- Focused on private transactions
- Great customer support
- Good for companies interested in PE and VC.
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Not as much data on public companies
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9. Sentieo – Most Attentive Alternative
PRICING: Quote-based
Sentieo is a cloud-based alternative that processes millions of documents to bring your business relevant data so you may start organizing said data more quickly. Users are particularly fond of Sentieo’s search function which can quickly locate relevant information. Sentieo also readily integrates with other software like Excel and Outlook.
However, Sentieo’s weakness is its comparative lack of data. For instance, Sentieo does not procure many market data on certain areas like mutual fund prices, margins, and so on. Further, Sentieo sometimes lags behind in producing current data.
KEY FEATURES:
- Comparative analysis tool
- Financial data terminal
REASONS TO BUY:
- Numerous plugins
- Large array of available documents
- Mobile-friendly
- Cloud-based
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Doesn’t have quite the data as Bloomberg
- Sometimes lags in bringing new data forward
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10. Capital IQ – Most Mobile Alternative
PRICING: quote-based
Capital IQ is a very robust alternative to Bloomberg that pools from extensive sources of data. Capital IQ’s pricing is quote-based, though generally speaking, Capital IQ is indeed cheaper than Bloomberg. Unlike some of its competitors, Capital IQ is accessible from desktop computers and mobile devices alike.
On the downside, the interface is not the best. It’s easy to get lost in the complex dashboard, for instance. Another thing to consider is that since Capital IQ is browser-based, Capital IQ’s performance depends to some degree on the performance and capabilities of your browser, so you may find certain browsers better for performing certain tasks.
KEY FEATURES:
- Real-time market data
- Global market data
- Valuation
- ESG scores
- Supply chain intelligence
REASONS TO BUY:
- Accessible through web browser
- Accessible through desktop and mobile devices
- Data-rich
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Pricing is not transparent
- Clunky interface
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References and Links
- https://www.refinitiv.com/en
- https://www.refinitiv.com/en/products/eikon-trading-software
- https://www.wallstreetprep.com/knowledge/bloomberg-vs-capital-iq-vs-factset-vs-thomson-reuters-eikon/
- https://www.investopedia.com/best-bloomberg-terminal-alternatives-5114517
- https://www.factset.com/
- https://www.trustradius.com/products/factset/reviews
- https://www.alpha-sense.com/
- https://www.koyfin.com/
- https://daytradingz.com/koyfin-review/
- https://symphony.com/
- https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/symphony
- https://ziggma.com/
- https://daytradereview.com/ziggma-review/
- https://daytradingz.com/ziggma-review/
- https://ycharts.com/
- https://toptradereviews.com/ycharts-review/
- https://tradingreview.net/ycharts-review/
- https://pitchbook.com/
- https://comparecamp.com/pitchbook-review-pricing-pros-cons-features/
- https://sentieo.com/
- https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/
- https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/solutions/sp-capital-iq-pro