A Bloomberg Terminal alternative for financial advisors
The Bloomberg Terminal is the standard for trading desks and institutional research. Most independent advisors use a small part of it. LunaTerminal covers the research and planning work an advisor does every week, in a browser, for free.
Updated
At a glance
| Bloomberg Terminal | LunaTerminal | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Traders, analysts and institutional investors | Financial advisors, RIAs and planners |
| Price | Per-seat subscription; reports in 2025 and 2026 put a single seat at about $32,000 a year, usually on a two-year contract | Free |
| Access | Bloomberg software, keyboard and Bloomberg Anywhere | Any browser |
| Market data | Real-time, deep coverage across asset classes, including fixed income pricing | Quotes, charts, fundamentals, ETF holdings, 13F filings and economic series from Tradier, Yahoo Finance, Finnhub, Twelve Data, Tiingo, FRED, the U.S. Treasury and SEC 13F filings; may be delayed |
| Planning calculators | Not the focus | Roth conversions, RMDs, Social Security, IRMAA, Monte Carlo and 2026 federal tax |
| Client workflows | Not the focus | Households, portfolio reviews, rebalance proposals, the portfolio builder and a compliance screen |
| Trading and messaging | Order execution and Instant Bloomberg messaging | None. LunaTerminal never places trades |
When the Bloomberg Terminal is the better choice
- You trade, or need execution and order management.
- You need real-time pricing and analytics for fixed income, derivatives or global markets.
- You rely on Bloomberg's news, research depth or the Instant Bloomberg network.
When LunaTerminal is the better choice
- Your week is client reviews, planning questions and portfolio construction rather than trading.
- You want AI answers whose figures trace to a dated source or a calculation.
- A terminal contract is hard to justify for your practice.
Using both
Some firms keep one Bloomberg seat for trading and give the rest of the team a lighter research tool. LunaTerminal works alongside a terminal: it does not need one.
Questions
How much does a Bloomberg Terminal cost?
Bloomberg does not publish a price list. Reports in 2025 and 2026 put a single seat at roughly $32,000 a year, with lower per-seat prices for multiple terminals and contracts that usually run two years. Confirm current pricing with Bloomberg.
Is there a free Bloomberg Terminal alternative?
For advisors' research and planning work, LunaTerminal is free. Koyfin has a free plan for charting and fundamentals, and OpenBB is an open-source research platform. None of them replaces Bloomberg for trading.