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Investment Analytics · head to head

Bloomberg Terminal vs YCharts

Bloomberg Terminal logo

Bloomberg Terminal

Investment Analytics

Real-time market data, news, analytics, messaging and execution across all asset classes

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
YCharts logo

YCharts

Investment Analytics

Investment research and client proposal platform for financial advisers

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bloomberg Terminal no published pricing or plan tiers; the product page offers only a demo request (checked November 2026).; YCharts no prices on the plans page: it lists four tiers and asks prospects to call for pricing, checked November 2026.
  • They diverge on capability: Bloomberg Terminal covers Cross-asset market data and analytics, YCharts covers Fundamental Charts.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 12 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bloomberg Terminal and YCharts actually diverge.

Attributes where Bloomberg Terminal and YCharts differ
AttributeBloomberg TerminalYCharts
PlatformsWindows, Web, iOS, Android, APIWeb, Excel

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Investment Analytics).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Bloomberg Terminal

  • Cross-asset market data and analytics
  • Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Intelligence
  • Instant Bloomberg (IB)
  • Launchpad
  • Execution and order management
  • BQL, BQuant and Excel add-in
  • ASKB
  • Bloomberg Anywhere and Professional app

Only in YCharts

  • Fundamental Charts
  • Stock and Fund Screeners
  • Report Builder and proposals
  • Quick Extract
  • Portfolio construction
  • Economic data
  • Excel Add-In
  • Ask Y

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Bloomberg Terminal

  • Real-time monitoring of prices, news and alerts across asset classes on a trading desknot YCharts
  • Communicating with counterparties and clients over Instant Bloombergnot YCharts
  • Fixed income and derivatives pricing and analyticsnot YCharts
  • Pulling market and fundamental data into Excel models with the add-in or BQLnot YCharts
  • Executing and managing orders with pre- and post-trade analyticsnot YCharts
  • Following company and industry research from Bloomberg Intelligencenot YCharts

YCharts

  • Building client proposals from a prospect's existing brokerage statementnot Bloomberg Terminal
  • Branded charts and reports for client reviews and marketingnot Bloomberg Terminal
  • Screening stocks and funds for model portfolio constructionnot Bloomberg Terminal
  • Monitoring client and model portfolios for drift and rebalancingnot Bloomberg Terminal
  • Wholesalers and asset managers preparing fund comparisons for advisersnot Bloomberg Terminal

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Bloomberg Terminal

  • No published pricing or plan tiers; the product page offers only a demo request (checked November 2026).
  • The installable Terminal is Windows-only. Bloomberg's own FAQ says it is not available for native installation on Mac, and points Mac users to Bloomberg Anywhere in a browser.
  • Access requires biometric (fingerprint) and multi-method authentication, which adds a hardware or app step for every user and complicates shared or locked-down environments.
  • The interface is driven by function codes rather than menus; Bloomberg runs a dedicated Terminal Essentials video series for new users, and the learning curve is a real onboarding cost.
  • ASKB, the AI interface, was announced as a beta, so the natural-language layer competitors are shipping is not yet a general feature.

YCharts

  • No prices on the plans page: it lists four tiers and asks prospects to call for pricing, checked November 2026.
  • Several features on the plans page are marked as paid extras without amounts, so the cost of a working configuration is not knowable before a sales call.
  • Equity coverage is North American: the platform page describes 20,000+ equities and ADRs on North American exchanges, so it is a poor fit for research on non-US markets.
  • Fund and SMA data is licensed from Morningstar and ESG data from MSCI rather than produced in-house, so coverage and methodology in those areas follow the upstream provider.
  • The Presenter tier carries only basic equity, fund and index data, so staff who prepare proposals on that tier cannot do full research.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bloomberg Terminal

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Bloomberg Terminal review.

YCharts

On request
  • Analyst$undefined/mo
    • Screeners and tables, dashboard, watchlists and alerts, charting
    • Most data
    • Aimed at research, market monitoring and individual investors
  • Presenter$undefined/mo
    • Customisations and select tools
    • Basic equity, fund and index data
    • Can receive shared items
  • Professional$undefined/mo
    • All tools, with fund, stock and economic data
    • Firm-wide sharing and proposals with talking points
    • Quick Extract included with new licences from September 2025
  • Enterprise$undefined/mo
    • Everything in Professional
    • Compliance controls and firm-wide sharing
    • Positioning of proprietary models for broker-dealers and advisor networks

Which should you pick?

Choose Bloomberg Terminal if

  • You need cross-asset market data and analytics.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want bloomberg news and bloomberg intelligence.
Bloomberg Terminal review

Choose YCharts if

  • You need fundamental charts.
  • You work on Web, Excel.
  • You also want stock and fund screeners.
YCharts review

Questions people ask

Is Bloomberg Terminal or YCharts better?
Neither clearly leads. Bloomberg Terminal starts at On request and YCharts at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bloomberg Terminal or YCharts?
Bloomberg Terminal starts at On request and YCharts at On request.
Does Bloomberg Terminal or YCharts run on more platforms?
Bloomberg Terminal runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android, API. YCharts runs on Web, Excel.
What is Bloomberg Terminal best used for?
Bloomberg Terminal is most often used for real-time monitoring of prices, news and alerts across asset classes on a trading desk, communicating with counterparties and clients over instant bloomberg, fixed income and derivatives pricing and analytics, pulling market and fundamental data into excel models with the add-in or bql. Of those, real-time monitoring of prices, news and alerts across asset classes on a trading desk and communicating with counterparties and clients over instant bloomberg are not what YCharts is typically brought in for.
What can Bloomberg Terminal do that YCharts cannot?
Bloomberg Terminal covers Cross-asset market data and analytics, Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Intelligence, Instant Bloomberg (IB), Launchpad. YCharts covers Fundamental Charts, Stock and Fund Screeners, Report Builder and proposals, Quick Extract.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bloomberg Terminal: How much does the Bloomberg Terminal cost?

Bloomberg does not publish a price. The product page directs prospective clients to request a demo, and the subscription is quoted by Bloomberg's sales team.

Source
YCharts: How much does YCharts cost?

YCharts does not publish prices. The plans page lists Analyst, Presenter, Professional and Enterprise tiers and asks prospects to call (866) 965-7552 for pricing. A free trial is available.

Source
Bloomberg Terminal: Does the Bloomberg Terminal run on a Mac?

Not as a native install. Bloomberg's FAQ says the Terminal software is not available for native installation on Mac platforms; Mac users with a Bloomberg Anywhere subscription can access it through a web browser.

Source
YCharts: Which integrations does YCharts support?

The platform page lists Orion, Black Diamond, Schwab Advisor Center, Redtail, Addepar and Pershing, and the homepage also names Salesforce and eMoney. Holdings imported this way feed portfolios, reports and proposals.

Source
Bloomberg Terminal: What is Bloomberg Anywhere?

The remote access subscription that lets a user connect to the Terminal from a PC, the office, home or mobile devices, including through the Bloomberg Professional app.

Source
YCharts: Where does YCharts get its fund data?

Mutual fund, ETF and separate account data comes from Morningstar, and the 30+ ESG data points for North American companies come from MSCI.

Source
Bloomberg Terminal: What is Instant Bloomberg?

The Terminal's messaging service. It supports persistent chat rooms, tabs and folders, structured data that links to other Terminal functions, and IB Connect for adding proprietary chatbots to chats.

Source
YCharts: Does YCharts have an Excel add-in?

Yes. The Excel Add-In links workbooks to YCharts data so models refresh in one click, and ships with over 40 pre-built templates. Professional clients get access to YCharts' in-house Excel specialists.

Source
Bloomberg Terminal: Can Bloomberg data be used in Excel or Python?

Yes. Bloomberg provides Office add-ins for Excel, Bloomberg Query Language, BQuant Desktop and the BLPAPI programming interfaces. ASKB also returns the BQL behind its answers so the analysis can be extended in Excel or BQuant.

Source
YCharts: What is Quick Extract?

A tool that turns a prospect's statement into a portfolio and runs analysis highlighting high-fee holdings and allocation drift. It is included with new Professional licences from September 2025.

Source
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