Pick by the question your team asks most often.
If it is "what is the market doing right now?", buy a real-time multi-asset terminal: the Bloomberg Terminal or LSEG Workspace. Traders, treasury and anyone who needs live prices, a newswire and a chat network with counterparties belong here.
If it is "what is this company worth, and who are its peers?", buy a company and deal data platform: S&P Capital IQ Pro or FactSet. Corporate development, strategy and IR teams spend their time in comps, transactions and Excel models, and these platforms are built around that work.
If the job is fundamentals for a few analysts on a small budget, start with a self-serve web platform such as Koyfin or TIKR. Check whose data sits underneath. Fund and wealth platforms such as Morningstar Direct are built for asset managers and advisors, not corporate teams.
Why financial data terminals matter
A terminal is the source behind the numbers in a board deck. The peer multiples in a valuation, the bond yields in a refinancing case, the consensus estimates a CEO is measured against: all of them come from a data vendor.
The choice shows up in three places. Speed: a corporate development team without comps data rebuilds peer sets by hand from filings for every deal. Consistency: when strategy uses one source and finance another, the same company gets two enterprise values in the same meeting. Lock-in: models built on a vendor's Excel formulas depend on that vendor's license, so switching means rewriting them.
The category is also changing under buyers. LSEG withdrew Eikon on June 30, 2025, and moved users to Workspace. Bloomberg, LSEG, S&P Global and FactSet are all adding AI assistants that answer questions from their own data.
Who buys it
Corporate development, strategy, investor relations, treasury and FP&A teams at large companies, alongside investment banks, asset managers and private equity firms. Large companies often hold a few seats of a real-time terminal for treasury and more seats of a company data platform for corporate development.
Typical triggers: a first acquisition program, a new IR or treasury hire who expects a familiar tool, a renewal where seat counts are questioned, or a vendor change such as the Eikon withdrawal.
Before you buy: what teams do without one
Without a terminal, teams pull figures from company filings, exchange websites and free finance portals, then build peer sets in spreadsheets. That works for a handful of companies and an occasional deal.
Some borrow access: an investment bank runs the comps, or a university or library license covers students and researchers. Others buy a low-cost web platform that licenses data from a larger provider; TIKR says its data is powered by S&P Global Capital IQ.
Buying a full platform pays when the team screens hundreds of companies, refreshes models every quarter, needs private company or transaction data, or must show auditors and the board a consistent, documented source.
What good looks like
| Capability | What good looks like | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Company financials and estimates | Standardized statements, segment data and consensus estimates, with a click-through from each figure to the filing. | Comps and valuations are only as good as the line items behind them. Source links let you defend a number. |
| Transactions and private companies | M&A deal history with multiples, plus private company profiles and financials where they exist. | Corporate development needs precedent transactions and private targets, not only listed peers. |
| Real-time market data | Live prices across equities, bonds, currencies and commodities, with exchange entitlements spelled out in the contract. | Treasury and trading need live data. Strategy teams usually do not, and should not pay for it. |
| Excel and PowerPoint add-ins | Refreshable formulas, model templates and chart export, tested on your own models. | Most corporate finance work ends in a spreadsheet or a deck. The add-in decides daily productivity. |
| News and research | A newswire plus broker and independent research, searchable alongside transcripts and filings. | Context for a number often sits in a call transcript or an analyst note, not in the data grid. |
| AI assistant with citations | Answers that cite the vendor's own data and documents and show the query or formula behind each figure. | An answer you cannot trace back to a source cannot go into a board deck. |
| Data feeds and API | Licensed delivery of the same data into your warehouse, BI tool or AI tools, priced separately. | Desktop licenses rarely permit redistribution. Feeds are a separate contract with separate limits. |
How financial data terminals are built, and who sells each kind
Vendors in this category can take a labeled Spotlight slot on this guide. How Spotlight works
Real-time multi-asset terminals
A desktop and mobile application with live prices across asset classes, a newswire, research and a messaging network, often linked to trading and order management.
Fits: Treasury, trading and capital markets teams that need live data and contact with counterparties.
- BloombergTeams that need the Bloomberg Terminal's live multi-asset data and its messaging network of more than 350,000 decision makers.
- LSEGTeams that want LSEG Workspace, the Eikon successor, with Reuters news inside Excel, PowerPoint and Teams.
Company and deal data platforms
Built around company financials, estimates, transactions, ownership and private companies, with Excel and PowerPoint add-ins for comps, models and pitch material.
Fits: Corporate development, strategy, IR and investment banking teams whose daily work is comps, screens and valuation.
- FactSetCorporate development, strategy and IR teams that want comps, M&A data and an IR CRM from one supplier.
- S&P Capital IQ ProTeams that build valuation and comps models in Excel and want public, private and credit data in one platform.
Fund and wealth research platforms
Built around funds, portfolios and client reporting, with analytics for product design, due diligence and proposals.
Fits: Asset managers, fund selectors and financial advisors rather than corporate teams.
- Morningstar DirectAsset and wealth managers that research, build and report on funds and portfolios.
- YChartsFinancial advisors and asset manager sales teams that build client proposals and portfolio reports.
Self-serve web platforms
Browser-based research tools that a user can sign up for online, with a free tier or trial and narrower data than an enterprise platform. Some publish their plan prices.
Fits: Individuals and small teams that need fundamentals, charts and transcripts without an enterprise contract.
- KoyfinAdvisors and investors who want charts, dashboards and fundamentals on published monthly plans.
- TIKRIndividuals and small teams that want global fundamentals and transcripts sourced from S&P Global Capital IQ.
- Fiscal.aiAnalysts who want filing-linked financials in a web terminal, an API or AI tools, under the name FinChat until 2025.
How to choose
Live markets or company analysis
Real-time terminals price in exchange data, news and messaging. Company data platforms price in financials, transactions and private companies. Most corporate teams need one more than the other.
Private company and transaction coverage
Ask for counts of private companies with financials and of M&A deals with disclosed multiples in your sector and region. Coverage varies most here.
Excel and PowerPoint workflow
Test the add-in on one of your own models. Check formula refresh, template libraries and what happens to the file when a user without a license opens it.
Auditability of AI answers
Vendors now offer assistants over their own data. Check that each answer cites its source document and exposes the query or formula, as Bloomberg says ASKB does with BQL code.
License terms
Seat definitions, sharing rules, exchange fees, redistribution limits and API access differ by vendor and decide the real cost more than the list price.
How pricing works
Enterprise terminals and company data platforms do not publish prices. They sell annual or multi-year contracts per named user, quoted after a demo, with exchange data fees, feeds and add-on content charged on top.
Most self-serve web platforms publish monthly and annual plans and offer free tiers or trials. Their limits are set by plan: years of history, number of screens, transcript access and region coverage.
To compare quotes, fix the inputs first: number of named users, real-time or delayed data, which exchanges, private company and transaction modules, Excel add-in, API or feed access, and the renewal cap.
| Model | How it works | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Per named user, annual contract | Each licensed user pays a fixed annual fee, usually on a multi-year term, with volume discounts for larger seat counts. | Rules against sharing logins, minimum terms, and auto-renewal notice periods. |
| Enterprise or modular license | A firm-wide fee covering a set of content modules, such as private companies, transactions or credit, for a defined user group. | Which modules are in the base price and what each costs to add mid-term. |
| Exchange and third-party fees | Real-time exchange data and some third-party content are billed per user on top of the platform license. | Fees that rise when a user is classed as professional or when new exchanges are added. |
| Data feed or API | A separate contract to deliver data into internal systems, often priced by dataset, volume and permitted use. | Limits on storing, redistributing or using data to train or ground AI tools. |
| Published self-serve plans | Monthly or annual subscriptions by tier, bought online, with free tiers or trials. | Caps on history, exports and coverage, and whether the terms allow commercial use by a team. |
Implementation
- Map the questionsList the 10 jobs the team runs most, such as peer comps, precedent deals or bond pricing. Score each vendor on those, not on its full catalog.
- Trial on your own modelsRebuild one live comps sheet and one valuation model in each finalist's Excel add-in. Compare the figures line by line.
- Negotiate seats and modulesDecide who needs a full seat, who needs a lighter license and which modules are essential. Get the renewal cap and exchange fees in writing.
- Migrate templatesRewrite formulas from the old vendor before access ends. Keep a static copy of every model the board has seen.
- Train and audit useRun vendor training in the first month. Review seat usage at month 6 and reassign or cut seats before renewal.
Confirm before you sign
- Coverage counts for public companies, private companies and M&A deals in our sectors and regions.
- Definition of a named user and the rules on shared or concurrent access.
- Whether real-time data is included, which exchanges, and the per-user exchange fees.
- Excel and PowerPoint add-in included in the base license.
- What happens to models built on vendor formulas when a license ends.
- API or feed access, and whether it is a separate contract.
- Permission to load licensed data into internal AI tools or a data warehouse.
- Annual price increase cap at renewal, in writing.
- Auto-renewal notice period and minimum term.
- Training, support hours and a named account contact.
Questions to ask in a demo
- Build a comps table for 8 of our peers live. How long does it take, and which figures come from estimates rather than filings?
- Click from any number in that table to the page of the filing it came from.
- How many private companies in our sector have financials, and how old is the latest figure on average?
- Show 5 precedent transactions in our industry from the last 3 years. Which have disclosed multiples?
- Ask your AI assistant a question about one of our competitors. Show the sources and the formula behind each number.
- Open a model built with your Excel add-in on a laptop without a license. What breaks?
- Which exchange fees apply to us, and what changes if a user is classed as professional?
- What may we do with the data outside the terminal: internal dashboards, a data warehouse, an AI tool?
- What has changed in the product in the last 12 months, and what has been retired?
Frequently asked questions
What is a financial data terminal?
It is a licensed application that gives one user market prices, company financials, news, research and analytics in one place, usually with an Excel add-in. The name comes from the Bloomberg Terminal, but the category now includes LSEG Workspace, FactSet, S&P Capital IQ Pro and browser-based platforms such as Koyfin and TIKR. They differ most in live market data, private company coverage and licensing terms.
Bloomberg vs Capital IQ Pro: which does a corporate development team need?
Most corporate development teams spend their time on comps, precedent transactions, private targets and Excel models. That is the core of company and deal data platforms such as S&P Capital IQ Pro and FactSet. The Bloomberg Terminal is built around live multi-asset markets, news and a messaging network. Treasury and capital markets staff often need it; a deal team may need only one or two seats.
What replaced Refinitiv Eikon?
LSEG Workspace. LSEG withdrew Eikon from its product line on June 30, 2025. LSEG says it has moved Eikon users to Workspace since Workspace launched in 2020. If your models used Eikon formulas or APIs, ask your LSEG account manager which functions changed and test them before renewal.
How much does a financial data terminal cost?
Enterprise terminals and company data platforms do not publish prices as of October 2026. They are sold per named user on annual or multi-year contracts, with exchange fees, feeds and extra modules on top. Self-serve web platforms such as Koyfin and TIKR publish monthly and annual plans and offer free tiers. Get quotes on the same inputs: users, data modules, real-time needs and API access.
Are there cheaper alternatives to a Bloomberg Terminal?
For company fundamentals, yes. Self-serve web platforms such as Koyfin and TIKR publish their plans and offer free tiers; Fiscal.ai offers a 7-day free trial. Some license data from larger vendors: TIKR says its financial data is powered by S&P Global Capital IQ. They do not replace a real-time terminal's live multi-asset data, newswire or messaging network, and their terms may limit team or commercial use.
Sources
- LSEG: Eikon withdrawn from LSEG's product line on 30 June 2025
- LSEG Workspace free trial and features
- Bloomberg Terminal product page
- Bloomberg AI and ASKB
- S&P Global: ChatIQ leads latest Capital IQ Pro update (October 6, 2026)
- S&P Global enhances Capital IQ Pro and acquires Drift AI (March 12, 2026)
- FactSet solutions for corporations
- TIKR plans
- TIKR: data powered by S&P Global Capital IQ
- Koyfin pricing
Written by Stratrix editors from public sources and checked claim by claim by a second AI model against those sources. Vendors named in the editorial sections did not pay to be included. Spotlight listings are paid and labeled. Methodology and corrections