What is the difference between Bloomberg Terminal and Refinitiv Eikon (Retired)?

Bloomberg Terminal is The gold standard institutional financial terminal with real-time data, analytics, news, and communication tools used by 325,000+ professionals. Refinitiv Eikon (Retired) is Eikon was retired by LSEG on June 30, 2025 and replaced by LSEG Workspace. This guide explains the migration, current product and pricing process. The main differences are features, pricing, and audience — see the head-to-head above for the specific decision points.

Which is cheaper, Bloomberg Terminal or Refinitiv Eikon (Retired)?

Bloomberg Terminal pricing is $2000/mo, while Refinitiv Eikon (Retired) pricing is quote-based. Request an itemized quote before comparing total cost because datasets and exchange entitlements can materially change institutional pricing.

Which has a higher rating, Bloomberg Terminal or Refinitiv Eikon (Retired)?

Bloomberg Terminal is rated 4.9/5, higher than Refinitiv Eikon (Retired) at 4.5/5. Ratings weigh features, ease of use, value, reliability, and support.

Bloomberg Terminal vs LSEG Workspace: The Institutional Data Terminal Choice for 2026

Bloomberg Terminal and LSEG Workspace are the two big institutional data terminals. They cost $20K+/user/year, they are not retail products, and the choice between them is usually made by an employer — not the person using it.

Bloomberg Terminal is the trading-floor standard. Around $27K/year per user, it is what investment banks, sell-side traders and fixed-income desks run because of network effects that go far beyond the data: Bloomberg Chat and MSG are how the industry actually talks to itself, IB Chat rooms broker relationships, and the terminal's function culture (TOP, FI, RQ, ALLQ, EQS) is a shared professional vocabulary. The fixed-income and FX depth is unmatched.

LSEG Workspace is the successor to Refinitiv Eikon (which itself replaced Reuters 3000 Xtra) — LSEG rebranded and consolidated the platform after buying Refinitiv in 2021. It runs roughly $20-22K/year, is meaningfully stronger on FX and commodities, integrates better with Excel via the LSEG Data Library, and — critically — carries the Reuters News feed, which is the standard for sell-side research aggregation. It is common at buy-side asset managers and hedge funds, especially outside the US.

These are not really substitutes in the same seat. Most professionals who work with both know Bloomberg for the chat and price discovery, LSEG for the research and Excel workflows. The interesting question for a firm is which one — not both.

Fees, feature availability, and plan details come from each provider's current documentation. If you're about to act on this, confirm the specific numbers on the vendor's site first. Methodology →

Official Bloomberg Terminal source → Official Refinitiv Eikon (Retired) source → Data checked through 2026-07-13.

At-a-Glance

Higher Rated

Bloomberg Terminal (4.9)

More Affordable

Bloomberg Terminal ($2000/mo)

Bloomberg Terminal

★★★★★ 4.9/5

The gold standard institutional financial terminal with real-time data, analytics, news, and communication tools used by 325,000+ professionals.

From: $2000/mo

Full review →

What Each Terminal Is Actually Built For

Choose Bloomberg Terminal if you...

Work at (or need to talk with) a sell-side desk — Bloomberg Chat is the professional messaging standard
Trade fixed income seriously — BBG's bond, credit, MBS and derivatives coverage is the industry benchmark
Need real-time FX pricing with dealer contribution and ALLQ pooled quotes
Rely on Bloomberg-specific functions and network effects (MSG, IB, TOP, FI, RQ, EQS, HP, DES)
Are at an investment bank, prime broker, or major hedge fund where Bloomberg is already the terminal on every desk

Choose LSEG Workspace if you...

Depend on Reuters News for research aggregation and event coverage
Live inside Excel — LSEG's data library and Codebook integration is materially better
Focus on FX or commodities where LSEG's dealer network historically ran deeper than Bloomberg
Are at a buy-side asset manager, corporate treasury, or research house — LSEG dominates that segment
Want the ~$5-7K/user/year cost saving vs Bloomberg without giving up institutional-grade coverage

If you are a retail trader reading this

You almost certainly do not need either. Both are $20K+/year professional terminals designed for full-time institutional users. If you want Bloomberg-adjacent capability at retail prices, look at Koyfin Pro (~$40/month, positioned explicitly as a Bloomberg alternative for research), or TradingView for charting-first workflows. If you specifically need Bloomberg-style news + earnings + chat around retail equities, Benzinga Pro covers the news side at ~$99/month. There is a meaningful gap between "professional terminal" and "retail platform" — the platforms in that middle ground are what most self-directed traders actually want.

Feature	Bloomberg Terminal	Refinitiv Eikon (Retired)
Rating	★ 4.9	★ 4.5
Starting Price	$2000/mo	Free
Free Tier	No	No
Markets	stocks, options, futures, forex, crypto	stocks, options, futures, forex, crypto
AI Analysis	✓	✓
Backtesting	✓	✗
Paper Trading	✗	✗
Price Alerts	✓	✓
Mobile App	✓	✓
API Access	✓	✓
Social Features	✓	✗
Broker Integration	✓	✓
Custom Indicators	✓	✓
Automated Trading	✗	✗
Trade Journaling	✗	✗
Performance Analytics	✓	✓
Risk Management	✓	✓
News Feed	✓	✓
Education Content	✓	✓

Terminal Head-to-Head

Important: Refinitiv Eikon is not a current alternative you can buy. LSEG ended Eikon access after June 30, 2025. The current comparison is Bloomberg Terminal versus LSEG Workspace.

Pricing

Bloomberg Terminal is commonly sold as a premium per-user institutional service. LSEG Workspace uses quote-based pricing that varies with datasets, exchange entitlements, roles and workflow requirements. Historical Eikon estimates are not a reliable current Workspace price.

Request itemized proposals and compare the base workstation, real-time exchanges, specialist datasets, APIs, Office integrations, support and additional users. A headline monthly figure can conceal different entitlements.

Where Bloomberg is strongest

Bloomberg’s core advantage is its integrated professional ecosystem: broad market data and analytics, Bloomberg News, terminal functions and the institutional messaging network. For desks whose counterparties already communicate through Bloomberg, network effects can outweigh a feature-by-feature price comparison.

Where LSEG Workspace is strongest

Workspace combines LSEG data and analytics with Reuters News, customizable workflows, web and desktop access, mobile access, APIs and Office capabilities. It is the appropriate successor for organizations that previously evaluated or used Eikon.

Migration and integration

Teams moving from Eikon should inventory spreadsheets, COM automation, desktop-session code and old .NET integrations. LSEG documents replacements for certain legacy interfaces, while supported data libraries can continue in Workspace configurations. Migration effort belongs in the total-cost comparison.

Decision

Choose Bloomberg when its messaging network, established desk workflow and specific analytics are essential.
Choose Workspace when Reuters News, LSEG datasets, current Workspace APIs and its workflow model fit the team better.
Choose a specialist alternative when the organization needs only a narrow slice of institutional-terminal functionality.

See the updated Eikon retirement and LSEG Workspace guide, the Bloomberg Terminal review, and our Bloomberg alternatives.

Bloomberg Terminal: Pros & Cons

Pros

+ Most comprehensive financial data source covering every asset class and geography
+ Bloomberg News with 2,700+ journalists delivers market-moving headlines first
+ Industry-standard messaging network essential for institutional deal flow
+ Best-in-class fixed income, derivatives, and portfolio risk analytics
+ Robust API for Excel, Python, and proprietary system integration
+ Responsive 24/7 customer support staffed by knowledgeable specialists

Cons

- $24,000/year cost is prohibitive for retail traders and small firms
- Two-year standard contracts with difficult early cancellation
- Dated keyboard-driven interface with steep weeks-long learning curve
- No free tier or trial period for individual evaluation
- Massive feature overkill for anyone not managing institutional-scale portfolios

Refinitiv Eikon (Retired): Pros & Cons

Pros

+ Modern successor to Eikon with desktop, browser and iOS access
+ Exclusive Reuters News plus professional data workflows
+ Workspace APIs and updated Office integrations
+ Customizable institutional research and trading workflows

Cons

- No transparent public list price
- Not designed or priced for ordinary retail traders
- Legacy Eikon COM and .NET workflows may require migration work
- Data and exchange entitlements can make quotes difficult to compare

Verdict

Sell-side / trading floor / fixed income — Bloomberg Terminal. The chat network alone justifies the premium, and BBG is what your counterparties are using. There is no serious alternative for this seat.

Buy-side / asset management / research-heavy — LSEG Workspace. Reuters News, better Excel integration, and the price differential all add up. Adoption is strongest at non-US buy-side firms.

Corporate treasury / FX-heavy / commodities desks — LSEG has historically been the deeper terminal here. Bloomberg is fine but you are paying the network-effects premium for coverage you do not need.

Institutional buyer running both — some large asset managers do maintain both terminals (Bloomberg on the trading desk, LSEG for research and Excel work). That is a real budget decision measured in seven figures per year, not a preference issue.

Retail traders: Koyfin Pro at ~$40/month is the closest legitimate alternative if you want the Bloomberg-style research experience. Neither Bloomberg nor LSEG is going to sell to you, and if they did, you would not use enough of the terminal to justify it.