'Our customers are saying, today I'm using messaging on Bloomberg to do this trade. 'We are making a dent in the Bloomberg fortress,' Gurle said. Symphony charges companies $240 per user a year, compared to about $24,000 a year for the Bloomberg terminal, which includes an instant messaging service, data feeds and news. While it's the global leader by installed users, Symphony's profitability pales compared to Bloomberg. 'There's a very sweet spot for those companies, and we just made that sweet spot.' 'People want momentum companies that are on their path to profitability, and they want to get in two to three years before the IPO,' Gurle said. He turned down an offer of $200 million at a $2 billion valuation from a single investor because he considered the terms onerous, according to Gurle. Because the article is out of date, you can assume the price has probably increased.

A 2013 article from Quartz gave some insight into the pricing model of Bloomberg. The latest round was oversubscribed, the CEO said. Bloomberg keeps their pricing close to their chest, but most reports say that it’ll run you about 25,000 a year per Terminal. There are about 6 million potential users of Symphony in wholesale banking jobs globally, Gurle said. That growth has happened largely among Wall Street's support employees known as the back office, who far outnumber traders and other decision-makers, he said.

Bloomberg terminal cost per month