Hardware

Bloomberg Keyboard: Is It Included? What Replacements Cost

By Tom Hill · September 15, 2026 · 8 min read

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Short answer: your first Bloomberg keyboard is included with the terminal subscription — it is not a separate purchase, it is not sold in any retail channel, and no list price is published. If you need a replacement or an additional keyboard, expect roughly $300 each, arranged through Bloomberg support.

The Bloomberg keyboard is one of the most-searched pieces of hardware in finance, and most of that demand comes from a single misunderstanding: that the keyboard is a product you buy. It isn't. It arrives with the seat, and the money in a Bloomberg subscription goes almost entirely to the data and the network behind it — not the plastic on your desk.

What the Bloomberg keyboard costs

Bloomberg Keyboard — What You Actually Pay (2026)

First keyboard: $0 — included with the terminal subscription
Replacement or additional unit: ~$300 each
Published retail list price: none — Bloomberg publishes no list price
Where to buy: not sold through retail; arranged via Bloomberg support
Retail storefront: does not exist

Why there is no published price

Bloomberg does not sell the keyboard as a standalone product, so there is nothing to put a public price on. That is the entire explanation for why searches for a "Bloomberg keyboard price" return so little hard information: there is no storefront, no product page, and no list price.

What exists instead is a support process. Additional or replacement units are arranged directly with Bloomberg, and the terms depend on your account — which is why nobody can quote you a firm figure off a web page.

Is the keyboard included, or is it extra?

Included. This is the part that surprises people who have read second-hand listings and assumed the keyboard is a purchasable accessory:

It comes with the seat. Bloomberg provides and maintains the keyboard hardware as part of your terminal subscription. Its cost is folded into the seat price ($31,980/year single-seat list), not charged as a separate line item.
It has no retail price. There is no publicly listed price because there is no public sales channel — which is exactly why "how much is a Bloomberg keyboard" is so hard to answer from search results alone.
Replacements and extras are chargeable. The first keyboard is covered; a replacement or an additional unit is a paid item at roughly $300, arranged through support.

What that means for your budget

Do not budget a keyboard line item in year one — it adds nothing to the seat price. The only scenario in which the keyboard appears in your costs is a replacement or a second unit, at roughly $300. The number to focus on is the subscription itself: $31,980 a year per seat on the standard single-seat contract, before add-ons. Our full Bloomberg Terminal cost breakdown covers the add-ons, multi-seat tiers and true first-year total.

What the keyboard actually is

It is a genuine piece of specialist hardware rather than a branded peripheral: color-coded function keys, a dedicated <GO> key, and shortcut keys for the functions analysts use most. The point of it is speed.

Bloomberg's terminal is command-driven — you type a ticker and a function code and a panel opens. The keyboard is shaped around that rhythm. A trader who has used Bloomberg for years can move from a stock description to a price chart to an earnings history to a peer comparison in well under a minute using keyboard commands alone, without touching a mouse.

That is real value in fast markets, and it is also why the keyboard gets treated as part of the product rather than an accessory. It is an input device built for one specific workflow.

Why the keyboard is a lock-in mechanism

There is a second-order effect that matters more than the hardware specs. Once you have built physical muscle memory around the Bloomberg layout, switching platforms means relearning not just software but the physical interaction model.

That is a small barrier to exit on its own, but it compounds with everything else — the chat network, the data continuity, the workflow habits. It is one of the reasons Bloomberg's pricing holds, and we cover the full picture in why the Bloomberg Terminal is so expensive.

Do you need a proprietary keyboard?

For Bloomberg itself, the keyboard is the intended way to work — the whole interface is designed around it. But the idea that specialist market data requires specialist hardware does not survive contact with how modern terminals are built.

Godel Terminal is a web-based, command-driven financial terminal that runs in a browser on any standard keyboard. There is no proprietary hardware to lease or buy, and nothing to replace at $300 when a key wears out. It covers real-time US equities and time & sales powered by Nasdaq (including Nasdaq TotalView Level 2 depth-of-book), options chains with Greeks, fundamentals, SEC filings via EDGAR, and news from 2,565 sources.

At $996/year on the annual plan — or $118/month — it costs roughly 1/32nd of a single Bloomberg seat. It is not a Bloomberg replacement for fixed income depth or the IB chat network; it is the equity-focused slice of that workflow without the hardware or the price.

Readers take 30% off their first month of Godel Terminal with code:

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Bloomberg keyboard included with the terminal?

Yes. Your first keyboard is included with the terminal subscription — the hardware cost is bundled into the seat price rather than billed as a separate line item. There is no published retail price for the keyboard, so there is no standard shelf price to look up.

How much does a replacement Bloomberg keyboard cost?

A replacement or an additional keyboard is a paid item at roughly $300 each. You arrange it through Bloomberg support rather than a storefront, so the process is not publicly documented and depends on your account.

Can I buy a Bloomberg keyboard on its own?

Not through any retail channel. Bloomberg does not list the keyboard for sale publicly and publishes no list price. Additional or replacement units are arranged directly with Bloomberg support. Second-hand units do surface occasionally on general marketplaces, but Bloomberg's own supply route is the support channel.

Do I need the special keyboard to use the Bloomberg Terminal?

Not to use it, but the keyboard is designed to make it faster. Bloomberg's workflow is command-driven, and the hardware pairs color-coded function keys with a dedicated <GO> key and shortcut keys for common functions. Experienced users can move from a stock description to a chart to earnings history to peer comparison in well under a minute using keyboard commands alone.

Does Godel Terminal require a proprietary keyboard?

No. Godel Terminal is fully web-based and runs on any standard keyboard in a browser — there is no proprietary hardware to lease or buy. At $996/year on the annual plan (or $118/month), it costs about 1/32nd of a single Bloomberg seat at $31,980/year.