COMMENT "TERMINAL"Posted Oct 21, 2026
OpenBB + Freqtrade: the free $30K/year terminal replacement
OpenBB gives you the live data, charts and screeners a Bloomberg seat charges ~$31,980/year for; Freqtrade backtests and automates the trades. Two pip installs, fully free and open source.
01Quick steps
- 1OpenBB (data terminal): github.com/OpenBB-finance/OpenBB, install with pip install openbb, run openbb-api for a local data server.
- 2Freqtrade (backtest + automate): github.com/freqtrade/freqtrade, pip install or git clone. Always start in dry-run.
- 3Pull live data for any ticker in OpenBB.
- 4Backtest your strategy in Freqtrade with real fees, in dry-run.
- 5Only go live once it holds up, with a hard stop on every trade.
03Full tutorial
A Bloomberg Terminal seat is about $31,980 a year. You do not need it for data, charts, screening or automated execution. OpenBB covers the data/analytics side and Freqtrade covers strategy backtesting and automated trading, both free and open source.
pip install openbb, then run openbb-api to start a local data server (default 127.0.0.1). OpenBB pulls live and historical market data, fundamentals, and screeners, and exposes an API (and an MCP server) so an AI agent can drive it. This is your data terminal.
From the Python client or the API, pull price history, fundamentals, options, and run screeners for any ticker or crypto. This replaces the data/charts/screening a paid terminal charges for. Export the series you want to trade on.
pip install freqtrade (or git clone the repo and set up the env). Freqtrade is a mature open-source crypto trading bot: strategies in Python, backtesting, hyperopt, and live/dry-run execution on major exchanges. ~56k stars, actively maintained.
Write or import a strategy, point Freqtrade at historical data, and backtest WITH realistic fees and slippage. Run it in dry-run (paper) against live data to confirm it behaves. Never skip this, a strategy that only works at zero fees is not a strategy.
Feed OpenBB data (or Freqtrade's own exchange data) into your strategy's indicators. OpenBB for macro/cross-asset context, Freqtrade for the execution and position management. Keep them modular.
Only switch Freqtrade from dry-run to live once it holds up, start with tiny stake_amount, and keep a hard stop on every trade plus drawdown protections on. Scale only after it is consistently positive live.
Free tools remove the cost, not the risk. Backtests can overfit; most people lose money trading. Only trade what you can afford to lose. Not financial advice.
A Bloomberg seat is ~$31,980/year; these do the data + automation free. Backtest before going live, and only trade what you can afford to lose. Not financial advice.