Bloomberg Terminal Data Limits and Batch Download Requests
Summary
The document compares answers about downloading Bloomberg data through Excel and APIs, focusing on how request limits may apply and what can happen when they are reached. One explanation says limits count requests by ticker rather than by the number of observations returned, so a grid of many ticker and date combinations can consume limits quickly. Other replies describe separate ticker and data point limits, possible temporary API blocks, and different licensing arrangements for terminal access and pay-per-use services.
These are user reports, not a definitive or current statement of Bloomberg policy. The figures and reset practices given may depend on the license and account, and the answers do not establish universal thresholds. The practical lesson is to identify the applicable license and confirm its rules with a Bloomberg representative before designing bulk downloads. The discussion also notes that data use and redistribution can be restricted by the license.
Key ideas
- Bloomberg download limits may count requests by ticker, field, and formula rather than by the number of observations returned.
- Repeated requests across ticker and date combinations can use limits quickly.
- Some reported terminal limits may block further API access temporarily when reached.
- Terminal, SAPI, B-Pipe, and data licenses can have different terms and billing arrangements.
- Confirm current limits and data use rights with the provider because the discussion reports account-specific guidance.
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Full text
# Batch-downloading Bloomberg data into Excel
# Batch-downloading Bloomberg data into Excel
My company has Bloomberg terminal, but I've heard I shouldn't import any batch of data into Excel using BLP plugin, because it is pricey. They told me that some time ago somebody did this and they paid $ 200 000 invoice. I can only check prices one by one using BBG app. Is this really true?
## Answer by KarolisR (score 1)
https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/24831
You should double check this with your Bloomberg rep, but here's the explanation I received from them: The limits are per request per ticker, so a single BDP request for one data point is the same as a BDH request downloading 5y of data. i.e. if you want lots of data with matching dates, never use a date/ticker grid with n*m BDH requests - that will definitely hit your limits. I've been downloading lots of bbg data while keeping this in mind and never ran into any problems, including 1min data for hundreds of tickers at a time.
## Answer by brian o'brien (score 0)
https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/31521
I think number of tickers is a monthly limit and number of data points is a daily limit. If you hit the number of tickers your API is cut off for the rest of the month, if you hit number of data points you're cut off for rest of the day. However you can get these reset once if you ask nicely but they don't want you downloading a lot of data and they won't disclose the exact limits otherwise people will work around it. Also your data is not allowed to leave the terminal. However if you have a Factset account you can download what you like and do what you like with it.
## Answer by user18489 (score 0)
https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/31575
Bloomberg provides different types of licenses for different use cases (terminal, b-pipe, sapi, data license). If you have a terminal, the daily limit is 600K requests: # requests = # tickers x # fields x # (bdp,bdh,bds) formulas (i.e. bdh('AAPL US Equity','px_last','1/1/2000','1/1/2016' is one request). If you hit your daily or monthly limit, then your api will be blocked - if you try to retrieve more data you will get an error that you reached your limit. Bloomberg allows you to reset your limit once or twice per month. If you consistently hit your limit your sales rep will contact you trying to sell you a pay-per-use license. So, as long as you use terminal there is no way to be overcharged. Now, if you have sapi or another license which is pay-per-use it is possible to exceed original limits (bloomberg will not block you for retrieving more data) and be charged later for it.Shown in full with attribution under the source's licence. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (Stack Exchange)
This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.