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Keysight Oscilloscopes vs National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Keysight Oscilloscopes
Ranking in Oscilloscopes
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
National Instruments (NI) O...
Ranking in Oscilloscopes
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of Keysight Oscilloscopes is 10.5%, down from 17.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 0.8%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes
 

Featured Reviews

KR
Helps us ensure our materials' performance and DKDF measurements
I would definitely recommend trying this product. It's a really reliable and high-performance machine. In terms of a learning curve on the equipment, I had some training on the VNA before we purchased it, so for me training was done within a week or so. It was not really hard. But for colleagues, it took them some time to learn it. Upgrades are always welcome. Apart from VNA, we need to purchase all the fixtures, other equipment to connect to VNA. They are very expensive tools, and that's part of upgrading what we are doing in the lab. The solution, performance-wise is a ten out of ten. Price-wise, it's a six out of ten.
SeniorEn6bfd - PeerSpot reviewer
The integrated lateral view makes it easier to develop your test systems and test software flow
The application space that this solution targets is 5G and high-speed systems. 5G is where we are developing some chips to test whether it prequalifies for a necessary requirement before we embed it into our box. Then, in high-speed systems, we're still figuring out how exactly we're going to test this out, but it should be also on prequalification. We are not using this product to support connected devices for IoT development nor are we planning to going forward. We are measuring millimeter wave signals. My colleague deals with the automation of the test systems. The user interface is okay.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Its 4 port has true differential with quite a few de-embedding features. It goes up to 40 GHz with high performance."
"Their software and hardware are integrated, so we don't have to spend a lot of time processing the data."
"It's a one-stop solution. It does everything we need. The combined functionality is the biggest benefit."
"Its versatility and accuracy are the most valuable features."
"The user interface has never been better. They improved it a few years ago with a more modern oscilloscope interface and it's easier to use, even for more junior people in our lab."
"It's accurate, fast, has high bandwidth, and the PLTS is pretty convenient."
"While it depends on the field, the learning curve is usually really quick."
"The user interface is very user-friendly. You can use a lot of functions in their scope and will provide them for you. You can update the scope's software by asking Keysight to update the software when you want."
"It makes programming simpler."
"It took us less than a week to get integrated into the solution, which is very fast."
"The integrated lateral view makes it easier to develop your test systems and test software flow."
"We haven't need technical support yet because all documentation is well done and there."
"It helps us to save on our investment with a lot of the stuff that we buy, as we can find defects quickly."
"I can automate a lot of testing very quickly. With just a push of a button, I can test hundreds of different scenarios without having to do all that manual testing myself."
"Most of the features are on the screen itself. The naming convention makes it very easy to understand what is needed."
"It saves me a lot of time. You can click a button and walk away, basically doing a week's worth of work in 20 minutes, it's a pretty good time saver."
 

Cons

"The user interface is not that good. It's not very intuitive. It's functional, but it's not designed for ease of operation. It's designed for functionality."
"There is room for improvement in the upgradeability of the products. When we buy a platform, we would like that platform to survive two or three generations, because it is very expensive. If they could provide a more modular type of design, so if we want to upgrade one functionality then we could upgrade that module, rather than all the equipment, that would be helpful. That modularity is something we would like to see."
"They can improve, but I don't know how."
"Their GUI is not the best. They need to improve on that. I think their software team needs to put in a little bit more work on how they are presenting the application on the scope."
"If the simulation runs for a long time, it will suddenly crash. If they can debug that, the product would be better."
"I would like more customized functions, so we can do the programming and definitions ourselves. There is an automation flow to capture this signal, and we would like to do this ourselves."
"There is room for improvement with some of the features of the scope. I would like them to make it a bit more simplistic... For example, if I want to look at what the total jitter is, they should make it simpler to find that, with different tabs."
"I would like to see better post-processing data utility tools like a de-embedding."
"I would like to see more of a tasking user base and documentation inside the instrument itself, rather than having to go online for it."
"The software has room for improvement."
"I would like to see them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."
"It took a good year until I felt proficient using the product, as It is a complex program. Their newest version has a less steep learning curve, but back closer to 15 years ago, it was a lot less user-friendly."
"There is a learning curve. It might take a year if you're not well-versed with it."
"I would like to have more RF. They're going that way, but still there is some work that they have to do."
"There is a learning curve. It takes one to two months to get acclimated to the tool."
"I would like more speed and a reduction in size."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is affordable for us, but for smaller companies, probably not."
"The cost is always a struggle. We always wish that we could do more for less."
"The pricing is good for what they offer."
"It's expensive, but the quality matters."
"Our solution is upgradable. However, upgrading depends on how much money the company is willing to spend, because each upgrade will take a million dollars."
"While I don't have transparency on the pricing, it works within my budget."
"It's very expensive."
"If we rented the product, it would be more affordable than buying new."
"It's a bit expensive. However, you get the entire package, not just the box. It's a box which supports older releases."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"The cost of the equipment has room for improvement. The pricing could improve."
"They have an initial investment cost, which is quite high. But, along the way, there is so much behind it that the product is really invaluable."
"It's reasonably priced for what we spend our money on in the lab. It's one of the lower-end purchases."
"The pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"These products are a very low-cost, effective alternative to traditional Big Iron ATE hardware."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
17%
University
10%
Legal Firm
7%
Educational Organization
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Also Known As

InfiniiVision Series, Infiniium Series
NI Oscilloscopes
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nokia Bell Labs
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Keysight Oscilloscopes vs. National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.