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Keysight Oscilloscopes vs Rohde & Schwarz 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
Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes
Ranking in Oscilloscopes
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of Keysight Oscilloscopes is 10.7%, down from 18.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is 6.6%, down from 7.8% 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.
AM
The ability to have both the time domain and frequency domain, where the frequency domain is a very broad spectral plot, is extremely valuable
There is certainly a learning curve. Finally, watching YouTube videos on using the instrument got me over the hump, as well as a sit down session with one of the oscilloscope experts. The Rohde & Schwarz user interface is very oriented towards drop and drag functions on the screen. Some of those are just not obvious how to use. You have to have somebody get you over the hump. My understanding is they have a newer user interface, but I haven't gotten around to upgrading the firmware on my scope in some time, so I'm not familiar with it yet. In comparison, I love the LeCroy interface. Recently, I've learned that there are ways to adapt these instruments to become a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), which is of interest to me. If I can use probes that are not in the 50 ohm domain, which is what you would have with a normal Vector Network Analyzer, then doing power applications for me, this would be a lot safer. Using a traditional communications type Vector Network Analyzer in the 50 ohm domain and having these high DC potentials (adding the DC blocks is adding air to the test method), then having an oscilloscope type front-end which is lot more tolerant of overload, it is a lot safer. The vector network analysis that I need to do is well under a gigahertz, and the other instruments that I have sort of stop at 40 megahertz. Trying to get past 40 megahertz into the mid-hundreds of megahertz and have high impedance probes that will tolerate DC, that is really of interest to me.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We rely on the data and we make our design calls, risk-assessment, all based on the measurements that we take with the Keysight equipment."
"While it depends on the field, the learning curve is usually really quick."
"It breaks down all the parameters that we need to look at."
"Its 4 port has true differential with quite a few de-embedding features. It goes up to 40 GHz with high performance."
"Its versatility and accuracy are the most valuable features."
"Before silicon came back, our customers' performance was affected. Using these tools, we are able to deliver performance to our customers."
"Because they're such a big industry standard name, their products are standardized across many customers, which is why people own these products."
"It does everything that I need it to with the PLTS software and the network analyzer software."
"The noise floor for reference clocks is pretty low, so this instrument is able to measure it where others cannot."
"The instrument has a wide bandwidth. You can sweep across a wide range of frequencies."
"Most of the features offered are free, like serial data analyzers or jitter measurements."
"The user interface is pretty good. Right now, it is more than what we expected. It's easy and fast to use."
"The most valuable features are its wide bandwidth and 8 ports."
"It is a more efficient, easier way to do measurements."
"I have been able to do quality measurements that I have been unable to achieve with the equipment from some other vendors."
"The noise sensitivity: It has a low noise floor."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"In terms of additional capabilities, I would like to see more touchscreen and a larger screen. That would help."
"The technical support is okay, but sometimes they are on a different page than us. If it is something wrong with the scope, they are okay. However, if something technical goes wrong, like the calibration, it is hard to get the information that we need because it is hard to share everything and explain all the measurements in real-time."
"The integration between different software and hardware panels could be improved. In the software, it's not as strong as the other solutions."
"We are using this product to support connected devices for IoT development, but we need more automation."
"I would like more accuracy, particularly for multiport measurements."
"They can improve, but I don't know how."
"They could use an RDA interface."
"Sometimes, it's difficult to find menus on the user interface."
"The user interface could be improved, e.g., the documentation on the menus. I have to open a separate document to figure out the functionality sometimes."
"There was a learning curve. Their use interface and the way that their products work are not intuitive to somebody who switches from other vendors."
"In the next release, I would like to see report generation. It would make it a lot easier to refer back to and, when doing final testing, seeing what went on during the pre-test would help."
"It would be good if they would try to automate most things because it has more pressing buttons and repetitive work. If there were automation scripts that they could provide, that would improve things."
"The depth the the user GUI could be improved. It is a bit deep for new users. During the first two weeks we spent a lot of time finding the tabs."
"I'm against the Windows-based tools. Now everybody is running scopes, VNAs, and all their tools based on Windows. I don't want to see that in the future."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's very expensive because this type of equipment is not so common. For a company buying it, this is a big investment."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"The pricing is on the high side."
"It's very expensive."
"The cost is always a struggle. We always wish that we could do more for less."
"It would be good if it were a little bit cheaper, of course."
"It's expensive, but the quality matters."
"While I don't have transparency on the pricing, it works within my budget."
"The pricing is way too expensive."
"One of the things I liked less, not only me but also my company, was that Rohde & Schwarz are very expensive... There are solutions that are almost the same that sell at better prices."
"The pricing is very competitive."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"If we are looking to purchase a product, we ask for a loaner for a month or so to test it out. Then, we will make a decision."
"When we chose this, the price was really reasonable, and it is a high-end product. It had a high price, but we understood that because it has 8 port, the same noise floor (as the competition) with double the measurement capabilities and a cheaper price."
"Buying Rohde & Schwarz gear is like buying a Mercedes. It raises eyebrows when you're asking for that level of performance."
"The pricing is too high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
17%
University
11%
Legal Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
19%
Government
11%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Also Known As

InfiniiVision Series, Infiniium Series
RT Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nokia Bell Labs
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Keysight Oscilloscopes vs. Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.