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National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs Tektronix 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

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
Tektronix Oscilloscopes
Ranking in Oscilloscopes
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 4.2%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 15.9%, down from 16.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tektronix Oscilloscopes15.9%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes4.2%
Other79.9%
Oscilloscopes
 

Featured Reviews

AA
Senior Technical Officer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products
The use of this solution does require a specific mindset. Some people are not tailored for it. Try it. The learning curve is really fast, so it's easy to use. We are measuring RF signals, one-sided analog signals, and control loops for system controls. We are not using this product to support connected devices nor are we planning to going forward.
HC
Sr Engineer at a tech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
B-scan is its most valuable feature. However, we are looking for an Intel platform with the newest chipset.
Try it if it is within your budget. It is a good product. The learning curve is very quick. It takes about one or two days. While we have plans to use this product to support connect devices, we are not currently doing so. We are currently measuring signals from 3.0 and 4.0, and looking for 5.0.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integrated lateral view makes it easier to develop your test systems and test software flow."
"It speeds up the process to develop test software."
"It makes programming simpler."
"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."
"We haven't need technical support yet because all documentation is well done and there."
"The user interface is absolutely great. It creates an easy working environment because it has well-integrated hardware and software. So, it is easy to use."
"Because their view is a graphical user interface (GUI), it's very easy to program the tool."
"The user interface is very good, easy to understand, and easy to operate."
"The Tektronix user interface is like an Apple iPhone, but for oscilloscopes. It is simple to use."
"Time domain measurement is very accurate compared to other devices."
"This solution provides high confidence in the data being presented in the measurement to inform a design decision going forward."
"Because it can detect both frequency and time domains simultaneously, if I want to check I send a command to the device and I can look at the frequency output."
"Valuable features include that it's multi-channel... and has bandwidth filtering. The user interface is good."
"It is a very capable instrument; it really does the job."
"When we connect Tektronix through our test boxes, that is the internet of things, because I have reached the Internet through the box."
"We have multiple systems for manufacturing tests, and it's critical for our support. The support increases our productivity."
 

Cons

"The software has room for improvement."
"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."
"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."
"I would like to have more RF."
"National Instruments needs to be focusing on its 5G RF applications. They are aware of this, and that's where most of their R&D is going."
"There is a learning curve. It might take a year if you're not well-versed with it."
"The price is a little steep."
"I would like more speed and a reduction in size."
"They ended up having to replace the front panel which contains the circuitry on all of those scopes. That was a little disappointing."
"I would like to see an app from this company for test fixtures."
"I wish we could turn off the automatic measurement feature of the oscilloscope, for teaching purposes."
"They need to add more memory to this machine because at this time the machine can support random simulation to the power of 15 but realistically, in requests from our customers, we need it to the power of 31."
"There is room for improvement when it comes to the screen size. I don't really have a lot of complaints but screen size would be the biggest thing."
"I would like to see some WiFi capabilities. I would like to upgrade equipment, and if I was in the U.S., I could do that with WiFi capabilities."
"It needs one button and every time you push it, you get whatever you need."
"If they could make the user interface even more intuitive that would help. If they could make it easier to read, to know where the buttons are, that's all I need."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would like more competitive pricing."
"These products are a very low-cost, effective alternative to traditional Big Iron ATE hardware."
"The price is a little steep. A lot of people, like our customers, use a different machine because of the price. The price has to come down a bit so we can do other tests without paying the equipment's high costs."
"It's a bit expensive. However, you get the entire package, not just the box. It's a box which supports older releases."
"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."
"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."
"In the 100 gigabit Ethernet and 400 gigabit Ethernet category, everything is in the multi-hundred thousand dollar range, so it was fair pricing because everything is expensive."
"Pricing could be lower. I would want to buy it for an extremely, low price, but Tektronix is a high-end product."
"Tektronix Oscilloscopes are really expensive for small businesses. The low-end scopes don't really compare performance-wise to what the other companies provide, like RIGOL . Mostly that just has to do with the software options."
"The prices are compatible with what they offer. Going forward, I would like them to become more competitive and dominant with their pricing in the market."
"We demoed the product before purchasing it."
"The pricing is okay. It was within our budget."
"It costs a quarter of a million. This technology is not cheap."
"The cost has room for improvement. Though compared to other companies, it's okay."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Legal Firm
28%
Construction Company
11%
University
9%
Media Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
15%
University
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise19
 

Also Known As

NI Oscilloscopes
TBS Series, TDS Series, MDO Series, MSO Series
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs. Tektronix Oscilloscopes and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,679 professionals have used our research since 2012.