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National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs Tektronix Oscilloscopes comparison

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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
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 4.8%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 14.7%, down from 17.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tektronix Oscilloscopes14.7%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes4.8%
Other80.5%
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."
"Most of the features are on the screen itself. The naming convention makes it very easy to understand what is needed."
"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"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."
"Using this product is helpful, so I would recommend it to people at any other company."
"We haven't need technical support yet because all documentation is well done and there."
"It speeds up the process to develop test software."
"Go with their products."
"The Tektronix user interface is like an Apple iPhone, but for oscilloscopes. It is simple to use."
"I like to use it and it does what I need it to do."
"Technical support is great."
"I trust Tektronix for its accuracy; the probes of the solution fit my application, for example the speed of probes, the way that it is using probes with designs, and the probes' size."
"It has digital scopes with a high bandwidth and digitized signal. It can do whatever you want with the signal. Since its user-friendly software allows you to work with the signal, which is pretty cool."
"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."
"The most valuable feature is the automation component in setting up some of these measurements."
"It provides you the best way to view information without opening multiple applications, like a single solution."
 

Cons

"The software has room for improvement."
"There is a learning curve. It might take a year if you're not well-versed with it."
"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."
"There is a learning curve."
"I would like to have more RF."
"The price is a little steep."
"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."
"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 see more integration into machine learning because that's what we try to apply it to."
"If you are dealing with time domain measurement, I strongly recommend using a vendor other than this company."
"On the source side, their AWGs don't have enough bandwidth. They need to increase the bandwidth of their AWGs, meaning they have to have a faster sample rate."
"They need to add more memory to this machine."
"I wish we could turn off the automatic measurement feature of the oscilloscope, for teaching purposes."
"I use microservices, but you cannot really probe it, since the technology is not really there."
"In terms of room for improvement, it's a powerful scope. But, the power of the computer inside is weak."
"I would like to see a lower price."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"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."
"These products are a very low-cost, effective alternative to traditional Big Iron ATE hardware."
"It's reasonably priced for what we spend our money on in the lab. It's one of the lower-end purchases."
"It's a bit expensive. However, you get the entire package, not just the box. It's a box which supports older releases."
"The cost of the equipment has room for improvement. The pricing could improve."
"It costs a quarter of a million. This technology is not cheap."
"They have academic pricing which is helpful."
"They're all pretty expensive. If everything costs that much, I suppose the pricing is fair."
"The pricing is okay. It was within our budget."
"It's available on the low-end scopes for free, but on the higher-end scopes, it is expensive. Therefore, it's a bit more difficult to make stuff work."
"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."
"It's cost-effective... It might cost a lot of money, but if we need it we buy it."
"It could always be cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Legal Firm
25%
Healthcare Company
10%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
15%
University
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
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: September 2026.
915,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.