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

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 3.5%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 17.4%, up from 14.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tektronix Oscilloscopes17.4%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes3.5%
Other79.1%
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

"It speeds up the process to develop test software."
"The user interface is very good. Their boards are reliable. We buy boards from them, they are reliable, and we don't have problems with them."
"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."
"We haven't need technical support yet because all documentation is well done and there."
"The user interface is very good, easy to understand, and easy to operate."
"The integrated lateral view makes it easier to develop your test systems and test software flow."
"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."
"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"Tektronix is robust and reliable; it's a hammer-resistant machine, a fact which is most important on our manufacturing floor."
"It is easy to handle, so everyone likes to use it."
"Being able to monitor data from a CAN bus while the vehicle is running will cut down a lot of the feedback for the design mode."
"Time domain measurement is very accurate compared to other devices."
"The user interface is good."
"The technical support is great; they come in, they show us how to use it, and if we have questions, they'll give presentations."
"The Ipath and measurements are fantastic and simple to implement."
"The sensitivity of the trigger and the reliability are the most valuable features, and the scopes were extremely reliable."
 

Cons

"I would like to see them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."
"I would like to have more RF."
"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."
"The software has room for improvement."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"The software has room for improvement."
"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 want the system to have a wider bandwidth because high-speed continues to move faster, so there is more bandwidth to cover."
"They need to add more memory to this machine."
"The power of the computer inside is weak. Sometimes I send a lot of data and I'll feel the lag... I would like to see them improve the processing power."
"They ended up having to replace the front panel which contains the circuitry on all of those scopes. That was a little disappointing."
"I want the system to have a wider bandwidth because high-speed continues to move faster, so there is more bandwidth to cover."
"I wish we could turn off the automatic measurement feature of the oscilloscope, for teaching purposes."
"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."
"If you are dealing with time domain measurement, I strongly recommend using a vendor other than this company."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"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."
"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."
"The cost of the equipment has room for improvement. The pricing could improve."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"It costs a quarter of a million. This technology is not cheap."
"It is a great price for a great product."
"They're all pretty expensive. If everything costs that much, I suppose the pricing is fair."
"We demoed the product before purchasing it."
"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 pricing is very expensive."
"Tecktronix pricing tends to be pretty fair and reasonable with current market trends. They don't usually bump up the price too much."
"The pricing is okay. It was within our budget."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
14%
University
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
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: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.