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Rohde & Schwarz 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

Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes
Ranking in Oscilloscopes
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
12
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 2025, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is 8.4%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 17.0%, up from 16.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Tektronix Oscilloscopes17.0%
Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes8.4%
Other74.6%
Oscilloscopes
 

Featured Reviews

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.
HC
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 most valuable features are the accuracy and repeatability."
"The noise sensitivity: It has a low noise floor."
"I have been able to do quality measurements that I have been unable to achieve with the equipment from some other vendors."
"It has a very low noise floor."
"It is easy to connect with, accurate, reliable, and hardly fails."
"Most of the features offered are free, like serial data analyzers or jitter measurements."
"The most valuable features are its wide bandwidth and 8 ports."
"The noise floor for reference clocks is pretty low, so this instrument is able to measure it where others cannot."
"The user interface is good, not very complicated. It is very intuitive."
"I trust Tektronix for its accuracy. The probes of solution fit my application. E.g., the speed of probes, the way that it is using probes with designs, and the probes' size."
"The user interface is excellent. The GUI is so self-explanatory and there are the same knobs everywhere; the design is a standard design line."
"We have multiple systems for manufacturing tests, and it's critical for our support. The support increases our productivity."
"This solution provides high confidence in the data being presented in the measurement to inform a design decision going forward."
"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 Tektronix user interface is like an Apple iPhone, but for oscilloscopes. It is simple to use."
 

Cons

"Sometimes, it's difficult to find menus on the user interface."
"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."
"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."
"The size of the unit is too big, too heavy. It has to be made more portable and smaller."
"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."
"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."
"They could use an RDA interface."
"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."
"If you are dealing with time domain measurement, I strongly recommend using a vendor other than this company."
"I use microservices, but you cannot really probe it, since the technology is not really there."
"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."
"It needs one button and every time you push it, you get whatever you need."
"There was a learning curve, which was a little tricky at times. Getting used to the GUI took time because we had to learn the different features."
"I would like if they could have more customer support engagement."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing is way too expensive."
"The pricing is not too high and not too low."
"It could always be cheaper."
"The pricing is okay. It was within our budget."
"Pricing could be lower. I would want to buy it for an extremely, low price, but Tektronix is a high-end product."
"We demoed the product before purchasing it."
"They have academic pricing which is helpful."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"I would like to see a lower price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
21%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
6%
University
6%
Manufacturing Company
15%
University
12%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise19
 

Also Known As

RT Series
TBS Series, TDS Series, MDO Series, MSO Series
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes vs. Tektronix Oscilloscopes and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.