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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 July 2025, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is 7.3%, up from 7.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 16.0%, down from 18.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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

"It has a very low noise floor."
"It is a more efficient, easier way to do measurements."
"The characterization of RF channels was helpful... The user interface was very simple to operate and there were a lot of tutorials."
"The noise floor for reference clocks is pretty low, so this instrument is able to measure it where others cannot."
"The noise sensitivity: It has a low noise floor."
"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 the accuracy and repeatability."
"The ability to have both the time domain and frequency domain, where the frequency domain is a very broad spectral plot, is extremely valuable."
"When I was looking for a scope for that lab, that five subdivisions per division was important."
"Time domain measurement is very accurate compared to other devices."
"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."
"It has very fast response with deep memory."
"I haven't seen anything similar where it has a spectrum analyzer and regular scope together."
"The most valuable features are everything they do. We primarily use the O-scopes and they help us figure out what's going wrong with our scope out signals."
"The sensitivity of the trigger and the reliability are the most valuable features."
"The user interface is good, not very complicated. It is very intuitive."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"We would like to have autotracking and auto error tracking for regression testing. We would like to know what error happened, when it happened, and during what scenario (such as setup), because right now we have to manually look at when it happened."
"Sometimes, it's difficult to find menus on the user interface."
"The size of the unit is too big, too heavy. It has to be made more portable and smaller."
"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."
"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 to see more integration into machine learning because that's what we try to apply it to."
"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."
"We would like more features for the CAN bus decoding, such as importing DDC files, which allows us to take the raw data and convert it into engineering units."
"It needs one button and every time you push it, you get whatever you need."
"I want the system to have a wider bandwidth because high-speed continues to move faster, so there is more bandwidth to cover."
"I am not utilizing the full bandwidth of this product."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing is expensive, but very fair when you look at the technology that you are getting. These are higher-end pieces which have a ton of engineering in them that is not evident on the package. However, you could imagine the amount of time that the vendor has spent on the firmware, optimizing the internal layout, developing custom ICs, etc. They're releasing a mass produced product, but these things are built to last."
"The pricing is too high."
"The pricing is way too expensive."
"Buying Rohde & Schwarz gear is like buying a Mercedes. It raises eyebrows when you're asking for that level of performance."
"We demoed the product before purchasing it."
"I would like to see a lower price."
"Isolated probes are good to have, as most of the scopes don't have it. It drives up the cost when you have to buy isolated probes."
"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."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"The pricing is okay. It was within our budget."
"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."
"They're all pretty expensive. If everything costs that much, I suppose the pricing is fair."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
20%
Government
10%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
16%
University
12%
Educational Organization
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.