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National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs Rohde & Schwarz 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
Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes
Ranking in Oscilloscopes
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
13
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 Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is 12.6%, up from 7.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes12.6%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes4.2%
Other83.2%
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.
SH
Works at Harrison Laboratories Inc
Designing audio circuits has benefited from rich measurements but reliability still needs improvement
A quick specific example of an electronic design task where I used Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is a digital amplifier. I found the basics for my needs to be met by Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes, but it did have a nice large display. I liked the large display. It was reasonably intuitive for all that it did. I liked the fact that it had 16 extra digital inputs on the side that you could clip on to, so it had plenty of channels. It probably helped with specific tasks or saved me time due to the fact it had data recording. I could record data for a period of time. It had a long memory for a particular waveform.

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."
"Using this product is helpful, so I would recommend it to people at any other company."
"The learning curve was really fast, which was also the reason for saving a lot on the budget."
"It helps us to save on our investment with a lot of the stuff that we buy, as we can find defects quickly."
"Most of the features are on the screen itself. The naming convention makes it very easy to understand what is needed."
"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."
"It saves me a lot of time. You can click a button and walk away, basically doing a week's worth of work in 20 minutes, it's a pretty good time saver."
"I chose this solution because it integrates a lot of functionality in one piece of equipment."
"They are a top tier product, and we use it to guarantee our top tier product, which is why we purchased it."
"The most valuable features are its wide bandwidth and 8 ports."
"It is easy to connect with, accurate, reliable, and hardly fails."
"The product is quite reliable and straightforward to use. Typically, there are no households that we have to set up."
"The instrument has a wide bandwidth, you can sweep across a wide range of frequencies, the resolution is good, and the accuracy is pretty good."
"It is a more efficient, easier way to do measurements."
"It has a very low noise floor."
"The most valuable features are the accuracy and repeatability."
 

Cons

"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."
"I would like to have more RF. They're going that way, but still there is some work that they have to do."
"I would like to see them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."
"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."
"There is a learning curve. It might take a year if you're not well-versed with it."
"I would like to have more RF."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"There is a learning curve. It takes one to two months to get acclimated to the tool."
"The user interface of this solution is not that intuitive."
"Sometimes, it's difficult to find menus on the user interface."
"The GUI could be improved since the hierarchy is a little complicated for the new users."
"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 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."
"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."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"The cost of the equipment has room for improvement. The pricing could improve."
"It's a bit expensive. However, you get the entire package, not just the box. It's a box which supports older releases."
"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."
"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 way too expensive."
"The pricing is too high."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"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."
"Buying Rohde & Schwarz gear is like buying a Mercedes. It raises eyebrows when you're asking for that level of performance."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Legal Firm
28%
Construction Company
11%
University
9%
Media Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
18%
Government
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that I think Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes are a little bit pricey. Especially, I don't prefer buying Chinese scopes, but Rigol seems to...
What needs improvement with Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes?
Based on my experience, I would improve Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes by enhancing customer service. I would like to add more about the needed improvements regarding reliability, from at least ...
What is your primary use case for Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes?
My main use case for Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is electronic design work. A quick specific example of an electronic design task where I used Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is a digital a...
 

Also Known As

NI Oscilloscopes
RT Series
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs. Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.