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National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs Rohde & Schwarz 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
Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes
Ranking in Oscilloscopes
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
13
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 Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is 13.5%, up from 8.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes13.5%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes4.8%
Other81.7%
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

"It speeds up the process to develop test software."
"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."
"We haven't need technical support yet because all documentation is well done and there."
"I chose this solution because it integrates a lot of functionality in one piece of equipment."
"The learning curve was really fast, which was also the reason for saving a lot on the budget."
"Most of the features are on the screen itself. The naming convention makes it very easy to understand what is needed."
"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."
"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."
"The noise sensitivity: It has a low noise floor."
"Most of the features offered are free, like serial data analyzers or jitter measurements."
"It is easy to connect with, accurate, reliable, and hardly fails."
"Since I spend quite some time in the lab, this product makes my life easier, results better, and speeds up my work."
"The most valuable features are its wide bandwidth and 8 ports."
"The product is quite reliable and straightforward to use. Typically, there are no households that we have to set up."
"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."
 

Cons

"I would like to have more RF. They're going that way, but still there is some work that they have to do."
"The software has room for improvement."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"There is a learning curve."
"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."
"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."
"I would like more speed and a reduction in size."
"It has good performance, reliability, and support, but it is too expensive."
"There was a learning curve. Their user interface and the way that their products work are not intuitive to somebody who switches from other vendors, like Keysight or LeCroy."
"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."
"The user interface of this solution is not that intuitive."
"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."
"User interface is okay. I would probably rate it a seven out of ten."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"It's a bit expensive. However, you get the entire package, not just the box. It's a box which supports older releases."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"The pricing is way too expensive."
"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."
"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."
"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 expensive."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Legal Firm
25%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
 

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: September 2026.
919,809 professionals have used our research since 2012.