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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
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 4.0%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is 12.7%, up from 7.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes12.7%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes4.0%
Other83.3%
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

"We haven't need technical support yet because all documentation is well done and there."
"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."
"Most of the features are on the screen itself. The naming convention makes it very easy to understand what is needed."
"The integrated lateral view makes it easier to develop your test systems and test software flow."
"Because their view is a graphical user interface (GUI), it's very easy to program the tool."
"The user interface is very good, easy to understand, and easy to operate."
"Using this product is helpful, so I would recommend it to people at any other company."
"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."
"Save up your money and get one."
"The ability to have both the time domain and frequency domain, where the frequency domain is a very broad spectral plot, is extremely valuable."
"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 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."
"The characterization of RF channels was helpful... The user interface was very simple to operate and there were a lot of tutorials."
"The user interface is pretty good. Right now, it is more than what we expected. It's easy and fast to use."
 

Cons

"The price is a little steep."
"I would like to see them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."
"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 more speed and a reduction in size."
"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 see more of a tasking user base and documentation inside the instrument itself, rather than having to go online for it."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"The software has room for improvement."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"The user interface of this solution is not that intuitive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a bit expensive. However, you get the entire package, not just the box. It's a box which supports older releases."
"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."
"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"These products are a very low-cost, effective alternative to traditional Big Iron ATE hardware."
"The pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"The cost of the equipment has room for improvement. The pricing could improve."
"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."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"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."
"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 very expensive."
"The pricing is too high."
"The pricing is way too expensive."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
17%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Outsourcing Company
6%
 

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
 

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: June 2026.
905,526 professionals have used our research since 2012.