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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
12
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.
BJ
Staff Transceiver Engineer at Xilinx, Inc.
With this machine, it's easier for us to debug or clarify where the noise source could be because of its accuracy
For the RF application, we care much about the crosstalk on our device and PCBs. Generally, what we can do with the other vendor's product is four-port measurement. It's a bit complicated for us and time consuming to combine all the crosstalk measurement together in a unified model. However, with this VNA, it is much easier because of its eight ports configuration. It's very stable because everything is done at the same time. This means within the test condition environment, everything is the same. This has increased accuracy and dramatically saved a lot of our time. We can do more experiments with this product than using other VNAs which have less ports.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I chose this solution because it integrates a lot of functionality in one piece of equipment."
"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"The integrated lateral view makes it easier to develop your test systems and test software flow."
"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."
"It makes programming simpler."
"The user interface is very good. Their boards are reliable. We buy boards from them, they are reliable, and we don't have problems with them."
"Using this product is helpful, so I would recommend it to people at any other company."
"Most of the features offered are free, like serial data analyzers or jitter measurements."
"The product is quite reliable and straightforward to use. Typically, there are no households that we have to set up."
"The characterization of RF channels was helpful... The user interface was very simple to operate and there were a lot of tutorials."
"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 noise sensitivity: It has a low noise floor."
"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."
"The most valuable features are its wide bandwidth and 8 ports."
"With this machine, it's easier for us to debug or clarify where the noise source could be because of its accuracy."
 

Cons

"I would like more competitive pricing."
"I would like to have more RF."
"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."
"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."
"There is a learning curve."
"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."
"The software has room for improvement."
"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."
"The size of the unit is too big, too heavy. It has to be made more portable and smaller."
"The GUI could be improved since the hierarchy is a little complicated for the new users."
"Sometimes, it's difficult to find menus on the user interface."
"The user interface of this solution is not that intuitive."
"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 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."
"User interface is okay. I would probably rate it a seven out of ten."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Buying Rohde & Schwarz gear is like buying a Mercedes. It raises eyebrows when you're asking for that level of performance."
"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."
"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."
"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 too high."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"The pricing is very competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
18%
Government
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software 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 Business4
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.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.