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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 September 2026, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 4.4%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is 13.0%, up from 7.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes13.0%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes4.4%
Other82.6%
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 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."
"It took us less than a week to get integrated into the solution, which is very fast."
"The user interface is very good, easy to understand, and easy to operate."
"It makes programming simpler."
"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"Go with their products."
"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 learning curve was really fast, which was also the reason for saving a lot on the budget."
"Save up your money and get one."
"Most of the features offered are free, like serial data analyzers or jitter measurements."
"I have been able to do quality measurements that I have been unable to achieve with the equipment from some other vendors."
"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 characterization of RF channels was helpful... The user interface was very simple to operate and there were a lot of tutorials."
"It has a very low noise floor."
"The noise sensitivity: It has a low noise floor."
"The noise floor for reference clocks is pretty low, so this instrument is able to measure it where others cannot."
 

Cons

"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."
"I would like to have more RF."
"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. It takes one to two months to get acclimated to the tool."
"I would like more speed and a reduction in size."
"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 to have more RF. They're going that way, but still there is some work that they have to do."
"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."
"User interface is okay. I would probably rate it a seven out of ten."
"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."
"They could use an RDA interface."
"I paid too much for how much use I got out of it."
"The user interface of this solution is not that intuitive."
"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."
 

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."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"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."
"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."
"It's reasonably priced for what we spend our money on in the lab. It's one of the lower-end purchases."
"The pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing is very competitive."
"The pricing is too high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Legal Firm
27%
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Government
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

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.
913,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.