No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs Tektronix Oscilloscopes comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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
Tektronix Oscilloscopes
Ranking in Oscilloscopes
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 5.3%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 14.8%, down from 17.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tektronix Oscilloscopes14.8%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes5.3%
Other79.9%
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.
HC
Sr Engineer at a tech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
B-scan is its most valuable feature. However, we are looking for an Intel platform with the newest chipset.
Try it if it is within your budget. It is a good product. The learning curve is very quick. It takes about one or two days. While we have plans to use this product to support connect devices, we are not currently doing so. We are currently measuring signals from 3.0 and 4.0, and looking for 5.0.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The learning curve was really fast, which was also the reason for saving a lot on the budget."
"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."
"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."
"I chose this solution because it integrates a lot of functionality in one piece of equipment."
"It took us less than a week to get integrated into the solution, which is very fast."
"Using this product is helpful, so I would recommend it to people at any other company."
"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"The user interface is very good, easy to understand, and easy to operate."
"For this introductory electrical engineering lab, it's pretty well-suited to my needs."
"The most valuable feature is the automation component in setting up some of these measurements."
"The Ipath and measurements are fantastic and simple to implement."
"B-scan is its most valuable feature."
"Valuable features include that it's multi-channel... and has bandwidth filtering. The user interface is good."
"This solution provides high confidence in the data being presented in the measurement to inform a design decision going forward."
"It works really well for general lab stuff, general testing, prototype and measurement."
"The user interface is excellent. The GUI is so self-explanatory and there are the same knobs everywhere; the design is a standard design line."
 

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 see them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"The software has room for improvement."
"There is a learning curve. It might take a year if you're not well-versed with it."
"I would like more speed and a reduction in size."
"There is a learning curve. It takes one to two months to get acclimated to the tool."
"The price is a little steep."
"The power of the computer inside is weak. Sometimes I send a lot of data and I'll feel the lag... I would like to see them improve the processing power."
"Tektronix Oscilloscopes are really expensive for small businesses."
"If they could make the user interface even more intuitive that would help. If they could make it easier to read, to know where the buttons are, that's all I need."
"They ended up having to replace the front panel which contains the circuitry on all of those scopes. That was a little disappointing."
"There are other devices out there which are more capable, offering more features, with as good quality tech support."
"The ruggedness could be improved."
"I would like to see more integration into machine learning because that's what we try to apply it to."
"I am not utilizing the full bandwidth of this product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"These products are a very low-cost, effective alternative to traditional Big Iron ATE hardware."
"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."
"It's a bit expensive. However, you get the entire package, not just the box. It's a box which supports older releases."
"It's reasonably priced for what we spend our money on in the lab. It's one of the lower-end purchases."
"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"The cost of the equipment has room for improvement. The pricing could improve."
"The pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"Tektronix Oscilloscopes are really expensive for small businesses. The low-end scopes don't really compare performance-wise to what the other companies provide, like RIGOL . Mostly that just has to do with the software options."
"They're all pretty expensive. If everything costs that much, I suppose the pricing is fair."
"In the 100 gigabit Ethernet and 400 gigabit Ethernet category, everything is in the multi-hundred thousand dollar range, so it was fair pricing because everything is expensive."
"The cost has room for improvement. Though compared to other companies, it's okay."
"I would like to see a lower price."
"The pricing is not too high and not too low."
"It's available on the low-end scopes for free, but on the higher-end scopes, it is expensive. Therefore, it's a bit more difficult to make stuff work."
"It could always be cheaper."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Oscilloscopes solutions are best for your needs.
920,336 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Legal Firm
25%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
15%
University
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise19
 

Also Known As

NI Oscilloscopes
TBS Series, TDS Series, MDO Series, MSO Series
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs. Tektronix Oscilloscopes and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,336 professionals have used our research since 2012.