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National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs Tektronix 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
Tektronix Oscilloscopes
Ranking in Oscilloscopes
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 0.8%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 15.3%, down from 20.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes
 

Featured Reviews

SeniorEn6bfd - PeerSpot reviewer
The integrated lateral view makes it easier to develop your test systems and test software flow
The application space that this solution targets is 5G and high-speed systems. 5G is where we are developing some chips to test whether it prequalifies for a necessary requirement before we embed it into our box. Then, in high-speed systems, we're still figuring out how exactly we're going to test this out, but it should be also on prequalification. We are not using this product to support connected devices for IoT development nor are we planning to going forward. We are measuring millimeter wave signals. My colleague deals with the automation of the test systems. The user interface is okay.
RO
Because it does a smart software trigger in the PAM-4 GUI, it's very easy to hook up
We are using the full bandwidth of the product. 70 gigahertz bandwidth for real-time scope is important. To get the step response, we need that excess bandwidth. If I wanted to get a 33 gigahertz bandwidth with a good step function, I would need that excess bandwidth so I can apply appropriate vessel filters. They do have optical front-ends which are optional. We are taking advantage of that. In certain, very specific ways, it's field upgradable. I would imagine when they have the next product that it goes to a higher sample rate, and that'll be a whole new product.

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."
"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."
"Because their view is a graphical user interface (GUI), it's very easy to program the tool."
"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."
"The user interface is very good, easy to understand, and easy to operate."
"It helps us to save on our investment with a lot of the stuff that we buy, as we can find defects quickly."
"We haven't need technical support yet because all documentation is well done and there."
"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."
"It is easy to handle, so everyone likes to use it."
"The sensitivity of the trigger and the reliability are the most valuable features."
"The user interface is good, not very complicated. It is very intuitive."
"This solution provides high confidence in the data being presented in the measurement to inform a design decision going forward."
"The Tektronix user interface is like an Apple iPhone, but for oscilloscopes. It is simple to use."
"Tektronix is robust and reliable. It's a hammer-resistant machine, a fact which is most important on our manufacturing floor."
"Time domain measurement is very accurate compared to other devices."
 

Cons

"I would like to have more RF. They're going that way, but still there is some work that they have to do."
"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 takes one to two months to get acclimated to the tool."
"The software has room for improvement."
"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 them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."
"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."
"We would like more features for the CAN bus decoding, such as importing DDC files, which allows us to take the raw data and convert it into engineering units."
"I want the system to have a wider bandwidth because high-speed continues to move faster, so there is more bandwidth to cover."
"It needs one button and every time you push it, you get whatever you need."
"I would like if they could have more customer support engagement."
"There is room for improvement when it comes to the screen size. I don't really have a lot of complaints but screen size would be the biggest thing."
"If you are dealing with time domain measurement, I strongly recommend using a vendor other than this company."
"They need to add more memory to this machine."
"I would like to see some WiFi capabilities. I would like to upgrade equipment, and if I was in the U.S., I could do that with WiFi capabilities."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"The pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"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."
"The cost of the equipment has room for improvement. The pricing could improve."
"It's a bit expensive. However, you get the entire package, not just the box. It's a box which supports older releases."
"These products are a very low-cost, effective alternative to traditional Big Iron ATE hardware."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"The pricing is not too high and not too low."
"The cost has room for improvement. Though compared to other companies, it's okay."
"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."
"Tecktronix pricing tends to be pretty fair and reasonable with current market trends. They don't usually bump up the price too much."
"They have academic pricing which is helpful."
"It is a great price for a great product."
"The prices are compatible with what they offer. Going forward, I would like them to become more competitive and dominant with their pricing in the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Legal Firm
29%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
7%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
17%
University
11%
Educational Organization
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.