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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
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 4.2%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 15.9%, down from 16.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tektronix Oscilloscopes15.9%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes4.2%
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

"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"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 speeds up the process to develop test software."
"It took us less than a week to get integrated into the solution, which is very fast."
"The learning curve was really fast, which was also the reason for saving a lot on the budget."
"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 sensitivity of the trigger and the reliability are the most valuable features, and the scopes were extremely reliable."
"I like to use it and it does what I need it to do."
"We have multiple systems for manufacturing tests, and it's critical for our support. The support increases our productivity."
"Time domain measurement is very accurate compared to other devices."
"The Tektronix user interface is like an Apple iPhone, but for oscilloscopes. It is simple to use."
"The most valuable feature is the automation component in setting up some of these measurements."
"It is a very capable instrument; it really does the job."
"The user interface is good."
 

Cons

"There is a learning curve."
"The price is a little steep."
"The software has room for improvement."
"I would like more speed and a reduction in size."
"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 competitive pricing."
"There is a learning curve. It takes one to two months to get acclimated to the tool."
"There is a learning curve. It might take a year if you're not well-versed with it."
"They need to add more memory to this machine because at this time the machine can support random simulation to the power of 15 but realistically, in requests from our customers, we need it to the power of 31."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"I would like to see more integration into machine learning because that's what we try to apply it to."
"I know you can get the Bit Masks but it's generally really expensive to get the eye diagrams and Bit Masks with it. I wish they were included or cheaper."
"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."
"I would like if they could have more customer support engagement."
"Tektronix Oscilloscopes are really expensive for small businesses."
"I wish we could turn off the automatic measurement feature of the oscilloscope, for teaching purposes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"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."
"It's reasonably priced for what we spend our money on in the lab. It's one of the lower-end purchases."
"It's a bit expensive. However, you get the entire package, not just the box. It's a box which supports older releases."
"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 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's cost-effective... It might cost a lot of money, but if we need it we buy it."
"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."
"They have academic pricing which is helpful."
"I would like to see a lower price."
"It costs a quarter of a million. This technology is not cheap."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Legal Firm
28%
Construction Company
11%
University
9%
Media Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
15%
University
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Educational Organization
7%
 

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: August 2026.
910,564 professionals have used our research since 2012.