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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 April 2026, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 3.3%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 17.7%, up from 14.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tektronix Oscilloscopes17.7%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes3.3%
Other79.0%
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

"Most of the features are on the screen itself. The naming convention makes it very easy to understand what is needed."
"I chose this solution because it integrates a lot of functionality in one piece of equipment."
"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 integrated lateral view makes it easier to develop your test systems and test software flow."
"The user interface is very good, easy to understand, and easy to operate."
"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."
"Technical support is great."
"The Ipath and measurements are fantastic and simple to implement."
"The most valuable features are its ease of use, user interface, and PAM-4. The user interface is good and easy to use."
"The most valuable feature is the automation component in setting up some of these measurements."
"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."
"We have multiple systems for manufacturing tests, and it's critical for our support. The support increases our productivity."
"It has a good user interface. It's easy to use, easy to read. It's intuitive."
"They provide a great partnership with us."
 

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."
"There is a learning curve. It might take a year if you're not well-versed with it."
"The price is a little steep."
"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 more speed and a reduction in size."
"It took a good year until I felt proficient using the product, as it is a complex program."
"There is a learning curve."
"I would like to have more RF."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"On the source side, their AWGs don't have enough bandwidth. They need to increase the bandwidth of their AWGs, meaning they have to have a faster sample rate."
"I use microservices, but you cannot really probe it, since the technology is not really there."
"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."
"I am not utilizing the full bandwidth of this product."
"I wish we could turn off the automatic measurement feature of the oscilloscope, for teaching purposes."
"The ruggedness could be improved."
"There are other devices out there which are more capable, offering more features, with as good quality tech support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"These products are a very low-cost, effective alternative to traditional Big Iron ATE hardware."
"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 reasonably priced for what we spend our money on in the lab. It's one of the lower-end purchases."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"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."
"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."
"It costs a quarter of a million. This technology is not cheap."
"The pricing is not too high and not too low."
"We demoed the product before purchasing it."
"It is a great price for a great product."
"The pricing is okay. It was within our budget."
"Isolated probes are good to have, as most of the scopes don't have it. It drives up the cost when you have to buy isolated probes."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
14%
University
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
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: April 2026.
890,027 professionals have used our research since 2012.