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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 May 2026, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 3.5%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 17.4%, up from 14.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tektronix Oscilloscopes17.4%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes3.5%
Other79.1%
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

"It took us less than a week to get integrated into the solution, which is very fast."
"Most of the features are on the screen itself. The naming convention makes it very easy to understand what is needed."
"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 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."
"It makes programming simpler."
"Using this product is helpful, so I would recommend it to people at any other company."
"We haven't need technical support yet because all documentation is well done and there."
"This solution provides high confidence in the data being presented in the measurement to inform a design decision going forward."
"I trust Tektronix for its accuracy. The probes of solution fit my application. E.g., the speed of probes, the way that it is using probes with designs, and the probes' size."
"Technical support is great."
"Tektronix is robust and reliable; it's a hammer-resistant machine, a fact which is most important on our manufacturing floor."
"It's a good product."
"The Ipath and measurements are fantastic and simple to implement."
"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."
"When I was looking for a scope for that lab, that five subdivisions per division was important."
 

Cons

"The software has room for improvement."
"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."
"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 them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."
"I would like to have more RF."
"I would like to have more RF. They're going that way, but still there is some work that they have to do."
"There is a learning curve. It takes one to two months to get acclimated to the tool."
"I would like to see more integration into machine learning because that's what we try to apply it to."
"I want the system to have a wider bandwidth because high-speed continues to move faster, so there is more bandwidth to cover."
"I would like to see more integration into machine learning because that's what we try to apply it to."
"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."
"I know you can get the Bit Masks but it's generally really expensive to get the eye diagrams and Bit Masks with it."
"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."
"The ruggedness could be improved."
"I would like to see a lower price."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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 pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"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 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."
"Tecktronix pricing tends to be pretty fair and reasonable with current market trends. They don't usually bump up the price too much."
"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."
"Pricing could be lower. I would want to buy it for an extremely, low price, but Tektronix is a high-end product."
"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."
"We demoed the product before purchasing it."
"It costs a quarter of a million. This technology is not cheap."
"It is a great price for a great product."
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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.
892,611 professionals have used our research since 2012.