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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 helps us to save on our investment with a lot of the stuff that we buy, as we can find defects quickly."
"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."
"Using this product is helpful, so I would recommend it to people at any other company."
"It helps us to save on our investment with a lot of the stuff that we buy, as we can find defects quickly."
"Go with their products."
"The learning curve was really fast, which was also the reason for saving a lot on the budget."
"Because their view is a graphical user interface (GUI), it's very easy to program the tool."
"When I was looking for a scope for that lab, that five subdivisions per division was important."
"We have multiple systems for manufacturing tests, and it's critical for our support. The support increases our productivity."
"It has digital scopes with a high bandwidth and digitized signal. It can do whatever you want with the signal. Since its user-friendly software allows you to work with the signal, which is pretty cool."
"B-scan is its most valuable feature."
"The user interface is good."
"It has a good user interface. It's easy to use, easy to read. It's intuitive."
"The Ipath and measurements are fantastic and simple to implement."
"Valuable features include that it's multi-channel... and has bandwidth filtering. The user interface is good."
 

Cons

"It took a good year until I felt proficient using the product, as it is a complex program."
"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."
"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 more of a tasking user base and documentation inside the instrument itself, rather than having to go online for it."
"I would like to see them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."
"I would like to have more RF."
"The software has room for improvement."
"The price is a little steep."
"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."
"In terms of room for improvement, it's a powerful scope. But, the power of the computer inside is weak."
"I would like to see a lower price."
"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."
"I would like to see more integration into machine learning because that's what we try to apply it to."
"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."
"There was a learning curve, which was a little tricky at times."
"I wish we could turn off the automatic measurement feature of the oscilloscope, for teaching purposes."
 

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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"They have academic pricing which is helpful."
"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."
"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."
"The cost has room for improvement. Though compared to other companies, it's okay."
"Tecktronix pricing tends to be pretty fair and reasonable with current market trends. They don't usually bump up the price too much."
"It is a great price for a great product."
"I would like to see a lower price."
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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.
892,776 professionals have used our research since 2012.