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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 January 2026, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 2.3%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 18.0%, up from 15.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Tektronix Oscilloscopes18.0%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes2.3%
Other79.7%
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."
"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."
"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."
"It took us less than a week to get integrated into the solution, which is very fast."
"We haven't need technical support yet because all documentation is well done and there."
"It makes programming simpler."
"The integrated lateral view makes it easier to develop your test systems and test software flow."
"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."
"The Ipath and measurements are fantastic and simple to implement."
"It provides you the best way to view information without opening multiple applications, like a single solution."
"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."
"The user interface is good."
"B-scan is its most valuable feature."
"The most valuable features are everything they do. We primarily use the O-scopes and they help us figure out what's going wrong with our scope out signals."
 

Cons

"I would like more speed and a reduction in size."
"There is a learning curve. It might take a year if you're not well-versed with it."
"The software has room for improvement."
"I would like to see them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."
"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 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."
"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 more integration into machine learning because that's what we try to apply it to."
"I am not utilizing the full bandwidth of this product."
"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 use microservices, but you cannot really probe it, since the technology is not really there."
"We are looking for an Intel platform with the newest chipset."
"The power of the computer inside is weak. Sometimes I send a lot of data and I'll feel the lag... I would like to see them improve the processing power."
"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 would like to see an app from this company for test fixtures."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's reasonably priced for what we spend our money on in the lab. It's one of the lower-end purchases."
"These products are a very low-cost, effective alternative to traditional Big Iron ATE hardware."
"The pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"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."
"The cost of the equipment has room for improvement. The pricing could improve."
"The cost has room for improvement. Though compared to other companies, it's okay."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"It's cost-effective... It might cost a lot of money, but if we need it we buy it."
"It costs a quarter of a million. This technology is not cheap."
"They're all pretty expensive. If everything costs that much, I suppose the pricing is fair."
"Tecktronix pricing tends to be pretty fair and reasonable with current market trends. They don't usually bump up the price too much."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
14%
University
12%
Educational Organization
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

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: December 2025.
879,927 professionals have used our research since 2012.