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Keysight Oscilloscopes vs National Instruments (NI) 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

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

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of Keysight Oscilloscopes is 10.5%, down from 17.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 0.8%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes
 

Featured Reviews

KR
Helps us ensure our materials' performance and DKDF measurements
I would definitely recommend trying this product. It's a really reliable and high-performance machine. In terms of a learning curve on the equipment, I had some training on the VNA before we purchased it, so for me training was done within a week or so. It was not really hard. But for colleagues, it took them some time to learn it. Upgrades are always welcome. Apart from VNA, we need to purchase all the fixtures, other equipment to connect to VNA. They are very expensive tools, and that's part of upgrading what we are doing in the lab. The solution, performance-wise is a ten out of ten. Price-wise, it's a six out of ten.
SeniorEn6bfd - PeerSpot reviewer
The integrated lateral view makes it easier to develop your test systems and test software flow
The application space that this solution targets is 5G and high-speed systems. 5G is where we are developing some chips to test whether it prequalifies for a necessary requirement before we embed it into our box. Then, in high-speed systems, we're still figuring out how exactly we're going to test this out, but it should be also on prequalification. We are not using this product to support connected devices for IoT development nor are we planning to going forward. We are measuring millimeter wave signals. My colleague deals with the automation of the test systems. The user interface is okay.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It's accurate, fast, has high bandwidth, and the PLTS is pretty convenient."
"The user interface has never been better. They improved it a few years ago with a more modern oscilloscope interface and it's easier to use, even for more junior people in our lab."
"The user interface is very simple. Everyone can use it."
"It's easier to automate and connect with multiple devices, and at the same time with laptops."
"Before silicon came back, our customers' performance was affected. Using these tools, we are able to deliver performance to our customers."
"The user interface is simple and straightforward, so I can easily measure frequency, time, and other complex measurements."
"It does everything that I need it to with the PLTS software and the network analyzer software."
"The user interface is very user-friendly. You can use a lot of functions in their scope and will provide them for you. You can update the scope's software by asking Keysight to update the software when you want."
"It took us less than a week to get integrated into the solution, which is very fast."
"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."
"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 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 helps us to save on our investment with a lot of the stuff that we buy, as we can find defects quickly."
"We haven't need technical support yet because all documentation is well done and there."
 

Cons

"Some of the models have only two ports. It takes much longer to use a two-port. If they had a four-port, it would be much better."
"I would like to see the possibility of interacting with the software, new features for software post-processing. For example, once you're done measuring, it would be nice to be able to generate some data starting from the measurement data."
"The user interface can be buggy at times. But I'm an engineer, I figure out how to get around them pretty easily so that's not that much of a concern."
"There is room for improvement in the upgradeability of the products. When we buy a platform, we would like that platform to survive two or three generations, because it is very expensive. If they could provide a more modular type of design, so if we want to upgrade one functionality then we could upgrade that module, rather than all the equipment, that would be helpful. That modularity is something we would like to see."
"Sometimes, it's quite hard to get the technical support to come onsite. If we run into a hardware, measurement, or software issue, we may have to wait a long time for them to come."
"I would also like to see a more detailed change-notice from version to version, what changed. If they had a more detailed description of what is changing and the reason for it, rather than just releasing, that would be good for us so we know whether or not to upgrade."
"The integration between different software and hardware panels could be improved. In the software, it's not as strong as the other solutions."
"There is a learning curve depends on the client that I am working with. E.g., if I'm working with a client, and they have a test and measurement equipment company, when I go to another company, the new company may not be using the same model."
"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. 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."
"I would like to have more RF. They're going that way, but still there is some work that they have to do."
"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 them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."
"The software has room for improvement."
"There is a learning curve. It takes one to two months to get acclimated to the tool."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's very expensive."
"They're not cheap."
"The pricing is always high."
"It's expensive, but the quality matters."
"If we rented the product, it would be more affordable than buying new."
"The major factor influencing the decision-makers is the price."
"While I don't have transparency on the pricing, it works within my budget."
"Keysight is on the high side. If they could make the price lower without sacrificing the quality that would be great."
"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."
"The pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
17%
University
11%
Legal Firm
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Legal Firm
34%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Also Known As

InfiniiVision Series, Infiniium Series
NI Oscilloscopes
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nokia Bell Labs
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Keysight Oscilloscopes vs. National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.