National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes comparison

National Instruments and Rohde & Schwarz are both solutions in the Oscilloscopes category. National Instruments is ranked #8, while Rohde & Schwarz is ranked #6. National Instruments holds a 0.9% mindshare in O, compared to Rohde & Schwarz’s 6.8% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of National Instruments users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Rohde & Schwarz users who would recommend it.

National Instruments (NI) O...

Read 10 National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes reviews

277 Views
136 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes

Read 12 Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes reviews

1,368 Views
950 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

National Instruments (NI) O...

Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes and Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Oscilloscopes solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs. Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs. Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes

June 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 857,028 peers since 2012

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

8th

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes

Ranking in Oscilloscopes

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 0.9%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is 6.8%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Oscilloscopes

Featured Reviews

Armando Arenai

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.

Read full review

Alan Martin

Power Integrity Lead at Elton Designs

The ability to have both the time domain and frequency domain, where the frequency domain is a very broad spectral plot, is extremely valuable

There is certainly a learning curve. Finally, watching YouTube videos on using the instrument got me over the hump, as well as a sit down session with one of the oscilloscope experts. The Rohde & Schwarz user interface is very oriented towards drop and drag functions on the screen. Some of those are just not obvious how to use. You have to have somebody get you over the hump. My understanding is they have a newer user interface, but I haven't gotten around to upgrading the firmware on my scope in some time, so I'm not familiar with it yet. In comparison, I love the LeCroy interface. Recently, I've learned that there are ways to adapt these instruments to become a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), which is of interest to me. If I can use probes that are not in the 50 ohm domain, which is what you would have with a normal Vector Network Analyzer, then doing power applications for me, this would be a lot safer. Using a traditional communications type Vector Network Analyzer in the 50 ohm domain and having these high DC potentials (adding the DC blocks is adding air to the test method), then having an oscilloscope type front-end which is lot more tolerant of overload, it is a lot safer. The vector network analysis that I need to do is well under a gigahertz, and the other instruments that I have sort of stop at 40 megahertz. Trying to get past 40 megahertz into the mid-hundreds of megahertz and have high impedance probes that will tolerate DC, that is really of interest to me.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integrated lateral view makes it easier to develop your test systems and test software flow."

"Because their view is a graphical user interface (GUI), it's very easy to program the tool."

"It took us less than a week to get integrated into the solution, which is very fast."

"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."

"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 absolutely great. It creates an easy working environment because it has well-integrated hardware and software. So, it is easy to use."

"It helps us to save on our investment with a lot of the stuff that we buy, as we can find defects quickly."

More National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes pros

"The most valuable features are the accuracy and repeatability."

"The characterization of RF channels was helpful... The user interface was very simple to operate and there were a lot of tutorials."

"The noise sensitivity: It has a low noise floor."

"The most valuable features are its wide bandwidth and 8 ports."

"I have been able to do quality measurements that I have been unable to achieve with the equipment from some other vendors."

"Most of the features offered are free, like serial data analyzers or jitter measurements."

"The ability to have both the time domain and frequency domain, where the frequency domain is a very broad spectral plot, is extremely valuable."

"The noise floor for reference clocks is pretty low, so this instrument is able to measure it where others cannot."

More Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes pros

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 software has room for improvement."

"I would like to see them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."

"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 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 have more RF. They're going that way, but still there is some work that they have to do."

More National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes cons

"The depth the the user GUI could be improved. It is a bit deep for new users. During the first two weeks we spent a lot of time finding the tabs."

"It would be good if they would try to automate most things because it has more pressing buttons and repetitive work. If there were automation scripts that they could provide, that would improve things."

"I'm against the Windows-based tools. Now everybody is running scopes, VNAs, and all their tools based on Windows. I don't want to see that in the future."

"There was a learning curve. Their use interface and the way that their products work are not intuitive to somebody who switches from other vendors."

"The size of the unit is too big, too heavy. It has to be made more portable and smaller."

"The Rohde & Schwarz user interface is very oriented towards drop and drag functions on the screen. Some of those are just not obvious how to use. You have to have somebody get you over the hump."

"Sometimes, it's difficult to find menus on the user interface."

"They could use an RDA interface."

More Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 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 would like more competitive pricing."

"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."

"These products are a very low-cost, effective alternative to traditional Big Iron ATE hardware."

"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."

"It's reasonably priced for what we spend our money on in the lab. It's one of the lower-end purchases."

More National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is too high."

"The pricing is very competitive."

"If we are looking to purchase a product, we ask for a loaner for a month or so to test it out. Then, we will make a decision."

"One of the things I liked less, not only me but also my company, was that Rohde & Schwarz are very expensive... There are solutions that are almost the same that sell at better prices."

"The pricing is expensive, but very fair when you look at the technology that you are getting. These are higher-end pieces which have a ton of engineering in them that is not evident on the package. However, you could imagine the amount of time that the vendor has spent on the firmware, optimizing the internal layout, developing custom ICs, etc. They're releasing a mass produced product, but these things are built to last."

"Buying Rohde & Schwarz gear is like buying a Mercedes. It raises eyebrows when you're asking for that level of performance."

"The pricing is very expensive."

"The pricing is way too expensive."

More Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Oscilloscopes solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Manufacturing Company

20%

Government

10%

University

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Comparisons

Keysight Oscilloscopes vs National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes

Compared 43% of the time

Tektronix Oscilloscopes vs National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes

Compared 38% of the time

More National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes Competitors

Tektronix Oscilloscopes vs Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes

Compared 35% of the time

RIGOL Oscilloscopes vs Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes

Compared 20% of the time

Keysight Oscilloscopes vs Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes

Compared 19% of the time

Teledyne LeCroy Oscilloscopes vs Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes

Compared 11% of the time

More Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Oscilloscopes

May 2025

National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes report

Download National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes product report

Buyer's Guide

Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes

May 2025

Download Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes product report

Also Known As

NI Oscilloscopes

RT Series

Overview

Turning powerful possibilities into real solutions with our open, software-defined platform for automated test and automated measurement systems.

National Instruments

Oscilloscope innovation that delivers measurement confidence. Excellent signal fidelity, high acquisition rate, an innovative trigger system and a clever user interface - that’s what you get with Rohde & Schwarz, a leading manufacturer of oscilloscopes. Match your needs with the right oscilloscope platform, probing options and software applications. From general purpose test to solutions for specific industry standards, we have you covered.

Rohde & Schwarz

Buyer's Guide

National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs. Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes

June 2025

Free Report: National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs. Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes

Find out what your peers are saying about National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs. Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes vs. Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes report.

See our list of best Oscilloscopes vendors.

We monitor all Oscilloscopes reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.