Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

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 March 2026, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 2.8%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 17.8%, up from 14.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tektronix Oscilloscopes17.8%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes2.8%
Other79.4%
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."
"Using this product is helpful, so I would recommend it to people at any other company."
"It speeds up the process to develop test software."
"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."
"Because their view is a graphical user interface (GUI), it's very easy to program the tool."
"Go with their products."
"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."
"Being able to monitor data from a CAN bus while the vehicle is running will cut down a lot of the feedback for the design mode."
"It is a very capable instrument; it really does the job."
"The Ipath and measurements are fantastic and simple to implement."
"This solution provides high confidence in the data being presented in the measurement to inform a design decision going forward."
"Valuable features include that it's multi-channel... and has bandwidth filtering. The user interface is good."
"The technical support is great; they come in, they show us how to use it, and if we have questions, they'll give presentations."
"It works really well for general lab stuff, general testing, prototype and measurement."
"It has a good user interface. It's easy to use, easy to read. It's intuitive."
 

Cons

"I would like to see them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."
"There is a learning curve."
"The software has room for improvement."
"There is a learning curve. It might take a year if you're not well-versed with it."
"There is a learning curve. It takes one to two months to get acclimated to the tool."
"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."
"The software has room for improvement."
"I would like to have more RF."
"In terms of room for improvement, it's a powerful scope. But, the power of the computer inside is weak."
"There is room for improvement when it comes to the screen size."
"I would like to see more integration into machine learning because that's what we try to apply it to."
"We are looking for an Intel platform with the newest chipset."
"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."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"I am not utilizing the full bandwidth of this product."
"There are other devices out there which are more capable, offering more features, with as good quality tech support."
 

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."
"These products are a very low-cost, effective alternative to traditional Big Iron ATE hardware."
"The cost of the equipment has room for improvement. The pricing could improve."
"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."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"It's reasonably priced for what we spend our money on in the lab. It's one of the lower-end purchases."
"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."
"Isolated probes are good to have, as most of the scopes don't have it. It drives up the cost when you have to buy isolated probes."
"The pricing is okay. It was within our budget."
"It's cost-effective... It might cost a lot of money, but if we need it we buy it."
"I would like to see a lower price."
"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."
"Tecktronix pricing tends to be pretty fair and reasonable with current market trends. They don't usually bump up the price too much."
"It costs a quarter of a million. This technology is not cheap."
"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."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Oscilloscopes solutions are best for your needs.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
14%
University
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Educational Organization
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: March 2026.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.