No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

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 June 2026, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes is 3.7%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 16.9%, up from 15.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tektronix Oscilloscopes16.9%
National Instruments (NI) Oscilloscopes3.7%
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

"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."
"The user interface is very good, easy to understand, and easy to operate."
"The integrated lateral view makes it easier to develop your test systems and test software flow."
"The learning curve was really fast, which was also the reason for saving a lot on the budget."
"It helps us to save on our investment with a lot of the stuff that we buy, as we can find defects quickly."
"It makes programming simpler."
"Because their view is a graphical user interface (GUI), it's very easy to program the tool."
"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"It takes 35 to 45 minutes to get acclimated to the solution."
"It provides you the best way to view information without opening multiple applications, like a single solution."
"For this introductory electrical engineering lab, it's pretty well-suited to my needs."
"When I was looking for a scope for that lab, that five subdivisions per division was important."
"The sensitivity of the trigger and the reliability are the most valuable features, and the scopes were extremely reliable."
"Technical support is great."
"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 is a very capable instrument; it really does the job."
 

Cons

"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 have more RF."
"There is a learning curve. It takes one to two months to get acclimated to the tool."
"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 might take a year if you're not well-versed with it."
"I would like to see them increase the productivity and auxiliary functions."
"I would like more speed and a reduction in size."
"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."
"We would like more features for the CAN bus decoding, such as importing DDC files, which allows us to take the raw data and convert it into engineering units."
"There are other devices out there which are more capable, offering more features, with as good quality tech support."
"I wish we could turn off the automatic measurement feature of the oscilloscope, for teaching purposes."
"In terms of room for improvement, it's a powerful scope. But, the power of the computer inside is weak."
"We are looking for an Intel platform with the newest chipset."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"I would like if they could have more customer support engagement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I have saved almost 50 percent of my total budget for a project by using their products."
"I would like more competitive pricing."
"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."
"It's reasonably priced for what we spend our money on in the lab. It's one of the lower-end purchases."
"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."
"It's a bit expensive. However, you get the entire package, not just the box. It's a box which supports older releases."
"The pricing was good. Compared to the others, it was very good."
"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."
"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."
"I would like to see a lower price."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"The cost has room for improvement. Though compared to other companies, it's okay."
"Pricing could be lower. I would want to buy it for an extremely, low price, but Tektronix is a high-end product."
"Tecktronix pricing tends to be pretty fair and reasonable with current market trends. They don't usually bump up the price too much."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Oscilloscopes solutions are best for your needs.
902,417 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
15%
University
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
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: June 2026.
902,417 professionals have used our research since 2012.