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Rohde & Schwarz 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

Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes
Ranking in Oscilloscopes
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
12
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 Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is 9.6%, up from 6.4% 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%
Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes9.6%
Other72.4%
Oscilloscopes
 

Featured Reviews

AM
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.
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 characterization of RF channels was helpful... The user interface was very simple to operate and there were a lot of tutorials."
"It is a more efficient, easier way to do measurements."
"The user interface is pretty good. Right now, it is more than what we expected. It's easy and fast to use."
"The most valuable features are its wide bandwidth and 8 ports."
"It is easy to connect with, accurate, reliable, and hardly fails."
"The noise floor for reference clocks is pretty low, so this instrument is able to measure it where others cannot."
"The most valuable features are the accuracy and repeatability."
"It has a very low noise floor."
"The sensitivity of the trigger and the reliability are the most valuable features."
"The Ipath and measurements are fantastic and simple to implement."
"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."
"It provides you the best way to view information without opening multiple applications, like a single solution."
"This solution provides high confidence in the data being presented in the measurement to inform a design decision going forward."
"It is easy to handle, so everyone likes to use it."
"The most valuable feature is the automation component in setting up some of these measurements."
"I haven't seen anything similar where it has a spectrum analyzer and regular scope together."
 

Cons

"They could use an RDA interface."
"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."
"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."
"Sometimes, it's difficult to find menus on the user interface."
"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."
"We would like to have autotracking and auto error tracking for regression testing. We would like to know what error happened, when it happened, and during what scenario (such as setup), because right now we have to manually look at when it happened."
"The size of the unit is too big, too heavy. It has to be made more portable and smaller."
"In the next release, I would like to see report generation. It would make it a lot easier to refer back to and, when doing final testing, seeing what went on during the pre-test would help."
"I use microservices, but you cannot really probe it, since the technology is not really there."
"It needs one button and every time you push it, you get whatever you need."
"There was a learning curve, which was a little tricky at times. Getting used to the GUI took time because we had to learn the different features."
"They need to add more memory to this machine."
"If they could make the user interface even more intuitive that would help. If they could make it easier to read, to know where the buttons are, that's all I need."
"There are other devices out there which are more capable, offering more features, with as good quality tech support."
"I would like to see an app from this company for test fixtures."
"I want the system to have a wider bandwidth because high-speed continues to move faster, so there is more bandwidth to cover."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is very expensive."
"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."
"Buying Rohde & Schwarz gear is like buying a Mercedes. It raises eyebrows when you're asking for that level of performance."
"When we chose this, the price was really reasonable, and it is a high-end product. It had a high price, but we understood that because it has 8 port, the same noise floor (as the competition) with double the measurement capabilities and a cheaper price."
"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."
"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 way too expensive."
"The pricing is very competitive."
"I would like to see a lower price."
"The pricing is not too high and not too low."
"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."
"The cost has room for improvement. Though compared to other companies, it's okay."
"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."
"They're all pretty expensive. If everything costs that much, I suppose the pricing is fair."
"It costs a quarter of a million. This technology is not cheap."
"Pricing could be lower. I would want to buy it for an extremely, low price, but Tektronix is a high-end product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
16%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
University
12%
Educational Organization
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise19
 

Also Known As

RT Series
TBS Series, TDS Series, MDO Series, MSO Series
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes vs. Tektronix Oscilloscopes and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,745 professionals have used our research since 2012.