Saleae Logic Pro 8 vs DreamSourceLab DSLogic Plus

The Logic Pro 8 is the only device in this group whose datasheet answers every question that matters, from input impedance to absolute maximum ratings, and Logic 2 is the software the rest are measured against. The DSLogic Plus gets you most of the practical capability, a wider threshold range and on-board capture memory for far less, at the cost of a rougher software experience and no published bandwidth figure.

Saleae Logic Pro 8

Buy it

The one whose datasheet answers every question, with a published 100 MHz digital bandwidth instead of just a sample rate number.

• Publishes a real digital bandwidth figure of 100 MHz and an analog -3 dB bandwidth of 5 MHz, separate from the 500 MS/s sample rate.
• 2 MOhm parallel 10 pF input impedance and absolute maximum ratings of -25 V to +25 V, so a slipped probe is usually survivable.
• Logic 2 runs on Windows, macOS and Linux with more than 25 built-in protocol decoders and a Python automation API.

• The 500 MS/s figure applies to up to four channels only; all eight run at 100 MS/s.
• USB 3.0 is required to reach the advertised sample rates, and Saleae states performance drops by roughly a factor of six on USB 2.0.
• No capture memory on board, so recording length depends on your PC's free RAM and how busy the signal is.

Check price

DreamSourceLab DSLogic Plus

Buy it

Sixteen channels, a threshold you can put anywhere from 0 V to 5 V, and real on-board capture memory for budget money.

• Threshold voltage is adjustable from 0 V to 5 V in 0.1 V steps, which covers 1.2 V parts through 5 V logic on one device.
• 256 Mbit of on-board memory means the capture is not hostage to your USB link, and the datasheet quotes a 5 ns minimum acquisition pulse.
• The supplied shielded fly wires are rated for a -30 V to +30 V protected input range, and each channel gets its own shield ground.

• DreamSourceLab does not publish an input bandwidth figure at all, only sample rates and the minimum acquisition pulse.
• 250 kOhm parallel 13 pF input impedance loads the circuit under test more than the Saleae devices do.
• The 400 MHz sample rate applies to four channels; all 16 run at 100 MHz in buffer mode, over USB 2.0.

Check price

Side by side

The bottom line

Our overall pick is the Saleae Logic Pro 8 - The one whose datasheet answers every question, with a published 100 MHz digital bandwidth instead of just a sample rate number. Choose the DreamSourceLab DSLogic Plus instead if hobbyists and small labs who want 16 usable channels and a wide threshold range without premium pricing.

Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Logic Analyzers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).