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Hillstone E-Series vs OpenVPN Access Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 31, 2025

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

Hillstone E-Series
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
25th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (38th), SSL VPN (10th)
OpenVPN Access Server
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 1.1%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenVPN Access Server is 15.0%, up from 15.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
OpenVPN Access Server15.0%
Hillstone E-Series1.1%
Other83.9%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

TahirMahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers good features like URL filtering, IPS, and IDS to users
We received an update for the tool in July. The update was provided for the tool as there was a problem with the firewall, where too much memory was consumed, and the firewall was hanging a lot. When we updated the tool's features, everything became okay. The tool only had some memory-related problems. It took the tool a month to fix the issues.
Girraj Godia - PeerSpot reviewer
Has improved internal app access by allowing secure user onboarding and simplified network whitelisting
The plan for OpenVPN Access Server could be improved. When adding new people, better plans for startups would be beneficial. I'm working in a startup and sometimes people think we should take the enterprise plan or not. If there was a dedicated plan for startups, it would be really helpful. For instance, providing store credit for OpenVPN Access Server through a startup program, similar to YC's program which gives credit to new startups. UI-wise, OpenVPN Access Server is easy to manage, but the overall overview dashboard in the admin portal could be improved. Currently, you have to go through dropdowns to find where to add users or whitelist IPs. Creating an onboarding dashboard where an admin person can find these things easily would be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Five out of five ROI."
"The most valuable features of the Hillstone E-Series are its hardware capacity, innovation, and the throughput that the hardware can take."
"This solution has two main features that we find very valuable; a threat-intelligence option, and a web/application filtering option. The technical support team are very good and very quick."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Very reliable solution with good scalability and straightforward implementation."
"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."
"The installation is easy, we have not had any complaints from our customers."
"The most valuable feature of the Hillstone E-Series is its user-friendliness."
"The solution is secure and user-friendly."
"I have found the stability to be good."
"The stability is very reliable in my experience."
"Provides privacy and cryptography for my network communication."
"The solution is user-friendly and easy to implement."
"It is open source and therefore affordable for small projects."
"The most valuable thing about OpenVPN Access Server is its ease of use."
"The best thing is that it is open source and free of cost."
 

Cons

"Having frequent live webinars on a monthly basis would really help."
"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."
"The current usage reporting is very basic."
"The tool provides just a general report. It does not provide a granular report. Hence, the tool should work on its reporting feature."
"The solution doesn't have a web proxy built into the system like Sophos. This is something they should work to change."
"I am not sure if this solution offers active directory integration. Adding that feature will definitely be an advantage."
"The tool needs to improve its price."
"The tool only had some memory-related problems."
"I want the tool to be faster. We have experienced connectivity issues while using OpenVPN and FortiClient."
"The interface could be a little bit better in future iterations."
"The high availability deployment is not very straightforward. They can make it simpler. OpenVPN does not support some of the additional protocols that Pulse Secure and Cisco AnyConnect support. They can include support for these additional protocols."
"The logs should be made easier to read."
"OpenVPN could improve in centralized management and enhance the GUI configuration steps."
"I would like to see a GUI or Web UI to manage users. Today these features are in the Pro Edition or are done by scripts."
"I think right now the GUI part of it is locked out behind the pay wall. It could use something that gives it a very basic, minimal, graphic interface for logging in, for the community version. That would probably be a good step forward."
"When there are too many concurrent users trying to connect at the same time, there may be a bit of a bottleneck."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's pricing is reasonable. It depends on the model. The product's pricing is around 600 USD. You need to buy a software license to activate the features. You need to pay around 150 USD for that."
"Hillstone's pricing is economical and neither very high nor very low."
"The cost per year for licensing, and hardware, is approximately $850 for the basic plan."
"The licensing model is very complex with many subcategories of licenses you can purchase. They could make it more simplified for customers to understand."
"OpenVPN Access Server is free and open source."
"The product's pricing is good value, definitely. It is one of the best features, I would say. Evaluate the product before seeing which type of licensing is good for you. I think there is a good evaluation method available for OpenVPN, so you can just evaluate if it meets your needs. Then go forward with the right licensing policy."
"I would say the product's pricing is a good value. I would recommend to other companies to implement it. I've seen other software, in tandem with the service, to be very expensive."
"OpenVPN is a free and open-source solution."
"OpenVPN Access Server is a cheap corporate solution."
"It is free, you buy support."
"OpenVPN Access Server was free for students. I don't know if you have to pay for an advanced version."
"I don't need to pay for its license since it is an open-source tool."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Non Profit
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
11%
University
7%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Hillstone E-Series?
We received an update for the tool in July. The update was provided for the tool as there was a problem with the firewall, where too much memory was consumed, and the firewall was hanging a lot. Wh...
What is your primary use case for Hillstone E-Series?
I use the solution in my company for site-to-site VPN, SSL VPNs, URL filtering, IPS, IDS and all the other features which are available in the firewall.
What advice do you have for others considering Hillstone E-Series?
Our company did not use the tool's micro-segmentation features. There were no issues while integrating the tool. I have not used any AI in the tool. I recommend the tool to others. I rate the tool ...
How does Fortinet FortiClient compare with Open VPN Access Server?
Fortinet FortiClient is a feature-rich solution that is easy to use and deploy without sacrificing safety and security. It has a very fast connection rate and has a built-in VPN. With this solution...
What do you like most about OpenVPN Access Server?
OpenVPN Access Server is a simple and easy-to-use solution that I can use myself without anybody's help.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OpenVPN Access Server?
The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for OpenVPN Access Server is really good, not that expensive. I am easily able to add new users from the OpenVPN Access Server official websit...
 

Also Known As

No data available
OpenVPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank of China Macao, Instituto Tecnológico Bolivariano, Ministry of Labor in San Salvador, FEDCO
Verizon, Amazon, Disney, HP, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung
Find out what your peers are saying about Hillstone E-Series vs. OpenVPN Access Server and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,922 professionals have used our research since 2012.