Check Point CloudGuard Network Security vs Hillstone E-Series comparison

Check Point Software Technologies and Hillstone Networks are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Check Point Software Technologies is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.5, while Hillstone Networks is ranked #38 with an average rating of 8.0. Check Point Software Technologies holds a 0.7% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Hillstone Networks’s 0.3% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Check Point Software Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Hillstone Networks users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 8, 2024

Overall, users find CloudGuard Network Security to excel in robust firewall capabilities, user-friendly interface, advanced threat prevention, pricing transparency, and satisfactory ROI. On the other hand, Hillstone E-Series is praised for its quick installation, exceptional performance, robust security features, affordability, positive ROI, and excellent customer support. However, users noted that CloudGuard has better integration, setup process, and user interface, while Hillstone users find the interface navigation challenging with limited customization options and delayed updates.

Features: CloudGuard Network Security stands out for its advanced threat prevention mechanisms and seamless integration with cloud environments. In contrast, Hillstone E-Series is praised for its exceptional performance in network traffic management and robust security features for protecting sensitive data.
Pricing and ROI: CloudGuard Network Security has manageable setup costs with flexible and transparent licensing terms, offering good value for the investment. In contrast, Hillstone E-Series is praised for its affordability, minimal setup costs, straightforward licensing process, and competitive pricing, satisfying users., CloudGuard Network Security offers a highly satisfactory ROI with enhanced network security against cyber threats. In contrast, Hillstone E-Series provides cost-effective high performance with advanced security features and positive ROI.
Room for Improvement: CloudGuard Network Security offers better integration, user-friendly interface, customization, and reporting compared to Hillstone E-Series. Hillstone E-Series faces challenges with navigation, limited customization, inadequate documentation, and delayed updates, impacting its effectiveness.
Deployment and customer support: Users found that CloudGuard Network Security has a quicker setup and deployment process, making it easier and faster to implement. In contrast, the installation process for Hillstone E-Series is quicker and more straightforward than other tech solutions, according to user feedback., CloudGuard Network Security stands out for its top-notch customer service, with users praising prompt, knowledgeable assistance. In comparison, Hillstone E-Series earns positive feedback for excellent assistance and prompt responses, satisfying users with quality support.

The summary above is based on 74 interviews we conducted recently with CloudGuard Network Security and Hillstone E-Series users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.

To learn more, read our detailed Check Point CloudGuard Network Security vs. Hillstone E-Series Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security vs. Hillstone E-Series

September 2025

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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

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.4%, up from 19.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is 0.7%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 0.3%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	20.4%
Check Point CloudGuard Network Security	0.7%
Hillstone E-Series	0.3%
Other	78.6%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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Martin Raška

Senior Security Engineer & Instructor at Arrow Electronics

Unification of security features strengthens network protection

The overall network security is good. It's big-picture, all in one bundle. It's valuable to have everything in one place instead of spreading across different products. Unified security management positively affects a company's security operations. They have one unified view of the security. I can connect multiple gateways to the management and have it in one place. I can have reporting and views in a single pane of glass on the consolidated platform. It's easy to use. The management is the best on the market. It's very easy to work with, read, understand, and navigate. It helps increase our customer's security posture. We can see in some cases CloudGuard improves our customers' posture overall.

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TahirMahmood

IT Manager at Zubair Feeds

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is easy to configure."

"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is the IPS or IDS implementation. I appreciate most the agility or the flexibility to create hashes to block incoming threats, and I can integrate with third-party threat intelligence with our FortiGate."

"The scalability is good in Fortinet FortiGate."

"The solution is very user friendly. The user interface in particular is quite nice."

"I am content with its user interface and functionalities."

"The key features include SD-WAN, firewall use, intrusion prevention, intrusion detection, and application control."

"The stability and scalability of this solution are satisfactory. Its SD-WAN, VPN, and URL filtering features are very useful."

"We use the filtering feature the most. It has filtering and inbuilt securities. We can create customized rules to define which users can access a particular type of site. We can create policies inside the firewall."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The versatility is the solution's most valuable feature."

"CloudGuard Network Security provides unified security management across hybrid clouds as well as on-prem. It's very important because when I have unified security, I have better control of the situation. If there's an attack or something like that, we can react faster. It's easier for everyone in the organization to work with the Infinity platform."

"The solution is easier to manage than an on-premise firewall. It is easy to manage. The use of dynamic objects for these gateways made it easy to create the right rules and the right policies. Integration with Azure is also easy where we have to just add the subnets. In an on-premise setup, we have to add everything from scratch. We can automate a lot of actions."

"The multiple virtual firewalls on one box are extremely useful and the interconnection with virtual switches is simple and easy to understand."

"Moving into the cloud without having to change a lot of our internal processes and retrain staff is one of the biggest benefits of this solution."

"All the features that we subscribe to from CloudGuard NGTP are valuable. All the threat prevention and access control features give us the network security that we expect."

"The IPS, application and URL filtering, as well as Identity Awareness, are all very valuable features."

"One of the most valuable features is the automated threat prevention, which helps us detect and block potential cyberattacks in real-time, minimizing data breaches."

More Check Point CloudGuard Network Security pros

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"The installation is easy, we have not had any complaints from our customers."

"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."

"Working with the Hillstone E-Series has, from a remote perspective, allowed me to give my clients a secure connectivity."

"Very reliable solution with good scalability and straightforward implementation."

"The most valuable feature of the Hillstone E-Series is its user-friendliness."

"The initial setup was straightforward. It only took a few hours to deploy."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the ransomware protection that the tool offers."

More Hillstone E-Series pros

Cons

"We called them for a geolocation issue and we didn't get any proper assistance."

"Due to its higher cost, Fortinet FortiGate can lead to increased operational expenses."

"In the scenarios coming from Sophos, it has not."

"They have not yet extended to the cloud."

"I want some additional features. For example, I want something to ensure that when we are using Google email or Microsoft email, or Google Workspace, emails can only be accessed on designated machines given to our employees. I would like them to access data from designated machines, not from any machine. It should work for designated mobiles and laptops. I don't know if Fortinet provides something like that out of the box."

"Fortinet FortiGate can improve the integration with Active Directory. Additionally, I would like to have a Cloud Controller, such as they do in the Cisco Meraki solution."

"I would rate the technical support of Fortinet a six or seven out of ten. It is not very helpful. I would like to see improvements in their support."

"The solution must improve the support provided for customers around the globe, considering the time differences in different places."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Some more built-in marketplace templates would be nice. It would be nice to see more vendor assistance in deployments and backup of recoveries versus having customers rely upon that themselves. That would make it a lot more seamless and aligned with the standard on-premise model that is there. Check Point can extend the same posture that they have to CloudGuard and make that transition very seamless."

"The relationship between AWS and Check Point could be better. We had issues related to the type of instance and how it interconnects with AWS or cloud-native solutions. We overcame the pain points that we had, and now, AWS is evolving in a way that will facilitate how Check Point works. Our pain points were minimized, but they were there."

"There is room for improvement, especially concerning the integration with the management center. It would be beneficial if tasks that currently require scripts could be performed directly from the GUI."

"Easier optimization techniques can definitely help with better performance of the OS, as using the vanilla software doesn't actually showcase the real capability of the software."

"We have Microsoft CASB cloud app security and it's one of the least compatible firewalls. They really need to look at this, as both Check Point and Microsoft are major players. Why aren't they compatible? If we had Palo Alto then we wouldn't have this problem."

"Its price is fair, but it can be more favorable."

"As an administrator, I can say that among all of the Check Point products I have been working with so far, the Virtual Systems solution is one of the most difficult."

"We did not use the AWS Transit Gateway, and that's one of the things that we're currently using. I believe we will be working with Check Point again, in the near future, to implement it, once they start having proper support for a single customer with multiple accounts. When we were using them, we had to install Check Point on each and every single account."

More Check Point CloudGuard Network Security cons

"Support from Hillstone E-Series has a shortcoming that needs improvement."

"The tool needs to improve its price."

"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."

"Having frequent live webinars on a monthly basis would really help."

"I am not sure if this solution offers active directory integration. Adding that feature will definitely be an advantage."

"The tool provides just a general report. It does not provide a granular report. Hence, the tool should work on its reporting feature."

"The current usage reporting is very basic."

"The solution doesn't have a web proxy built into the system like Sophos. This is something they should work to change."

More Hillstone E-Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When you look at these end security systems and firewalls, these firewalls even five years ago were $50,000 or perhaps $25,000 to implement in some types of customer sites. Now we're talking about tools that are $1,000. In this case, it might have been $500 or something like that."

"Fortigate's pricing is competitive."

"The solution's pricing is competitive."

"If the customer is looking for SD-WAN, it comes free with FortiGate."

"The price is fine."

"I rate FortiGate's pricing a five out of ten."

"The pricing is very reasonable."

"The pricing of the solution is very competitive."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"There is flexibility in the different licensing models that are offered."

"CloudGuard Network Security's pricing is fine."

"The tool's monthly costs have undergone a significant reduction, dropping from approximately 12,000 euros to around 4,000. This represents a cost reduction of over 60 percent. However, it's essential to note that while costs decreased in some areas, they increased in others due to shifts in our environment. As our overall environment has grown, currently connecting 50 accounts to the cloud, it's challenging to directly compare costs with the state of our setup three years ago."

"The tool's pricing is not cheap."

"Licensing is simply by the number of hosts that you are looking to protect within your environment. It makes it much easier to ensure that you are covering your environment."

"Although I am not in sales and cannot comment extensively on pricing, it is known that Check Point’s licensing can be complex. However, it is a similar experience to other gateways and not particularly unique for cloud protection."

"Pricing of CloudGuard is pretty fair when you have a single account. It's comparable with other cloud providers. But for our use case, it got really pricey when we had to deploy multiple CloudGuards on multiple accounts in different regions, because you can't have CloudGuard protecting multiple regions. That's the big thing."

"It is an expensive product, but when you realize that you need it, it does not feel so expensive. We have had a good experience with them as partners. They have helped us with designing and having good architecture and the best equipment at the best prices. We find it a good deal."

More Check Point CloudGuard Network Security pricing and cost advice

"The licensing model is very complex with many subcategories of licenses you can purchase. They could make it more simplified for customers to understand."

"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."

"The cost per year for licensing, and hardware, is approximately $850 for the basic plan."

"Hillstone's pricing is economical and neither very high nor very low."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

21%

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

15%

Computer Software Company

Non Profit

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	59
Midsize Enterprise	38
Large Enterprise	75

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...

See all answers

What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...

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What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

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What do you like most about Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?

The tool's most valuable feature is its management console.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?

My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is that it was ...

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What needs improvement with Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?

I think Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is an ideal product, so I see no improvements needed. If I had to thi...

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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 fire...

See all answers

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 w...

See all answers

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 ha...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 9% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Check Point CloudGuard Network Security

Compared 13% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Check Point CloudGuard Network Security

Compared 10% of the time

Trend Micro Deep Security vs Check Point CloudGuard Network Security

Compared 7% of the time

VMware NSX vs Check Point CloudGuard Network Security

Compared 5% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Check Point CloudGuard Network Security

Compared 4% of the time

More Check Point CloudGuard Network Security Competitors

OpenVPN Access Server vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 21% of the time

Hillstone A-Series vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 14% of the time

Sophos XG vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 7% of the time

Sangfor SSL VPN vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 7% of the time

A10 Networks Thunder CFW vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 6% of the time

More Hillstone E-Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

October 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security

October 2025

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security report

Download Check Point CloudGuard Network Security product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

September 2025

Download Hillstone E-Series product report

Also Known As

No data available

CloudGuard IaaS, Check Point vSEC, CloudGuard IaaS, Check Point Virtual Systems, Check Point CloudGuard Network Security

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

Fortinet

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security offers centralized management, robust threat prevention, and seamless integration with major public clouds, ensuring consistent security for cloud and on-premises environments. It combines ease of use with flexibility across diverse IT infrastructure.

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security provides comprehensive protection for IT infrastructures in AWS, Azure, and hybrid environments. It ensures firewall security, managing traffic and securing cloud infrastructures while maintaining network protection and compliance enforcement. Organizations benefit from its centralized security governance, enhanced visibility, and threat prevention for both perimeter and internal security. It offers seamless integration with leading cloud platforms, allowing for efficient deployment and scalability, aligning with modern cloud requirements.

What are the key features of Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?

Ease of Setup and Use: Provides a user-friendly setup process and intuitive operation.
Robust Threat Prevention: Offers advanced capabilities to safeguard against potential threats.
Auto-Scaling: Adjusts resources dynamically to meet demand without manual intervention.
Centralized Management: Ensures uniform security policies across cloud and on-premises environments.
Integration with Major Public Clouds: Seamlessly works with AWS, Azure, and other leading platforms.
Intuitive ACL Menu: Simplifies access control list management with an easy-to-navigate interface.
Customizable Policy Options: Allows for personalized security settings suited to specific requirements.

What benefits should companies look for in Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?

Enhanced Operational Efficiency: Through automation and comprehensive reporting, organizations streamline operations.
Consistent Security Management: Offers uniform policies across different environments, reducing complexity.
Improved Threat Detection: Increases the ability to identify and respond to threats quickly.
Scalability: Easily adapts to growing or changing infrastructure needs without compromising security.

In industries such as finance, healthcare, and tech, Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is vital for protecting sensitive data, managing compliance, and safeguarding daily operations. Its robust integration capabilities support diverse infrastructure setups, assisting companies in maintaining high-security standards efficiently.

Check Point Software Technologies

Hillstone E-Series is a comprehensive network security solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats. It offers a range of features including a firewall, intrusion prevention system (IPS), virtual private network (VPN), and application control.

With its advanced threat intelligence capabilities, E-Series can detect and prevent sophisticated attacks, ensuring the security of critical data and systems. It also provides granular control over applications, allowing organizations to enforce policies and optimize network performance.

E-Series is easy to deploy and manage, with a user-friendly interface and centralized management console. It offers high-performance throughput and scalability, making it suitable for small businesses to large enterprises. With its robust security features and ease of use, Hillstone E-Series is an ideal choice for organizations looking to enhance their network security posture.

Hillstone Networks

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

Physicians Choice Laboratory Services, Helvetica Insurance

Bank of China Macao, Instituto Tecnológico Bolivariano, Ministry of Labor in San Salvador, FEDCO

Buyer's Guide

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security vs. Hillstone E-Series

September 2025

Free Report: Check Point CloudGuard Network Security vs. Hillstone E-Series

Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point CloudGuard Network Security vs. Hillstone E-Series and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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