Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Fortinet FortiGate vs Hillstone T-Series 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) is 3.0%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.7%, down from 20.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone T-Series is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate18.7%
Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW)3.0%
Hillstone T-Series0.2%
Other78.1%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

San Naing Htun - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Has improved threat prevention and protection but presents deployment and licensing challenges
The best features Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) offers are AI-powered threat prevention, zero-day protection, unified management, and scalability. These features have helped me in my daily work or my organization by allowing us, as a SAAS company operating across AWS, Azure, and handling external partner access or a multi-tenant model, to preemptively stop unknown attacks, which is critical. Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) has positively impacted my organization as it is a high-end enterprise grade firewall. I have noticed that it is very good if your SAAS business has high traffic volume, serious threat prevention requirements, and you are ready for the investment.
Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
TahirMahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at Zubair Feeds
Is stable and has a user-friendly dashboard and a good interface
We installed Hillstone T-Series after a ransomware attack. The dashboard and user interface are very good We cannot secure a specific IP class with this firewall. Another loophole with Hillstone T-Series is that when we connect through WiFi and turn our hot spot on, all who connect through the…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can build the new firewalls with minimum efforts."
"I have not had an infected machine behind the firewall since I first installed and started using NGFW."
"The interface allows us to quickly adapt to new security requirements and maintain compliance with organizational policies."
"The most valuable features are application control, regulation, and threat prevention."
"The activation of additional features is very easy and well documented."
"Policy configuration has been consistent over the years, so there is not much of a learning curve as upgrades are released."
"Configuration and deploying are easy."
"My favorite feature is the UTM piece and that was the main reason we bought it. It helps us to fine tune the network."
"FortiGate has led to a reduction in our security budget."
"Previously, we were using another firewall device, Sophos. Compared to that, Fortinet FortiGate provides more features and better security."
"It's a user-friendly firewall. Most of the tasks are very simple. It's simple to configure and troubleshoot this firewall."
"Advanced routing (RIP, OSPF, BGP, PBR). It gives you a seamless and simple integration into a large network."
"Initial setup is straightforward. There weren't too many issues with setting it up. It takes one hour or so."
"Whenever we raise a complaint with FortiGate, their response and resolution times are minimal."
"The solution is easy to configure and maintain remotely."
"It's simple to operate and use."
"It has been stable so far."
"We installed Hillstone T-Series after a ransomware attack. The dashboard and user interface are very good."
"The only firewall able to monitor traffic from a CCTV network. Can detect unauthorized devices plugged into the network, which standard firewalls can't do."
 

Cons

"The training for Check Point Firewall should increase, including the number of Training Centers. For most new people in our organization, we have to provide them training from our end, as they are not trained in Check Point Firewalls. So, we have to do the training, from our point of view, to make our engineers able to use Check Point Firewalls. However, with other firewalls, they are already trained, so we are not require to provide them training. This could be improved by the Check Point Community."
"The product could provide an easier user interface and management, by combining all functions (network and policy configuration) into one single application rather than split it into different applications."
"In terms of what could be improved, I would say the application control and the visibility. I'd like granularity where you can have all the levels of policies that are defined, including the intel threat. It depends on what kind of intel threat the company has."
"The SmartUpdate interface is a little bit crowded if your company has a lot of software items."
"The predefined reports are limited and should provide more information. Check Point should provide a greater number of defined reports and produce reports for each division of the organization."
"The issues with Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) are mainly related to reliability. It depends significantly on the hotfix version of the gateway."
"Unfortunately, as is the case with many big companies, new features seem to always be more important than fixing the last little bugs that affect only a minor customer base."
"When you want to open the gateway by double-clicking on the interface, sometimes it can cause silly problems such as freezing."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a firewall solution and once it's deployed, you can rest assured that your system is secure."
"Two-way inspections are not possible in FortiGate."
"I have contacted the support from Fortinet FortiGate IPS. The service was good but the speed could be better."
"From a pricing perspective, I would rate them a six."
"Fortinet FortiGate can improve by integrating the web application firewall and the DDoS protection part of the solution. Having a WAF feature, web application firewall, and proxy together would be a good benefit."
"The learning curve is a bit higher."
"One of the most important areas for improvement for Fortinet FortiGate is the limited resources for tests. I was limited to a few interfaces for one month, and it would be great if Fortinet could improve these features in their test versions."
"For Fortinet FortiGate, their code development would definitely be something they need to improve on to reduce vulnerabilities that need to be patched."
"They have a very good technical support team, but I think there are some communication issues due to language differences."
"Licensing is not cheap."
"Another loophole with Hillstone T-Series is that when we connect through WiFi and turn our hot spot on, all who connect through the hotspot get all the functions, and the security does not work."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is a little high compared to competitive firewalls, but it is easy to go through the licensing steps."
"The pricing for Check Point depends on your environment."
"The price of Check Point is lower than Palo Alto but higher than Cisco ASA."
"The tool's price is reasonable in case you are not using it in a high-load environment."
"We pay $5,000-$6,000 a year."
"I have done licensing and contracts for multiple firewalls. The license and contract configuration is completely fine, but if it is possible to make them cost a bit less, then this would be better."
"The licensing fees are paid on a monthly basis and I am happy with the pricing."
"The pricing is a bit high, but obviously it gives you advanced features. If you want to buy the best thing on the market, you have to pay extra money."
"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
"It has been two years. I don't remember the actual price, but it was affordable. We buy the boxes and then use the license for three years."
"The pricing is better compared to other solutions like Check Point, Arista, or Cisco."
"The licensing costs are very competitive."
"When I look around at other products, such as Sophos, Fortinet FortiGate is 20% to 30% more expensive with our current cost."
"The licensing costs are very low."
"It is around $50,000 per month."
"There is a license to use Fortinet FortiGate."
"On a scale from one to ten, with one being low and ten being high price, I would rate the price of Hillstone T-Series at three. There are no additional costs other than renewal costs."
"We got a much cheaper price than that provided by Fortinet right now."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.
881,821 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business160
Midsize Enterprise95
Large Enterprise198
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business357
Midsize Enterprise133
Large Enterprise189
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does Check Point NGFW compare with Fortinet Fortigate?
I have experience on both from Disti and channel experience. Please find below my comments (nothing new as such). -Ch...
Which would you recommend - Azure Firewall or Check Point NGFW?
Azure Firewall is easy to use and provides excellent support. Valuable features include integration into the overall ...
What do you like most about Check Point NGFW?
Check Point NGFW provides essential security, featuring no-obligation access for secure connections, strong intrusion...
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...
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...
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 ...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Check Point NG Firewall, Check Point Next Generation Firewall
Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
Hillstone T-Series Intelligent Next-Generation Firewalls, Hillstone iNGFW
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Control Southern, Optimal Media
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
University of Córdoba
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Netgate, Sophos and others in Firewalls. Updated: January 2026.
881,821 professionals have used our research since 2012.