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Cisco Meraki MX vs Hillstone E-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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Meraki MX
Ranking in Firewalls
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (6th)
Hillstone E-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
40th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (10th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (20th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki MX is 3.5%, up from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 0.8%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Meraki MX3.5%
Hillstone E-Series0.8%
Other95.7%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

SG
Technical Presales at Vcom Technologies
Cloud-based solution simplifies network management with excellent support
There have been no issues with stability after deployment. There have been no complaints. For stability, I would suggest that Cisco Meraki MX is the most stable device from the security processor. Regarding content filtering features, we are using content filtering and malware access, along with all security features in Cisco Meraki MX9500. We have received good feedback from customers because since installing Cisco Meraki MX9500, we have not received any complaints. There have been no outages, no stability issues, and we have not found any vulnerabilities during security audits. It is compatible with all different OEMs, and for VPN, site-to-site VPN has been configured with other firewalls as well. We are getting very good responses from customers as there have been no complaints where we have deployed Cisco Meraki MX9500.
TahirMahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most powerful function of Cisco Meraki MX is the cloud-managed platform, where you can manage all Meraki products through a single dashboard, making it an all-in-one solution that provides analytics and management from one place."
"I assess the stability and reliability of Cisco Meraki MX as outstanding; they stand behind their product completely, and if something doesn't work, they send you another one, and I have had zero downtime at all with Cisco Meraki MX, as the product is rock solid."
"The solution is good for load balancing."
"It's a good solution; if they're looking for something that is easy to use, easy to deploy, and easy to support, maybe they should consider Meraki, given the product is very stable."
"I like the automatic firmware updates. We use the Active Directory to authenticate VPN users."
"One improvement from Meraki is security; it improves security in our network and we don't have any problems with receiving intrusion alerts now."
"I would describe my experience with deploying Cisco Meraki MX as seamless."
"The solution is very well-rated."
"With Hillstone, TCO and ROI are very good, it's an easy sale."
"The most valuable feature of the Hillstone E-Series is its user-friendliness."
"Very reliable solution with good scalability and straightforward implementation."
"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the ransomware protection that the tool offers."
"Five out of five ROI."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Working with the Hillstone E-Series has, from a remote perspective, allowed me to give my clients secure connectivity from a remote location to their offices or their servers."
 

Cons

"I do not have the kind of feature I need for SSL decryption in Meraki MX. It would be great to see the SSL decryption feature in Meraki MX."
"The current lead time is longer for Meraki MX, and it needs to be improved."
"The price could be reduced by around 30% to make it more comfortable."
"I think Cisco Meraki MX can be improved by seeing more of Layer 7 firewall functions as opposed to just Layer 3."
"When we do API integrations with Meraki, they have always been hard as well as tedious to build. The data that we want out of the API integrations has been only recently available. Six months ago, it was hard to get someone to build something correctly or useful with Meraki APIs. Recently, they have made more data available on the API, but it is just a start. They need to do more."
"More detail is needed for configuration of the VPN."
"It is very expensive."
"Meraki has some hidden features and information that is only privy to their engineers."
"The room for improvement would be the SSL VPN license cost."
"I am not sure if this solution offers active directory integration. Adding that feature will definitely be an advantage."
"Support from Hillstone E-Series has a shortcoming that needs improvement."
"Having frequent live webinars on a monthly basis would really help."
"The solution doesn't have a web proxy built into the system like Sophos. This is something they should work to change."
"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."
"The tool needs to improve its price."
"The licensing model is very complex with many subcategories of licenses you can purchase. They could make it more simplified for customers to understand."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think the price is comparable with other solutions of the same kind. Depending on the use case it could be cheaper or more expensive, I think it offers good value."
"It is a good global solution in terms of the price and features, but because we sell this solution in dollars, sometimes we don't get to sell this solution in Brazil because the dollar is very expensive. The price of every project is different. It varies depending upon the project, scenario, and client."
"The product is a little expensive."
"The license cost depends on the box. We acquired a different product line. We are dealing with MX appliance now, that is, MX6, MX54, MX100, MX250, MX450. Every box has got an identity, and it has got its own specification. Every box has got a different license fee. We deployed Meraki MX in UAE when it was not a mature product. We took a risk, but we were successful. We saved a huge amount of money after implementing and removing all the MPLS and leased lines. We got a broadband connection because Meraki MX could work on a broadband connection. We have drastically saved a very good amount of money, which was one of the successful things apart from the successful solution."
"Meraki is the best option — based on the price and the features available."
"The product’s pricing depends on the discount Cisco gives to different people."
"The price is slightly increased, but reasonable."
"Meraki MX is an expensive solution."
"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."
"Hillstone's pricing is economical and neither very high nor very low."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Construction Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

Fortigate 60d vs. Meraki MX67 for a small company without a dedicated IT Department
We have Meraki Mx devices now, we are looking to replace them. But that is because the Meraki MX platform lacks SSL Inspection, Granular Firewall rules (Block only, no allow setting), client vpn re...
Which is better - Meraki MX or Cisco ASA Firewall?
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the operating software for the Cisco ASA suite. It supports network security and firewall options. We researched both Meraki and ASA. We liked t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki MX?
I don't even look at the cost of Cisco Meraki MX; I let the accountants deal with that.
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 ...
 

Also Known As

MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hyatt, ONS
Bank of China Macao, Instituto Tecnológico Bolivariano, Ministry of Labor in San Salvador, FEDCO
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki MX vs. Hillstone E-Series and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,099 professionals have used our research since 2012.