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Darktrace vs Hillstone S-Series Network Intrusion Prevention System comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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

Darktrace
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (11th), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (1st), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (6th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (11th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (11th), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (4th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (4th), AI Observability (12th)
Hillstone S-Series Network ...
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
23rd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Darktrace is 10.0%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone S-Series Network Intrusion Prevention System is 2.3%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Darktrace10.0%
Hillstone S-Series Network Intrusion Prevention System2.3%
Other87.7%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Pasan Jayarathna - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Cyberwell Solution
Monitoring has improved data loss detection and now spots abnormal internal file transfers quickly
In my understanding, the best feature Darktrace offers is the identification of copying files, which acts as a DLP, and it is a main concern for companies because users sometimes copy data outside without knowing, especially those without a technical background. When I mention the DLP-like feature and file copying detection, the alerts have been very timely, as we get an alert within a couple of minutes, which is excellent. Even if some developers are working after hours and copying files, our SOC team detects this, and most of the time they call us so we can identify the users. The alerts are quite accurate and proactive.
reviewer1080873 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Complements any firewall
The core processors are there and it's able to generate reports for that. It also complements any kind of firewall. For example, if an end user is using Palo Alto as a firewall, they'd need another layer of firewall like the S-Series that will protect internal servers. It's something that complements any firewall in the market.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Its most valuable feature is its ability to identify malicious connected IPs from outside and the attacks that get through to the inside."
"The solution is powerful and very useful, it has the ability to avert many attacks."
"The most valuable feature is that it gives us visibility of rogue traffic that is on the network."
"The models, triggers, and alerts are customizable."
"They've worked hard to be the top security control in terms of AI and machine learning, and their product works well."
"You can have a one-person IT team and with Darktrace, you can get notification of potential threats that are incoming or are already happening on the network."
"The solution is outstanding from a monitoring perspective."
"I am a very happy user and a happy seller of Darktrace."
"Setup is straightforward with the same reliability and scalability as the firewall series."
 

Cons

"The pricing needs improvement."
"The interface is too mathematical and it should be simplified."
"This product needs more in terms of prevention."
"The user interface and the configuration are a bit complex and should be improved or simplified."
"The Darktrace Mobile app needs improvement as it's currently limited in functionality, and the learning AI takes a while to adapt to new devices, flagging new users as threats for up to a month before recognizing them as regular network users."
"Upper management wasn't sold on the value proposition."
"The module can improve so that every time it's more intelligent."
"This is quite an expensive product so the pricing is something that can be improved."
"Lack of tools to help educate end users"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is moderate."
"Darktrace is expensive. You can pay for the license yearly."
"The pricing is subscription-based and it is high."
"The pricing is quite high, estimated at around $350,000 per year."
"It was $3,600 a month or $2,000 plus or so. I am not sure. Its licensing is pretty simple."
"There is an annual license to use Darktrace."
"All of the other modules, such as the licensing modules, are on par. It's one for one."
"The tool's pricing is costly."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise29
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?
Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing user interface that makes setup easy and seamless. CrowdStrike Falcon offers a cl...
Which is better - SentinelOne or Darktrace?
Which solution is better depends on which is more suitable specifically for your company. Darktrace, for example, is meant for smaller to medium-sized businesses. It is also a good option for organ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Darktrace?
Concerning pricing for the product, I would say it is somewhat expensive.
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Also Known As

No data available
Hillstone S-Series NIPS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Irwin Mitchell, Open Energi, Wellcome Trust, FirstGroup plc, Virgin Trains, Drax, QUI! Group, DNK, CreaCard, Macrosynergy, Sisley, William Hill plc, Toyota Canada, Royal British Legion, Vitol, Allianz, KKR, AIRBUS, dpd, Billabong, Mclaren Group.
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Find out what your peers are saying about Darktrace, Fortinet, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS). Updated: October 2026.
921,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.