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Fortinet FortiClient vs Hillstone E-Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

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 FortiClient
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (11th), Endpoint Compliance (1st)
Hillstone E-Series
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
22nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (38th), SSL VPN (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 5.5%, down from 13.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 1.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiClient5.5%
Hillstone E-Series1.8%
Other92.7%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

KL
Senior Technical Manager at Flexaccel
Remote access has become seamless and secure while deployment remains simple for our users
Performance could be improved today. People are now moving toward SASE, which stands for Secure Access, Secure Edge Solution. Fortinet also has that offering, which would be easier since it operates through the cloud, acting as a first line of defense. When the user connects to the internet, they connect to the cloud first for posture assessment and monitoring before connecting to the outside world. The impact is significant because nowadays people are adopting SASE. During COVID time, many users were trying to connect back to their office, causing the performance or CPU utilization of the firewall to increase tremendously, which slowed down performance. I have not worked with endpoint telemetry in Fortinet FortiClient that could have been helpful for threat mitigation.
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

"Right now, my opinion is that FortiClient is very inexpensive for what it is."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"There is a lot of demand for this solution because it is an all-in-one solution with very high throughput, an easy-to-use interface, ease of management, advanced features, and very good analytics and cloud reporting."
"The EMS server gives us good control and central management."
"We use real-time threat detection for scanning files and antivirus. It's integrated with Fortinet FortiAnalyzer. When an endpoint is compromised, Fortinet FortiClient and FortiGate trigger to block and isolate the user on the network."
"It's easy to use, easy to deploy, and I have more visibility over my network that shows which users are connected to the firewalls, which users are connected to the network, and what they're accessing."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiClient are ease of use and simple configuration."
"This solution is very stable."
"Working with the Hillstone E-Series has, from a remote perspective, allowed me to give my clients a secure connectivity."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The installation is easy, we have not had any complaints from our customers."
"Five out of five ROI."
"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."
"The installation is easy, we have not had any complaints from our customers."
"With Hillstone, TCO and ROI are very good, it's an easy sale."
"Very reliable solution with good scalability and straightforward implementation."
 

Cons

"I would like Fortinet to improve FortiClient's compatibility with macOS."
"It just needs to stay more up to date in catching the malware."
"Fortinet FortiClient could improve the connection because sometimes it drops."
"The initial setup was probably more complex. The configuration was somewhat unclear."
"The current version of this solution does not show the malicious websites that have been visited. They should add this to an upcoming release."
"FortiClient is not communicating with the new version of the firewall."
"The features for application control and device control must be improved."
"The user interface is a bit sluggish and needs improvement."
"The solution doesn't have a web proxy built into the system like Sophos. This is something they should work to change."
"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."
"I am not sure if this solution offers active directory integration. Adding that feature will definitely be an advantage."
"The tool only had some memory-related problems."
"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."
"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is a six out of ten."
"FortiClient is costly."
"Fortinet FortiClient comes free with the purchase of the FortiGate solution. There is a license required for this solution. You later can upgrade from the free version which will allow more endpoints. The cost of the license subscription is based on how many endpoints you require."
"The solution's scalability is inexpensive."
"If we pay for the yearly package that includes the FortiGate firewall, then the FortiClient VPN license is included with it."
"The cost per port is very less as compared to the other technologies."
"Its pricing is good. One thing that has always attracted us to the Fortinet range of products is that their pricing is very competitive. Our particular licensing is on a yearly basis. However, as part of this project, we did pre-purchase three years of maintenance and support at a fairly significant discount."
"I don't have the licensing schema for the VPN solution because we just purchased the VPN gateway."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Construction Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

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's the difference between Fortinet's FortiEDR and FortiClient?
I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protection because it continually scans servers for emerging vulnerabilities, which gives...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiClient?
The solution is not cloud-based; it comes from the firewall itself.
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

FortiClient
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Bank of China Macao, Instituto Tecnológico Bolivariano, Ministry of Labor in San Salvador, FEDCO
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiClient vs. Hillstone E-Series and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,830 professionals have used our research since 2012.