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Fortinet FortiClient vs Hillstone E-Series comparison

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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
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (9th), Endpoint Compliance (1st)
Hillstone E-Series
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
19th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (40th), SSL VPN (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 4.6%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 1.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiClient4.6%
Hillstone E-Series1.9%
Other93.5%
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

"The solution's most valuable feature is its integration capabilities. The processing is fast and the reporting is also very good."
"This solution makes it easier to work from home."
"We are going through a growth spurt, buying up many little offices, and FortiClient integrated with VeloCloud allows us to convert them fast, and that's our end game."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"We like its centralized administration, integration with Active Directory, deployment, and stability of the connection."
"This is a solid and stable solution."
"The most valuable features are malware detection, integrates well with other solutions, and ease of use for all users."
"Fortinet FortiClient offers easy deployment and ease of use, unlike other solutions where significant installations on the user computer are sometimes required."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the ransomware protection that the tool offers."
"The installation is easy, we have not had any complaints from our customers."
"The most valuable features of the Hillstone E-Series are its hardware capacity, innovation, and the throughput that the hardware can take."
"If an organization is not looking for a web proxy, it's a very, very good product."
"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."
"Very reliable solution with good scalability and straightforward implementation."
"With Hillstone, TCO and ROI are very good, it's an easy sale."
 

Cons

"I haven't found that the solution does anything amazing; there is nothing special about it."
"The support can be improved. They have room to improve by deploying more support resources."
"In the next release, I would like to see an additional layer of security added."
"Sometimes users stay on the old version of FortiClient. When new releases are not compatible, I need to reinstall newer versions, which can be problematic."
"The documentation of this product could be improved."
"In terms of improvements, their SSL VPN tunnel can be a lot better."
"There should be more frequent releases or updates."
"As far as I can tell, the solution only has one single function, so they could expand its functionality."
"The tool needs to improve its price."
"The current usage reporting is very basic. I would like to be able to access more granular data."
"The tool only had some memory-related problems."
"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 room for improvement would be the SSL VPN license cost."
"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."
"I am not sure if this solution offers active directory integration. Adding that feature will definitely be an advantage."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"FortiClient is quite reasonably priced."
"Fortinet requires you to buy a lot of product in order for you to have proper protection."
"The pricing is a six out of ten."
"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten."
"The solution is not expensive. We need more discounted rates in Pakistan. The price of the solution could be reduced to be more affordable for the solution."
"Generally, Fortinet is not cheap. The features that are available for free are only for FortiClient VPN clients, not other solutions. It includes web security, antivirus, and one more feature."
"The licensing fee varies with what one is trying to accomplish. It can range from being free to costing several hundred thousand dollars per year."
"The price of the solution depends on the type of firewall you have from FortiGate. I am satisfied with the price of the solution."
"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."
"Hillstone's pricing is economical and neither very high nor very low."
"The cost per year for licensing, and hardware, is approximately $850 for the basic plan."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

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: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.