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Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Hillstone T-Series comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 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 FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
591
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Fortinet FortiGate-VM
Ranking in Firewalls
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
143
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Hillstone T-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
42nd
Average Rating
7.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 16.0%, down from 21.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate-VM is 2.1%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone T-Series is 0.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate16.0%
Fortinet FortiGate-VM2.1%
Hillstone T-Series0.5%
Other81.4%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Abhinandan Yadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd
Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches
Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.
KO
Network Administrator at THK Co Ltd
Faced hardware limitations and setup challenges but have improved network protection over time
I spent much time finding exact firmware on Aruba which was working with these guns, but it is not optimal because it is not the latest version, so there could be potential security problems. We decided to replace those access points with another one. I personally have trouble because I don't know the exact life cycle of Fortinet FortiGate-VM boxes. I don't know if the life of boxes is five years or something else; we moved from our previous company, which sold us to other companies. Before 10 years, we had a special department that took care of core networks, including firewalls. After that, this responsibility fell to me and my colleague. It is not easy to set up these Fortinet FortiGate-VM boxes properly because we didn't have previous experience with this kind of solution. At first, we set up only a few rules that were not secure enough, and over a couple of years, we improved the settings and security of these Fortinet FortiGate-VM boxes. Currently, I have one Fortinet FortiGate-VM that needs to be replaced next year, and this box is not so powerful, so I need to redirect some traffic to another Fortinet FortiGate-VM. It is stable, but because the CPU processor of this box is not powerful, I need to redirect some traffic to another box. In the future, I need to choose a higher-level box to prevent potential troubles with the power of this box.
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

"Its performance in fulfilling our requirements has been satisfactory."
"The product is very user-friendly, it is quite scalable, I love the interface, the power is great, and I have a limited embedded team in IT with one man on the team for 1,000 users who can manage all the infrastructure due to the fact that the console is very easy, and the people are very happy with the results pertaining to that interface."
"Provides good VPN capabilities."
"Overall, this is a very good solution and I personally haven't had any problems with it."
"The overall features of Fortinet FortiGate SWG are good."
"The most important features of Fortinet FortiGate are the Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) and firewall control applications."
"The network security and cloud security are most valuable."
"We have used multiple WAN ASPs and set up SD-WAN; it's quite interesting and user-friendly; essentially, anyone can configure it—just go through the documentation and you'll be able to set it up directly."
"Our main ROI has been the extra stability on our network - since we implemented this solution, we haven't had any major attacks."
"What I appreciate the most about Fortinet FortiGate-VM is that it is not much different than hardware appliances."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the web filters, as we are using them mostly; our content is condition-based, so we are accessing the websites by using the web filters."
"The user interface, stability, and scalability are the most valuable features."
"I like FortiGate's IPS, IDS, and URL filtering."
"While the stability maybe isn't quite to the level of Cisco, it is a very cost-effective solution. It's cheap compared to Cisco."
"That's primarily why we steer clients in the direction of Fortinet."
"FortiGate integrates well."
"Hillstone supports IOT setup and detecting intrusions from IOT or CCTV connectivity, and with this solution, we can also detect unauthorized devices plugged into the CCTV network and sound the alarm to the administrator."
"We installed Hillstone T-Series after a ransomware attack. The dashboard and user interface are very good."
"We found some limitations with Fortinet FortiGate, and we are satisfied with Hillstone T-Series right now."
"It has been stable so far."
"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

"It takes a long time to install the solution."
"Fortinet Fortigate could benefit by simplifying some of their processes."
"There have been several vulnerabilities in the firewall. It is hackable, some of the images are hackable."
"The solution’s stability could be improved because we sometimes faced some drops."
"IPs are not handled well and the process is unnecessarily complicated."
"There could be more modifications."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS could improve the VPN. There are times it is slow."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by adding enhancements to FortiMail, FortiSOAR, and FortiDeceptor."
"To improve FortiGate-VM, Fortinet needs to harden it more."
"It would be useful to have integration with different reporting tools; this is something we are sorely missing."
"It has a monitoring tool, but it could be improved."
"The technical support could improve. They took approximately one month to solve a firewire issue to update."
"The price model is not transparent by any means and should be made more clear."
"Now they do have the ability to pop up a command line, which is nice, however, the fact that you can't do everything within the GUI is probably a problem."
"Right now, we have two data centers that are a thousand kilometers apart. It would be nice to be able to string them together."
"The user interface could be improved."
"They have a very good technical support team, but I think there are some communication issues due to language differences."
"They have a very good technical support team, but I think there are some communication issues due to language differences."
"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."
"Licensing is not cheap."
"Licensing is not cheap, but there are customers who will buy because they understand that this has a cost involved and they will cater their budget for that."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It could be more competitive and cost-effective."
"The product is a little bit expensive."
"The solution is more expensive than Sophos. It could be cheaper. The licensing is on a yearly basis. We have had it for about three years. We must only pay extra for the license, additional requirements, and the hardware box."
"The price is fair compared to the other competitors."
"FortiGate SWG is reasonably priced."
"If we have an older version, the support costs get quite high."
"There is a subscription-based model to use Fortinet FortiGate. We pay annually for the solution along with the support. If you want to have all the updates, and security patches you will need to renew your support."
"It was pretty affordable. We did go a little bit above MSRP, but the service pack that was included was quite worth the additional costs. It is competitively priced compared to other major players in the market. It is significantly cheaper than Check Point, which is a primary competitor. Additionally, its pricing is comparable to that of Cisco's ASA and a few other vendors."
"We are on an annual license for this solution and it could be cheaper."
"We have been waiting a long time for the vendor to give us licenses, it has been five months and we are still waiting. However, the price is reasonable."
"The tool is neither expensive nor cheap, so it is okay."
"Installation does not require another license making it an inexpensive solution."
"The best part of Fortinet is the license is bundled together, so it is easy to use and apply."
"On a scale of one to ten, where ten is very expensive, I rate the solution around two or three. I think the solution's prices are okay, considering the services and features they offer."
"There should be a reduction in the setup price and licensing costs."
"I rate the product price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price."
"We got a much cheaper price than that provided by Fortinet right now."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Media Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business367
Midsize Enterprise135
Large Enterprise193
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business72
Midsize Enterprise34
Large Enterprise39
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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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 ...
Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls
In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...
Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?
Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGate-VM?
From our perspective, it's quite good. When we have the visibility, we will make our policies depending on the threat...
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Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
FortiGate Virtual Appliance, FortiGate-VM
Hillstone T-Series Intelligent Next-Generation Firewalls, Hillstone iNGFW
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Security7 Networks, COOPENAE
University of Córdoba
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. Hillstone T-Series and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,668 professionals have used our research since 2012.