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Fortinet FortiOS vs Hillstone CloudEdge 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

Fortinet FortiOS
Ranking in Firewalls
18th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Hillstone CloudEdge
Ranking in Firewalls
47th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiOS is 1.1%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone CloudEdge is 0.4%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiOS1.1%
Hillstone CloudEdge0.4%
Other98.5%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

MS
Associate Director IT Operations at Procento
Single-pane management has simplified firewall control and has improved risk mitigation
I would not say that Fortinet FortiOS is not very scalable. Generally, what happens is that for enterprises, we hire consultants who do the capacity planning and sizing to determine what kind of firewalls to put in place. At the same time, it is not only the number of users; it also depends on the number of WAN links coming in and everything, because we have been using Fortinet for bandwidth shaping and many other bandwidth-related functions. They should improve their machine learning AI capabilities of Fortinet FortiOS because there is too much competition. Other players are also improving and making a lot of changes in their UI and overall operating system.
Albert-Wang - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Consultant at SiS Technologies
Comprehensive cloud security with robust threat protection and VPN capabilities
Hillstone CloudEdge is compatible with all the mainstream public cloud providers, such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Alibaba Cloud. This solution has a unified OS system for security products, ensuring that the virtual firewall has similar features to the on-premise solutions. Important features include a VPN, VTech VPN, SSL VPN, QoS, antivirus, threat protection, and sandbox capabilities.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is a leader in security according to the Gartner Report and I recommend its use."
"It's probably one of the best devices you have for ROI, especially regarding the current security landscape that we are in with the current kinds of security threats and stuff flying around."
"A good network security system for medium-sized businesses with an excellent GUI interface that gives a graphic view of network status."
"Compared to other firewalls, the segmentation is much easier in FortiGate."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiOS are its simplicity, highly user-centric design, and strong performance, and the line speed for heavy traffic is helpful for us."
"We found the initial setup to be straightforward."
"The solution is very easy to configure and has a good interface, plus it offers more configuration options than other vendors."
"I have found the most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiOS is the low maintenance."
"I would recommend this product to any business that wants to protect its cloud environment, cloud server, or on-premises virtual servers."
"Hillstone CloudEdge is compatible with all the mainstream public cloud providers, such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Alibaba Cloud."
"The solution is very easy to download and configure. The initial setup was very easy. The technical support is very good."
"I'd rate the solution nine out of ten."
 

Cons

"The reporting and monitoring could improve, they have a lot of limitations. The monitoring is not easy compared to the other firewall."
"I believe there could be improvements in the Fortinet FortiOS operation system, such as better integration and a more centralized dashboard."
"There is some room for improvement in the support."
"Right now, we have to contend with CLI. We'd like it to be easier. We need the features to be in a UI."
"SD-WAN configuration could be easier."
"It would be great if they can push the Microsoft updates through Fortinet OS and provide a centralized patch management system. They should also include the data loss prevention (DLP) and data leakage prevention features. They could also add network monitoring more effectively."
"Right now, it's very trendy to integrate everything into the cloud. This solution would be more effective if they did more integration in that regard."
"The central management can improve in Fortinet FortiOS. It is sometimes difficult to manage all the devices."
"The solution needs more granular level reporting on system usage."
"There is room for improvement in AI features, particularly for zero-day attacks and providing maintenance guidance."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing for FortiOS is good, with a security license included when we update the main license."
"The price of Fortinet FortiOS is reasonable and it is paid annually. You are able to select the features that you want."
"Regarding the cost, the initial purchase is relatively cheap because it comes bundled. However, the subscription renewals can be quite expensive. The renewal costs are high, even though the initial purchase might include discounts."
"The pricing could always be lower."
"The solution is quite affordable and I rate the cost a four out of ten."
"The price of Fortinet FortiOS is comparable to other similar solutions on the market. We are on an annual license to use the solution."
"The software costs roughly half what the hardware costs. Overall, the product is expensive."
"FortiOS is affordable, but its price could be lower."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise23
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 kind of depends what you value most. PA is good at app control, web filtering a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiOS?
I rate the pricing for FortiOS as eight or nine out of ten. It is an affordable solution for us.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiOS?
I would not say that Fortinet FortiOS is not very scalable. Generally, what happens is that for enterprises, we hire consultants who do the capacity planning and sizing to determine what kind of fi...
What needs improvement with Hillstone CloudEdge?
There is room for improvement in AI features, particularly for zero-day attacks and providing maintenance guidance. More AI features would be beneficial.
What is your primary use case for Hillstone CloudEdge?
Our primary use case is to provide cloud-based security solutions for customers using public cloud platforms. We distribute Hillstone CloudEdge and work with its various solutions to ensure securit...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
LinkTime
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiOS vs. Hillstone CloudEdge and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.