Fortinet FortiOS vs Hillstone E-Series comparison

Fortinet and Hillstone Networks are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Fortinet is ranked #21 with an average rating of 8.6, while Hillstone Networks is ranked #35 with an average rating of 8.0. Fortinet holds a 1.2% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Hillstone Networks’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Hillstone Networks users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Fortinet FortiOS and Hillstone E-Series are prominent security products competing in network security. Hillstone E-Series seems to have the upper hand due to its superior features, and users consider it worth the higher price.

Features: Fortinet FortiOS offers a comprehensive suite with robust security measures, efficient threat management, and versatile VPN support. Hillstone E-Series provides advanced threat detection, easy integration with other systems, and deep packet inspection. Hillstone's advanced features give it an edge here.

Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiOS needs better reporting tools, enhanced policy management functionality, and improved user interface. Hillstone E-Series requires more detailed documentation, stability improvements, and enhanced scalability options. Fortinet's fundamental improvements in day-to-day use are more critical.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiOS is straightforward to deploy with responsive customer service. Hillstone E-Series also gets good marks for deployment but has mixed reviews on customer service responsiveness. Fortinet leads slightly in customer service, making it a more user-friendly option.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiOS is cost-effective with good ROI according to user reviews. Hillstone E-Series, though more expensive, is seen as worth the investment due to its high-level features and long-term benefits. While Fortinet FortiOS offers better upfront value, Hillstone E-Series delivers more in terms of long-term ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiOS vs. Hillstone E-Series Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS vs. Hillstone E-Series

July 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 865,384 peers since 2012

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

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.8%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiOS is 1.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

Read full review

Harshama Silva

Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd

We have improved network security with user-friendly controls and high threat intelligence

FortiOS is very user-friendly and easy to configure for L1, L2, and L3 personnel. Its web filtering, application control, and IPS features are very user-friendly, easy to manage, and deploy. The threat intelligence in FortiOS is very high, and the system is scalable without additional licensing costs. FortiOS allows us to expand the number of users and devices as our network needs grow.

Read full review

TahirMahmood

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"There are many features packed and significant flexibility from Fortinet FortiGate in being able to do numerous things."

"The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was straightforward."

"UTM/NGFW features and FortiCloud for logs and backups are awesome."

"We can detect any attack of viruses or malware at the first point of contact."

"For the performance they provide, the price is acceptable."

"The most valuable feature is the ease of configuration."

"It increases security posture and is helpful for firewall reporting, intrusion protection, web filtering, and SD-WAN implementation."

"The network security and cloud security are most valuable."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"I have found the most valuable features to be the policies, cache, and the SD-WAN."

"The solution is very user friendly."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiOS are the granular control and their interoperability is good."

"The solution is very easy to configure and has a good interface, plus it offers more configuration options than other vendors."

"Performance-wise, I think FortiOS is much better than its Juniper counterpart. Based on our actual experience and performance metrics, FortiOS-based products are much better than Juniper."

"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiOS network segregation, UTM, and antivirus, freight management protection, such as DDoS. Additionally, the CLI and the GUI are easy to use. The architecture makes sense, and the command in the CLI are organized well. They have quite a lot of features are easy to use, and are user-friendly. Any novice can use Fortinet FortiOS without an issue."

"The most important features of Fortinet FortiOS are the ability to block and make white and black lists. Additionally, the filtering of user access to websites is useful."

"FortiGate as a product is very easy to configure."

More Fortinet FortiOS pros

"The installation is easy, we have not had any complaints from our customers."

"The most valuable feature of the Hillstone E-Series is its user-friendliness."

"This solution has two main features that we find very valuable; a threat-intelligence option, and a web/application filtering option. The technical support team are very good and very quick."

"Working with the Hillstone E-Series has, from a remote perspective, allowed me to give my clients a secure connectivity."

"Very reliable solution with good scalability and straightforward implementation."

"Five out of five ROI."

"The most valuable features of the Hillstone E-Series are its hardware capacity, innovation, and the throughput that the hardware can take."

"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."

More Hillstone E-Series pros

Cons

"The solution could be improved by addressing limited local reporting. It requires obtaining the FortiAnalyzer for proper visibility because you can't do much from a reporting perspective with just the firewall alone."

"The pricing could be reduced or include the first year warranty."

"We faced difficulties with the configuration because there are many features we could optimize using Fortinet FortiGate, but our reseller didn't have a good understanding of it. So, we just use it on a basic level, not with the best practice for using FortiGate."

"The ease of use could be improved."

"The solution can have more features in a single box that can be multi-applied to integrate everything."

"The user interface could be improved."

"One of the problems I was having was with user mapping, and it is an issue for which I have escalated tickets with Fortinet support."

"I would prefer to have more detailed logs within the FortiGate products themselves rather than relying on a separate tool."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"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."

"For monitoring purposes, we don't have any option to monitor the ISP link."

"The additional features I would like to see included in the next release is better troubleshooting and reporting."

"I want to see a better integration or a better integration with the endpoint protection or with EDR with the security life cycle."

"Fortinet FortiOS can improve the monitoring function, it could be more accurate, easy to use, and understandable."

"Stability is a seven out of ten because during version migrations, and sometimes with new versions, Fortinet is not as good. Palo Alto is more stable than Fortinet, but this depends on the configuration."

"Right now, all the features meet my requirements."

"The threat time interval lags a little, especially if there's a heavy load on the firewall."

More Fortinet FortiOS cons

"The current usage reporting is very basic."

"The tool only had some memory-related problems."

"The tool needs to improve its price."

"Having frequent live webinars on a monthly basis would really help."

"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."

"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."

"Support from Hillstone E-Series has a shortcoming that needs improvement."

More Hillstone E-Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I do not have first-hand experience with the rice of Fortinet FortiGate, but I have heard the price was reasonable."

"The price of FortiGate support is too expensive."

"The price of FortiGate is good."

"The cost of Fortinet FortiGate is competitive and not expensive compared to other enterprise- grade solutions. On average, the license cost per year is around seventy percent of the firewall's purchase price."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is affordable. Most of our customers are on a three-year license to use the solution. All the features and support are included in the price."

"Fortinet FortiGate has different licensing models, depending on what you're going to do. Services included would depend on the license model. Licenses can be renewed annually."

"When you look at these end security systems and firewalls, these firewalls even five years ago were $50,000 or perhaps $25,000 to implement in some types of customer sites. Now we're talking about tools that are $1,000. In this case, it might have been $500 or something like that."

"The pricing is flexible."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is competitive for the medium and high markets but for the small markets it can be expensive."

"The price of Fortinet FortiOS has been reasonable."

"Be sure to choose a licensing plan that leaves a little headroom so performance is not an issue."

"The cost is around $40,000."

"A yearly subscription might be around $20,000 to $30,000."

"FortiOS is affordable, but its price could be lower."

"The support contracts are usually about $100 - $200 a device."

"The solution is cost effective. I would rate the pricing a five out of ten."

More Fortinet FortiOS pricing and cost advice

"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."

"The cost per year for licensing, and hardware, is approximately $850 for the basic plan."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

Comms Service Provider

15%

Computer Software Company

11%

Non Profit

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...

See all answers

What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiOS?

The SSL VPN is fee for use is most attractive.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What do you like most about Hillstone E-Series?

The most valuable feature of the Hillstone E-Series is its user-friendliness.

See all answers

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 fire...

See all answers

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 w...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Fortinet FortiManager vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 9% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 4% of the time

Darktrace vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiOS Competitors

OpenVPN Access Server Enterprise vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 19% of the time

Hillstone A-Series vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 14% of the time

Sophos XG vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 8% of the time

Sangfor SSL VPN vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 6% of the time

A10 Networks Thunder CFW vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 5% of the time

More Hillstone E-Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

August 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS

August 2025

Download Fortinet FortiOS product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

August 2025

Download Hillstone E-Series product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

Fortinet FortiOS is a comprehensive security operating system that powers Fortinet's network security solutions. It provides advanced threat protection, network visibility, and centralized management for organizations of all sizes. With its robust features and intuitive interface, FortiOS enables businesses to secure their networks, applications, and data from cyber threats.

One of the key features of FortiOS is its advanced threat protection capabilities. It incorporates multiple security technologies, including firewall, antivirus, intrusion prevention system (IPS), and web filtering, to detect and block a wide range of threats. This ensures that organizations are protected against malware, ransomware, and other malicious activities. FortiOS also offers extensive network visibility, allowing organizations to monitor and analyze network traffic in real-time. This visibility enables businesses to identify potential security risks, detect anomalies, and take proactive measures to mitigate threats.

Additionally, FortiOS provides detailed reports and analytics, helping organizations gain insights into their network security posture. Centralized management is another crucial aspect of FortiOS. It allows businesses to manage and configure their security policies, devices, and users from a single console. This simplifies the management process and ensures consistent security across the entire network infrastructure.

Moreover, FortiOS supports integration with other Fortinet products, enabling seamless security orchestration and automation. FortiOS is designed to be scalable and flexible, making it suitable for organizations of all sizes. It offers a range of deployment options, including physical appliances, virtual machines, and cloud-based solutions. This flexibility allows businesses to choose the deployment model that best fits their requirements and easily scale their security infrastructure as their needs evolve.

Fortinet

Hillstone E-Series is a comprehensive network security solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats. It offers a range of features including a firewall, intrusion prevention system (IPS), virtual private network (VPN), and application control.

With its advanced threat intelligence capabilities, E-Series can detect and prevent sophisticated attacks, ensuring the security of critical data and systems. It also provides granular control over applications, allowing organizations to enforce policies and optimize network performance.

E-Series is easy to deploy and manage, with a user-friendly interface and centralized management console. It offers high-performance throughput and scalability, making it suitable for small businesses to large enterprises. With its robust security features and ease of use, Hillstone E-Series is an ideal choice for organizations looking to enhance their network security posture.

Hillstone Networks

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

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

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS vs. Hillstone E-Series

July 2025

Free Report: Fortinet FortiOS vs. Hillstone E-Series

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiOS vs. Hillstone E-Series and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Fortinet FortiOS vs. Hillstone E-Series report.

See our list of best Firewalls vendors.

We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.