Hillstone A-Series vs SonicWall NSSP comparison

Hillstone Networks and SonicWall are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Hillstone Networks is ranked #46, while SonicWall is ranked #32 with an average rating of 9.3. Hillstone Networks holds a 0.2% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to SonicWall’s 0.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Hillstone Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Hillstone A-Series and SonicWall NSSP based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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Firewalls

November 2025

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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 November 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 19.9%, up from 19.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone A-Series is 0.2%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSSP is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	19.9%
SonicWall NSSP	0.1%
Hillstone A-Series	0.2%
Other	79.8%

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.

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Albert-Wang

Technical Consultant at SiS Technologies

Good performance, responsive support, and an easy setup

We use the product for small and medium-sized businesses. Their scalability is good. They have a lot of choices based on their performance. Even on one unit, they have multiple ports to support customers so that they can connect to different devices. I'd rate the scalability nine out of ten.

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SyedTaha

Head of IT and Information Security at GLEEDS USA INC

Support has resolved concerns promptly and security tools have strengthened intrusion prevention and access control

The service we received from SonicWall NSSP and their distributors has been excellent. Every time I have had a concern, they have resolved it in a single call. The interface of SonicWall NSSP console is user-friendly with comprehensive features. The web filtering and access control policy are top priorities for me. It is very effective because it prevents any indecent behaviors in the network or from outside the network. Half of the task is completed by the intelligence based on the behavior. Installation was easy because our infrastructure has minimal requirements. For expanded infrastructure, support from a SonicWall NSSP technical team may be required. We have implemented it on our own.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"For application filtration, I really appreciate many features of Fortinet FortiGate because it is more reliable, easy to use, and the reports are easy to read and understand."

"The main benefit I have seen from using Fortinet FortiGate is the protection it offers because I can see threats that come through in real-time, and if they are blocked, I can see that."

"The response is very quick and they can visually resolve our problems in a short period."

"The antivirus, malware, anti-malware, anti-spam, IP VPN connections, and firewall rules bring the most value for me and my clients."

"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is the IPS or IDS implementation."

"Fortinet FortiGate has many valuable features, such as IDS, and intrusion detection. It has security features that are in part with the technologies that are available in the market."

"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is value for money."

"The reporting and monitoring are very good."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The antivirus is very good."

"The product's most valuable features are simplicity and comprehensive protection capabilities, including load balancing, IPS, antivirus, and web filtering."

"The service we received from SonicWall NSSP and their distributors has been excellent; every time I have had a concern, they have resolved it in a single call."

"SonicWall NSSP is stable and scalable too."

"I like the filtering feature, which provides easy access. The SSL certification feature is also nice. The solution enhanced our security posture."

"It has been delivering results efficiently. Its configurations and updates have been easy. It is also user-friendly."

"SonicWall has helped us deliver security solutions effectively, particularly in threat prevention and content filtering."

"The solution's pricing is good."

"The VPN functionality is really good. Overall, the whole device is very easy to manage. The software that comes with it is also good."

More SonicWall NSSP pros

Cons

"Some configuration elements cannot be easily altered once created."

"Fortinet's support team consists of a huge networking team, because of which there is a delay in response at times."

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve the user interface. There should be more functionality and options through the GUI."

"The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper."

"The solution's GUI is not very appealing."

"They should improve high CPU and memory usage that occurs."

"The platform's interface could improve."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG can't be used on its own, and you have to get FortiAnalyzer."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"It would be helpful if they could integrate more with third-party security systems."

"For improvement, they should have events specifically focused on firmware or patch updates released for the firewalls."

"Its reporting functions can be improved. It has decent reporting, but you got to pay a lot more money for it. That's where it begins to fall apart. It comes with minimal zero reporting unless you buy some extra modules. With those extra modules, you can get all the data, but it takes a while to put together what you need for your customer. It is for technical people, but there is no executive summary of the reporting."

"No security product is foolproof against hackers, intruders, and other such things. As a security product, they have to keep pace in terms of protection from new hackers and intruders."

"The product needs improvement for phishing emails."

"The platform could benefit from an improved marketing strategy."

"The solution's stability and scalability also need improvement."

"The EDR and XDR capabilities of SonicWall need to be improved."

"The user interface, the GUI, could be improved."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is perfect."

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is an expensive solution."

"Price-wise, it's at a good price point for our market."

"I think price-wise, the solution is totally reasonable since it has many products to serve, starting from small homes to massive scale sites."

"When comparing this solution to others, I would rate it a ten out of ten in terms of pricing. However, the issue of requiring a separate license for redundancy is a drawback, and I would rate it a nine out of ten."

"It's a very full-featured and it's priced well solution."

"You need to pay a license for this solution. Our licensing is now done in our subsidiary."

"While slightly more affordable than competitors, it remains relatively expensive due to its inclusive subscription."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

Information not available

"The pricing is cheap, and that's where, you know, the some of the organization goes for the SonicWall."

"You got to buy some VPN licenses, and there might be a $40 to $50 one-time license fee per current user. There are different layers. They have several different levels of event security software and depending on the model, it seems to come out to be $1 to $2 a day. So, if you bought a three-year license, it is going to be anywhere from $900 to $1800 depending on the bundle and model that you buy."

"The setup costs and licensing are reasonable, and the solution provides good value for its features."

"For SonicWall NSSP high availability, active/passive, you need to buy one license, and so you get much more value for money."

"I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	3

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...

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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...

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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 ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hillstone A-Series?

The solution is cheaper than other Western brands. The pricing is reasonable. There are costs for the hardware as wel...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Hillstone A-Series?

It would be helpful if they could integrate more with third-party security systems. Often, a client will have deploye...

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What is your primary use case for Hillstone A-Series?

We use these devices in the office or in the public cloud environment to protect networks.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSSP?

The pricing and licensing of the SonicWall NSSP firewall is not too expensive, being comparable to competitors. The c...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SonicWall NSSP?

They need to conduct more marketing campaigns because here in Brazil, when people mention firewalls, Fortinet has mas...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SonicWall NSSP?

I have experience with SonicWall NSSP Firewall, having dealt with NSA firewalls throughout the last 30 years. We're s...

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Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 8% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Hillstone E-Series vs Hillstone A-Series

Compared 50% of the time

More Hillstone A-Series Competitors

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSSP

Compared 37% of the time

OPNsense vs SonicWall NSSP

Compared 21% of the time

More SonicWall NSSP Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

November 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

November 2025

Download Hillstone A-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSSP

October 2025

Download SonicWall NSSP product report

Also Known As

No data available

SonicWall Network Security Services Platform

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

Fortinet

The Hillstone A-Series effectively enhances network security and protects against cyber threats. It is praised for its ability to prevent unauthorized access, detect and block malicious activities, and ensure the overall integrity of network infrastructure. Its stand-out features include advanced threat detection and seamless integration with existing networks.

Hillstone Networks

The SonicWall Network Security services platform (NSsp) 12000 series takes a modern approach to threat detection and prevention by combining cloud intelligence with appliance-based protection in a scalable, high-speed platform.

SonicWall

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

1. Google 2. Microsoft 3. Amazon 4. IBM 5. Cisco 6. Oracle 7. Intel 8. HP 9. Dell 10. Apple 11. Facebook 12. Twitter 13. LinkedIn 14. Netflix 15. Adobe 16. Salesforce 17. VMware 18. Samsung 19. Sony 20. Toshiba 21. Panasonic 22. LG 23. Nokia 24. Ericsson 25. Siemens 26. Philips 27. General Electric 28. Honeywell 29. BMW 30. Mercedes-Benz 31. Audi 32. Volkswagen

Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Netgate, OPNsense and others in Firewalls. Updated: November 2025.

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