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Hillstone CloudEdge vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series comparison

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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 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)
Hillstone CloudEdge
Ranking in Firewalls
50th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
25th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
35
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 Hillstone CloudEdge is 0.3%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series 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 FortiGate16.0%
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series0.4%
Hillstone CloudEdge0.3%
Other83.3%
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.
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.
Tejas Jain - PeerSpot reviewer
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Has provided strong traffic visibility and efficient policy management for advanced network environments
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be improved, though I don't think of much. I'm unsure how widespread the adoption for K2-Series alone is. Looking at the base Palo Alto capabilities, they are going in the right direction. K2 specifically about its efficacy with all these 5G protocols, the GPRS tunneling protocol performed without many hiccups during testing. With AI, if there is a Precision AI bundle that you're planning on exploring, then that definitely needs a significant uplift because currently it doesn't work for all the known models. There are many false positives that need to be addressed. While it's still ahead of its competitors, on the AI security side, there is quite a room for improvement.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It does not require a lot of maintenance."
"The solution provides an easy way to filter information and the Fortinet lab is a great place to discover new things."
"It is easy to set up."
"You don't need to reinvent the wheel, as FortiGate is the best solution."
"The services from Fortinet products are very, very good, the WIFI that Fortinet provides for us is fantastic, the VPN tunnel is very stable with more than one option which is helpful, and it is a very, very, very useful tool."
"Our clients definitely get a return on investment; it is a really good product, and the stability of the product is a very important factor for our clients."
"The scalability is good in Fortinet FortiGate."
"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate include good functionality, though the licensing cost is a bit higher; their response time and throughput are very good advantages."
"I'd rate the solution nine out of ten."
"The solution is very easy to download and configure. The initial setup was very easy. The technical support is very good."
"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."
"This firewall is very good for our customers because they don't have to write their own rules for adding an application."
"The application ID on the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is able to understand the application traffic, and WildFire is also good."
"Palo Alto has a unique solution for DNS security, which is very good."
"This firewall is very good for our customers because they don't have to write their own rules for adding an application."
"Mainly, it is very easy to understand, and the logs are very good."
"The technical support has been excellent; we are very satisfied with the level of service they provide, and it is one of the main selling features of the product because, compared to the competition, support is excellent across the board."
"Palo Alto has better and finer controls than, say, Cisco or Check Point."
"It's easy to configure."
 

Cons

"It is complicated to manage different kinds of on-premise boxes."
"The speed of the detection could be improved. The prevention mechanisms and implementation are not easy and could be better."
"The Web-filter in this solution is not very good."
"There is one big configuration file with no separations for the unique VDOMs. Maybe they could separate individual VDOM configuration files with the root VDOM configuration file referencing the individual VDOM config files.​"
"In the next release, maybe the documentation on how to use this solution could be improved."
"There were quite a few problems with the stability of the system."
"FortiGate needs to be elastic to the market's trends. It should be easy for SMBs to get the solution."
"The UI/UX experience can be a little better."
"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."
"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."
"From a cost perspective, I'd rate the solution two out of ten. I am trying to avoid Palo Alto, even though they have a very good solution, specifically due to the cost."
"I would like to see the threat intelligence capability integrated with other vendors such as Cisco and Forcepoint."
"It is recommended that the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series be implemented step by step for the Panorama. Sometimes we can't overwrite the configurations because it fails."
"In the past, we've had trouble with Palo Alto's application filtering not getting it right. I would not be recommending layer 7 application filtering yet."
"They should lower their prices for small businesses."
"Palo Alto releases a lot of bug fixes for their firewalls, which means it's necessary to do frequent upgrades."
"The reporting functionality in GlobalProtect needs to be improved."
"The solution needs a series of OS changes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"A year or two years back, its price was competitive and reasonable. That was one of the reasons that people easily switched to Fortinet. Over the last two years, the prices have increased drastically. However, the prices of others have also increased. An advantage is there from the price point but not as much as it was previously."
"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."
"The price of FortiGate support is too expensive."
"I rate the price of Fortinet FortiGate SWG a seven and a half out of ten since it is not a cheap solution, though I feel it is a good product for the money one pays."
"At the time we bought them, I was satisfied with their pricing; I don't know how the new pricing will be."
"The price for the device and software is high. However, the solution is of good quality and has a lot of features."
"The licensing costs are very low."
"There is no challenge in Fortinet FortiGate pricing."
Information not available
"This product is designed for large companies. The price would not be suitable for a small or medium size company."
"The price of the solution is expensive."
"It would be nice if they lowered their prices for small businesses."
"We are on an annual license to use Palo Alto Networks K2-Series."
"The price of this solution is too high."
"When comparing Palo Alto Networks K2-Series with other solutions it is on the higher end of the price scale."
"The overall price of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be reduced."
"Palo Alto firewalls are very expensive."
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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%
No data available
Performing Arts
17%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Marketing Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business367
Midsize Enterprise135
Large Enterprise193
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise13
 

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...
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...
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 ...
What needs improvement with Hillstone CloudEdge?
There is room for improvement in AI features, particularly for zero-day attacks and providing maintenance guidance. M...
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 dist...
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?
The pricing for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series solution is affordable and there are no complaints about the licensing.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be improved, though I don't think of much. I'm unsure how widespread the adoption ...
 

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
No data available
No data available
 

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
LinkTime
State of North Dakota, SEGA, Alameda County Office of Education, Temple University, VERGE, CAME
Find out what your peers are saying about Hillstone CloudEdge vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.