Hillstone CloudEdge vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls comparison

Hillstone CloudEdge vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Download the complete report

Helped 886,906 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 April 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 17.2%, down from 21.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone CloudEdge is 0.2%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is 5.2%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	17.2%
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls	5.2%
Hillstone CloudEdge	0.2%
Other	77.4%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Abhinandan Yadav

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.

Read full review

Albert-Wang

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.

Read full review

Abhinandan Yadav

Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd

Advanced visibility has transformed security policies and provides proactive threat prevention

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are powerful, but there are areas for improvement that could enhance their effectiveness, such as cost and licensing models. One of the main challenges we face is the high cost, especially for small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs), with licensing for features such as threat prevention, URL filtering, and WildFire being quite expensive. Additionally, centralized management with Panorama is a dependency for managing multiple firewalls, leading to added costs and complexity, and the built-in centralized management features could be made more user-friendly. Moreover, the learning curve associated with the initial setup and advanced configuration including NAT, decryption, and routing can be complex for new users, and enhancements in logging and reporting could also improve the user experience. There are a few more areas where improvements could streamline operations, such as optimizing commit times. Sometimes committing changes takes a noticeable amount of time, particularly for larger configurations, so a faster commit option would significantly help during urgent troubleshooting. Easier policy troubleshooting is necessary as well. Even though logs are detailed, finding the exact rule match and issue can still be time-consuming in complex environments, so having automated policy simulation and a recommendation tool would expedite troubleshooting. Additionally, better default templates and best practices for SMB data centers and branch offices would speed up deployment and reduce errors. Enhancing integration visibility through a unified dashboard would simplify monitoring, and improving the firmware upgrade process to allow for a more seamless zero downtime upgrade would also enhance operations, as upgrades are stable but typically require careful planning and downtime.

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

"I find that Fortinet FortiGate is pretty easy to use and integrated, offering many features in one box at a decent price compared to other enterprise vendors."

"I am pleased with this solution and the features it offers right now."

"The product is easy to configure."

"What I like about this solution is that it is simple to use, has less complications and is very straightforward."

"The most valuable aspects of FortiGate NGFW are its top-notch reputation in peer reviews, user-friendly interface, and excellent support."

"The stability and scalability of this solution are satisfactory. Its SD-WAN, VPN, and URL filtering features are very useful."

"In terms of security, Fortinet FortiGate SWG is superior compared to Cisco."

"This version is stable. I don't have any issues with this solution, in our environment, it works well."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Hillstone CloudEdge is compatible with all the mainstream public cloud providers, such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Alibaba Cloud."

"I would recommend this product to any business that wants to protect its cloud environment, cloud server, or on-premises virtual servers."

"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."

"With Palo Alto, there isn't any problem, you can open any feature - IPS feature, data encryption feature - there isn't an issue."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is an all-in-one solution; it provides every entity log, which is a very good functionality of this firewall, giving every packet and aspect that the firewall is performing through its logs, and it does it very well."

"Some of the valuable features in this solution are traffic monitoring, GUI functionality, and it is very easy to troubleshoot if there is any problem that happens."

"When we put it on the border, it was blocking everything that we were getting ahead of time, and we weren't getting any hits. This includes URL filtering, spam prevention, and anti-virus."

"The return on investment from Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is excellent."

"The product's most valuable features are the ease of deployment, regularly updated security information, and robust hardware."

"Overall, it is a good solution; it is stable, and we use URL filtering, which is useful for blocking undesired URLs."

"I like the architecture because it separates the management plan process and the data plan process."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pros

Cons

"There are mainly two areas of improvement in Fortinet FortiGate— the licensing cost and the timing of upgrading licenses for boxes."

"Technical support could be better. You don't always get the level of help you need right away."

"It is very expensive, and their support is not very good."

"The solution's framework needs to be frequently updated in order to have a stable solution."

"The way everything is set up could be easier. Currently, people need a lot of experience and knowledge to administer it and to link it to devices."

"Some features of Fortinet FortiGate are actually fee enabled that are inconvenient for deploying in production."

"The initial setup is medium complex and takes between five days and a week."

"I often ask for help from the local provider. I haven't found the required efficient help."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"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."

"We would like to see improvement in the web interface for this solution, so that it can handle updates without manual intervention to put the data in order."

"When you delete and add a new rule, because of the one hundred rule limit, if the new rule has an ID that is greater than one hundred, even though you have fewer than that, it will not work."

"With new features and applications you get bugs."

"The areas that need to improve are network protection and user identification."

"The solution could offer better pricing. We'd like it if it could be a bit more affordable for us."

"The analysis of the ITS ID by Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls could be improved."

"I would like them to bring in some features that would encourage traffic shaping or bandwidth routing, like other UTM firewalls, because the solution should be capable of limiting the bandwidth for rules."

"They need to provide documentation for CLI, as most of the commands, we get from Community Forums."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When I look around at other products, such as Sophos, Fortinet FortiGate is 20% to 30% more expensive with our current cost."

"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten"

"Its pricing is fine. It is on a yearly basis. Other than the licensing fee, there is no extra fee."

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

"The beauty is the price performance ratio is great with FortiGate. It provides all the features we needed and the price is comparable with others' firewalls. The price is quite competitive with the firewalls with similar features."

"The pricing is justified. It's a little pricey, but what you pay for is what you get."

"It is a cost-effective solution that meets the user's needs."

"It is an expensive solution."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

Information not available

"I am not sure about the specific licensing costs of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, but FortiGate and Palo Alto are generally cheaper than some high-end Cisco devices."

"The pricing is competitive in the market."

"Palo Alto is not a cheap solution but it is competitive when it comes to subscriptions."

"Palo Alto NGFW is relatively expensive compared to the competition."

"The solution is expensive."

"These firewalls are not cheap, but they have a reasonable licensing model."

"Its price should be improved."

"This is not the firewall to choose if you are looking for the cheapest and fastest solution. Palo Alto NGFWs are expensive. By the time you license them up and get them fully functional, you have spent quite a bit of money. If it is a small branch office with 10 to 15 users, that is hard to justify."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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

See recommendations

886,906 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	366
Midsize Enterprise	135
Large Enterprise	192

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	75
Midsize Enterprise	56
Large Enterprise	85

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...

What advice do you have for others considering Hillstone CloudEdge?

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

What is a better choice, Azure Firewall or Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Azure Firewall Vs. Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls Both solutions provide stellar stability and security. Azure Firew...

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 is better - Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls or Sophos XG?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have both great features and performance. I like that Palo Alto has regular threat si...

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Comparisons

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Hillstone CloudEdge

Compared 27% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Hillstone CloudEdge

Compared 22% of the time

Sophos UTM vs Hillstone CloudEdge

Compared 13% of the time

KerioControl vs Hillstone CloudEdge

Compared 11% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Hillstone CloudEdge

Compared 9% of the time

More Hillstone CloudEdge Competitors

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 13% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 5% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 4% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Competitors

Product Reports

Fortinet FortiGate

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Download Hillstone CloudEdge product report

Firewalls

March 2026

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Download Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

Palo Alto NGFW, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

Hillstone Virtual Next-Generation Firewall, CloudEdge, embedded with the Hillstone Networks StoneOS operation system, is deployed as a virtual machine, and provides advanced security services for applications and users in any virtualized environment. It provides comprehensive security features including granular application identification and control, VPN, intrusion prevention, anti-virus, attack defense and cloud-sandbox to fully keep a business secure and operational. It provides price- performance solutions for both public and private cloud customers, and can be rapidly provisioned and deployed at scale.

Hillstone Networks

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls deliver advanced threat protection with machine learning, enhancing security through real-time attack prevention. Known for application visibility and a user-friendly interface, they offer robust network protection and flexibility in rule creation.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are designed to secure environments with features like GlobalProtect VPN, WildFire malware detection, and unified platform integration. Their strong firewall capabilities and high-performance throughput make them suitable for perimeter and data center protection, VPN configurations, application control, and network segmentation. Users consistently highlight the ease of managing network security policies and integrating third-party tools, ensuring a comprehensive protection strategy. While enhancements in support, training resources, and configuration simplicity are needed, these firewalls are integral for securing both on-prem and cloud environments, aligning with platforms like Azure and AWS.

What are the key features of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Application Visibility: Provides insight into network traffic for better control.
Threat Prevention: Uses machine learning for real-time attack prevention.
GlobalProtect VPN: Secures remote access efficiently.
WildFire Malware Detection: Detects and prevents advanced threats.
Unified Platform Integration: Enhances network security through seamless integration with other tools.

What benefits should be evaluated when considering Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Flexibility in Rule Creation: Allows customized security policies to meet specific needs.
High-Performance Throughput: Ensures efficient network operations under high load.
Comprehensive Policy Management: Simplifies overseeing and adjusting security policies.
Robust Endpoint Security: Protects endpoints against sophisticated threats.
Seamless Integration: Works well with third-party tools for a comprehensive solution.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are commonly implemented across industries for securing LAN environments, URL filtering, and ensuring Zero Trust security. They secure both on-premises and cloud infrastructures, often becoming integral parts of security frameworks within enterprises. Leveraging these firewalls in conjunction with Azure or AWS enhances the overall network protection strategies employed by organizations.

Palo Alto 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

LinkTime

SkiStar AB, Ada County, Global IT Services PSF, Southern Cross Hospitals, Verge Health, University of Portsmouth, Austrian Airlines, The Heinz Endowments

Hillstone CloudEdge vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls