Hillstone E-Series vs Huawei NGFW comparison

Hillstone Networks and Huawei are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Hillstone Networks is ranked #39 with an average rating of 8.0, while Huawei is ranked #38 with an average rating of 7.3. Hillstone Networks holds a 0.6% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Huawei’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Hillstone Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 66% of Huawei users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Hillstone E-Series and Huawei NGFW are advanced firewall solutions with distinct strengths. Users feel Huawei NGFW has the upper hand due to its feature-rich capabilities.

Features: Hillstone E-Series is praised for robust threat detection, policy management, and competitive pricing. Huawei NGFW stands out with superior integration, advanced threat protection, and comprehensive features.

Room for Improvement: Hillstone E-Series could enhance scalability, reporting tools, and customer support. Huawei NGFW needs better documentation, simplified management, and usability enhancements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Hillstone E-Series is noted for straightforward deployment with mixed customer support experiences. Huawei NGFW users report a steeper learning curve with better post-deployment support.

Pricing and ROI: Hillstone E-Series is valued for its cost-efficiency and favorable ROI. Huawei NGFW users acknowledge higher costs with significant ROI due to advanced capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Hillstone E-Series vs. Huawei NGFW Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Huawei NGFW

April 2026

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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 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 E-Series is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Huawei NGFW is 1.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	17.2%
Huawei NGFW	1.0%
Hillstone E-Series	0.6%
Other	81.2%

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.

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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.

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Waqas Zubair

Senior Manager Technology at CNS Engineering

GUI application allows for easy monitoring and analysis of potential intrusions but needs improvement in threat prevention signatures

Based on the threat prevention signatures, they need updates. They should add some machine learning features and Machine learning detection. In future releases, I would like to see improvements in CDR technology. Forcepoint is pitching CDR technology, which extends sandboxing. Configuring data on the console needs enhancement. Huawei also need to improve spam techniques and add a web application firewall. Currently, Huawei does not have a built-in web application firewall (WAF) like Fortinet does. Tools like SIEM, SOAR, and Tenable can be integrated, but they require additional setup and should be integrated via API. For external threat detection, using the TAXII or STIX protocol, would be an improvement over the current features.

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

"Customer Service: Very good. Technical Support: Very good."

"It is one of my favorite solutions to work with, and I would much rather work with it than Cisco Firepower, for example, even though I've got 20 years of Cisco experience with different firewalls, I would much prefer this solution."

"FortiGate SWG has helped us control what employees do on the internet because people waste a lot of time using social networks, watching videos, etc."

"The product is scalable."

"The scalability is easy with switches and access points that are basically plug-and-play for the most part."

"In terms of ROI, they're inexpensive, and because they're inexpensive, they're just everywhere, in the Federal Government, schools, everywhere where budgets are fairly tight, and it is a very good product."

"What I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate is that the UI is easier than what I've previously known from Sophos."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate IPS are the dashboard and reporting which give us very good visibility."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

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

"With Hillstone, TCO and ROI are very good, it's an easy sale."

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

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

"Five out of five ROI."

"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."

"The initial setup was straightforward. It only took a few hours to deploy."

"If an organization is not looking for a web proxy, it's a very, very good product."

More Hillstone E-Series pros

"The setup is quite easy."

"Overall, this is a very good firewall."

"The feature set is rich."

"The user interface is very, very good, there are lots of great features within the product, and overall, it seems to be a pretty good firewall."

"We make use of the new data center, specifically the containerized data center which is built and reviewed by Huawei, including all the device's infrastructure."

"The stability is fine. I would rate the stability a nine out of ten."

"The most useful feature is the performance of the firewalls and networking operations."

"One of the best things about Huawei NGFW is its ability to integrate Azure solutions. Every year, we can add new features to the firewall. The key advantage is the integration across the entire network, so it doesn't work in isolation. For example, we can manage everything with features like the secret manager or analytic IDs. The solution is straightforward. It can also detect intrusions."

More Huawei NGFW pros

Cons

"Integrating OpenVPN with FortiGate would provide a powerful combination of secure remote access and comprehensive network security."

"If you have the firmware version 6.4.3 and are using FortiLink in VLAN, it has trouble with tunneling networks for a wireless network; it won't give it a route to the internet."

"Fortinet FortiGate can improve performance. There was a huge challenge in terms of CPU and memory where the IPS engine would keep triggering."

"They need faster serviceability and more security features."

"Fortinet technical support is lacking, as OEM support is slightly better."

"The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate IPS could always be improved."

"Some of the software stability could improve."

"The solution could be more user friendly."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The tool provides just a general report. It does not provide a granular report. Hence, the tool should work on its reporting feature."

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

"The room for improvement would be the SSL VPN license cost."

"The solution doesn't have a web proxy built into the system like Sophos. This is something they should work to change."

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

"I am not sure if this solution offers active directory integration. Adding that feature will definitely be an advantage."

"The current usage reporting is very basic. I would like to be able to access more granular data."

"The licensing model is very complex with many subcategories of licenses you can purchase. They could make it more simplified for customers to understand."

More Hillstone E-Series cons

"I would like to see an antivirus solution included with the product."

"The firewall needs to be more configurable."

"The solution doesn't seem to be very mature. Our networking team says they are experiencing a lot of issues in the firewalls and some routers."

"It's not as stable as other products. We are facing some problems every one or more than two months."

"The WAF capability in the Huawei Firewall is missing."

"The documentation needs to be improved. When they retire old models, they also retire the documentation. However, if you are still using an older model, you still need access to that documentation. And yet, they go ahead and removed it. It's gone. You are therefore stuck with a device with no documentation and technical support that isn't very helpful as they also remove support assistance as well."

"Huawei also need to improve spam techniques and add a web application firewall. Currently, Huawei does not have a built-in web application firewall (WAF) like Fortinet does."

"The tool lacks features."

More Huawei NGFW cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet prices are around $600 for the small 40F model, and for licenses, the simplest option is about $300 for a year. They sell licenses that can last for 1, 2, 3, or 5 years."

"Fortinet has more device options that are affordable for small businesses than Palo Alto, and its enterprise-level models are also cheaper. Palo Alto also has a separate license for VPN connections and SD-WAN, but FortiGate offers these features standard."

"Fortinet's pricing is more straightforward than other solutions. If Fortinet doesn't stick out when you're searching for a solution, you are a glutton for punishment. You only need to know two things when purchasing a Fortinet solution: your total bandwidth and bandwidth at the site. You need to estimate the future bandwidth with other solutions if your customer plans to upgrade."

"It is quite affordable for our customers. There is a separate cost for IPS, antivirus, web filtering, and other features. They have a great choice of licenses. You can go for the license that you want, which is quite useful."

"The price could be lower."

"Fortinet bundles FortiGate with other products and because of this, the price is a little expensive to some SMB enterprises."

"Other firewalls are more expensive than Fortinet FortiGate, such as the Azure firewall."

"It is cheaper and more competitive compared to other options. For example, when comparing Palo Alto products to others, Palo Alto tends to be more expensive. If you compare Cisco's platform, including Cisco Meraki, with Fortinet products, you'll notice that Cisco's offerings are generally higher priced than Fortinet's firewall solutions."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"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."

"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."

"Huawei is 30% cheaper than Arista."

"The pricing is cheap."

"The solution is inexpensive."

"I believe that we are entitled to a one-year extension on our licensing."

"The solution isn't cheap. It's market price."

"Huawei is priced lower than most competitors."

"The price of the license of this solution is high."

"When you compare the price with other products, it's quite cost-effective. But the problem is always after, let's say, two years or three years later because they are not able to provide updates or patches very quickly."

More Huawei NGFW pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

13%

Construction Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	366
Midsize Enterprise	136
Large Enterprise	193

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	7

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...

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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 ...

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

What advice do you have for others considering Hillstone E-Series?

Our company did not use the tool's micro-segmentation features. There were no issues while integrating the tool. I ha...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Huawei NGFW?

The pricing is quite cheap compared to other NGFWs like Palo Alto or Cisco.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Huawei NGFW?

Huawei should improve their threat intelligence. They need to have a more diversified platform and continuously updat...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Huawei NGFW?

I am working as a solution architect in my organization. Whenever we design a total network infrastructure, for ensur...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OpenVPN Access Server vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 16% of the time

Sangfor SSL VPN vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 8% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 6% of the time

Ivanti Connect Secure vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 3% of the time

More Hillstone E-Series Competitors

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Huawei NGFW

Compared 9% of the time

OPNsense vs Huawei NGFW

Compared 6% of the time

H3C SecPath Firewalls vs Huawei NGFW

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Huawei NGFW

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Huawei NGFW

Compared 3% of the time

More Huawei NGFW Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

April 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

April 2026

Download Hillstone E-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Huawei NGFW

April 2026

Download Huawei NGFW product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

Huawei USG Firewalls, USG9500 Series, USG6600 Series, USG6300 Series

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 E-Series is known for user-friendliness and advanced security features, offering high-performance threat protection with virtual switching and routing to support significant data volumes without third-party hardware. It provides top-notch firewall capabilities tailored to educational and energy sectors.

Hillstone E-Series delivers comprehensive network security with threat intelligence, ransomware protection, and state-of-the-art hardware innovation. Its 64-bit call processor facilitates handling large data volumes efficiently. Capabilities such as SSL VPN, integrated IPS, and application filtering make it a valuable choice for network protection. While further integration with a web proxy and enhanced usage reporting can enhance its offerings, enhancements in pricing models, support systems, and updates align with evolving user expectations for improved regional support and detailed analytics.

What are the standout features of Hillstone E-Series?

User-Friendliness: Intuitive setup and management for all users.
Threat Intelligence: Advanced protection against modern cyber threats.
Ransomware Protection: Strong defenses to mitigate ransomware attacks.
Hardware Innovation: Virtual switching/routing for seamless operations.
64-Bit Call Processor: Efficient performance with high data volumes.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating Hillstone E-Series?

Comprehensive Capability: Addresses complex network security needs.
Impressive Throughput: Maintains high performance under load.
Easy Policy Management: Simplifies network security rule application.
Robust Security Features: Offers extensive filtering and blocking options.

The Hillstone E-Series is implemented extensively across industries like educational institutions and energy companies to safeguard local networks against gateway-level threats. Many organizations benefit from features such as antivirus, integrated IPS, site-to-site VPN, SSL VPN, and policy management, enhancing remote work security and simplifying network management tasks.

Hillstone Networks

Huawei NGFW provides robust antivirus, threat prevention, and encryption features, facilitating efficient VPN and IPSec performance with Azure integration. Its interface allows seamless policy management across data centers, enterprise networks, and internet segments, supporting high performance and scalability.

Huawei NGFW is known for strong antivirus capabilities, robust encryption, and effective threat prevention via IPS and cloud sandboxing. Its dashboard simplifies policy management. The firewall's VPN feature and IPSec performance are efficient, integrating smoothly with Azure solutions. Users commend its scalability, high throughput, and virtual system creation. It maintains performance even with active features, offering straightforward installation, management, and compatibility in diverse environments. However, Huawei NGFW requires enhancements in support, dashboard interactivity, and third-party integration. Users suggest improved documentation and session stability.

What are the key features of Huawei NGFW?

Antivirus and Encryption: Provides strong antivirus and encryption for secure network protection.
Threat Prevention: Utilizes IPS and cloud sandboxing for comprehensive threat detection.
Policy Management: User-friendly interface for simplified policy management.
VPN and IPSec: Highly efficient performance supporting secure connections.
Azure Integration: Seamless compatibility with Azure solutions.
High Scalability: Supports high throughput and virtual system creation.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Huawei NGFW?

Scalability: Allows for expansion as network demands grow.
High Throughput: Ensures efficient data handling and processing.
Easy Management: Simplified installation and management enhances usability.
Comprehensive Threat Prevention: Effective detection and prevention of threats.

Huawei NGFW is used as a firewall in data centers and enterprise networks. It provides routing, intrusion detection, and antivirus features for network security, enhancing DMZ, public, and internal network security with internal and external policies. Supporting fiber networks and VPNs for branch offices, it integrates seamlessly with SDM solutions, fortifying navigation, communication, and infrastructure in multiple sectors.

Huawei

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

Bank of China Macao, Instituto Tecnológico Bolivariano, Ministry of Labor in San Salvador, FEDCO

KMITL, Peking University

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Huawei NGFW

April 2026

Free Report: Hillstone E-Series vs. Huawei NGFW

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