Hillstone E-Series vs IPFire comparison

Hillstone Networks and IPFire Project are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Hillstone Networks is ranked #36 with an average rating of 8.0, while IPFire Project is ranked #35 with an average rating of 8.0. Hillstone Networks holds a 0.4% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to IPFire Project’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Hillstone Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IPFire Project users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Hillstone E-Series and IPFire based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Hillstone E-Series vs. IPFire Report (Updated: May 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. IPFire

May 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 June 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.4%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IPFire is 2.0%, 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.

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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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Amr Fouad

Vice President of Technology Development at SCADA Innovations

Prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements

We use the solution for firewall, intrusion prevention and detection. We installed it in order to comply with customers requirements IPFire has prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements. Accessing the internet was a bit complicated. We opted for this…

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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

"The flexibility and ease of configuration are the most valuable features."

"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate include the simple user interface."

"The most valuable feature is the SSL VPN, as it allows us to connect and it separates this product from other firewalls."

"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."

"Mainly the FortiGate reporting system is very good. It guides us through all the expectations of security. Fortinet provides us all that we need for security. Also, Fortinet FortiGate is a next-generation firewall. It is much more advanced than others."

"This is a quality product with ok support, and it is better than the competition we've tried."

"The SD-WAN feature is the most valuable. This feature evolved from link load balancing. It has helped us in terms of our uptime and privatizing applications whenever we experience an outage. The SD-WAN feature has been a plus for us. Two-factor authentication has allowed us to add more users in terms of remote working. We have two-factor authentication for remote workers to authenticate them before they get on the network."

"We use a southern institution that's audited for IT security and the reporting that automatically comes off the unit makes it much easier to meet compliance standards and makes it easier as far as the amount of time that has to be spent to compile that information. If you get your reporting set up correctly when you initially set it up, you just select the one you want and hit print. The auditing trail on it is the best feature."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"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."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the ransomware protection that the tool offers."

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

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

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

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

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

More Hillstone E-Series pros

"I would rate the stability as ten out of ten for IPFire."

"IPFire has prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements."

Cons

"The routing capability on the FortiGate devices has room for improvement."

"There are problems with the custom reporting of the unique traffic. The data is there, but it is too difficult for us to extract."

"Its reporting capabilities can be improved. It should have some out-of-the-box reporting capabilities and some degree of customization. The basic reporting that it currently has is not sufficient to create more usable reports. It needs some sort of out-of-the-box reporting. They try to make customers purchase FortiAnalyzer for this kind of reporting, which is an additional cost. Other firewall vendors, such as SonicWall and Sophos, provide this sort of reporting without any additional cost."

"I would like to see improvements with the antivirus and IPS as they are not working properly all the time."

"I think that the infrastructure for the VPN could be improved. The way that it is bundled also made it difficult to use and sell as it is too expensive."

"There are some tiny bugs that sometimes affect the operations. In the past revision of it, there was a bug. Because of the bug, we had to downgrade the version. It happened only with the last revision."

"I think there could be more QoS features"

"The UTM filtering needs improvement."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

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

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

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

"The tool needs to improve its price."

"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."

"The current usage reporting is very basic."

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

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

More Hillstone E-Series cons

"Accessing the internet was a bit complicated."

"The graphical interface could be much better."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a good product from a price perspective versus functionality."

"It's not the cheapest, but it's value for money. Given everything we've got out of it: the DMZ port, the VPN, and the high availability, it's a pretty reasonable price."

"The price, in comparison to other products is very cheap."

"The price could be lower."

"The price for the Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable. Secure SD-WAN is free of charge. If you have their firewall, it's free of charge. It's very tempting."

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

"It's very affordable."

"It's an expensive solution."

More Fortinet FortiGate 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."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Educational Organization

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Comms Service Provider

22%

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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 do you like most about Hillstone E-Series?

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

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

Hillstone's pricing is economical and neither very high nor very low.

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 needs improvement with IPFire?

The graphical interface could be much better.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IPFire?

I use IPFire ( /products/ipfire-reviews ) to protect my home.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering IPFire?

Sometimes configuring IPFire is challenging. Overall, I would rate this solution as eight out of ten.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Hillstone A-Series vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 14% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 8% of the time

Sophos XG vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 8% of the time

OpenVPN Access Server vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 7% of the time

Sangfor SSL VPN vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 5% of the time

More Hillstone E-Series Competitors

OPNsense vs IPFire

Compared 81% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs IPFire

Compared 9% of the time

Untangle NG Firewall vs IPFire

Compared 3% of the time

Smoothwall Firewall vs IPFire

Compared 2% of the time

Sophos XGS vs IPFire

Compared 1% of the time

More IPFire Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

June 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

May 2025

Download Hillstone E-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

May 2025

Download IPFire 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

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

IPFire enhances network security and protects against cyber threats. It provides a secure firewall, secure remote access, and customizable options. Users praise its ease of use, flexibility, and reliability for network monitoring and traffic shaping. Its valuable features include efficient firewall capabilities, a user-friendly interface, and reliable network performance.

IPFire Project

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

1. Siemens 2. IBM 3. Cisco 4. Dell 5. HP 6. Intel 7. Oracle 8. Google 9. Microsoft 10. Amazon 11. Apple 12. Facebook 13. Twitter 14. Netflix 15. Adobe 16. SAP 17. VMware 18. Juniper Networks 19. Ericsson 20. Nokia 21. AT&T 22. Verizon 23. T-Mobile 24. Vodafone 25. Orange 26. Deutsche Telekom 27. British Telecom 28. Comcast 29. Time Warner 30. Sony 31. Samsung 32. LG

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. IPFire

May 2025

Free Report: Hillstone E-Series vs. IPFire

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