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Hillstone E-Series vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

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

Hillstone E-Series
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
28th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (38th), SSL VPN (10th)
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 0.9%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is 6.0%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway6.0%
Hillstone E-Series0.9%
Other93.1%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

TahirMahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
MatsHagberg Olsson2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Designs subnets with high security while navigating evolving integration processes
The primary function of Azure VPN Gateway allows for designing subnets from existing networks, whether they are physical or virtual networks within Azure or other cloud instances. You can configure these networks using IP numbers and connect them using certificates or SaaS strings. It also requires Entra ID for privileged access groups, resulting in high security.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the Hillstone E-Series is its user-friendliness."
"The initial setup was straightforward. It only took a few hours to deploy."
"The most valuable features of the Hillstone E-Series are its hardware capacity, innovation, and the throughput that the hardware can take."
"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."
"Five out of five ROI."
"Working with the Hillstone E-Series has, from a remote perspective, allowed me to give my clients a secure connectivity."
"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 most valuable feature of the solution is the ransomware protection that the tool offers."
"The VPN Gateway is valued for its ease of use and redundancy."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is its performance. It is very fast."
"The side-to-side connections are valuable."
"The product has valuable virtual machines, viability options, and enhanced VPN services, enabling the option to use it in different zones."
"The interoperability with various firewall and access gateway vendors is one of this solution's most valuable features"
"It is easy to configure."
"You can configure these networks using IP numbers and connect them using certificates or SaaS strings."
"It works perfectly for me. It is very user-friendly in terms of the configuration and the setup process."
 

Cons

"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."
"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 tool needs to improve its price."
"The current usage reporting is very basic."
"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."
"In the next release, Microsoft should add an option to schedule upgrades."
"I would like to see improvements in the deployment process as I faced challenges."
"The marketing material in the portal is not very user-friendly."
"The product must provide a single sign-on."
"The connectivity should be faster."
"In future releases, I would like to see the ability to inject BGP routes."
"Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway could improve by providing IPS zero-day threat protection. For example, the IPS zero-day threat protection can monitor the user behavior to protect the infrastructure. The solution can only be used as a VPN, it is lacking features."
"The product's deployment phase is not simple, making it an area where improvements are required."
 

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."
"There is a monthly license and the price depends on how many users are using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. The price could be less expensive."
"It's saved us money compared to getting a third-party appliance."
"Payment for licensing the solution is part of the operating model. So, one needs to keep on paying while consuming the solution. In short, the payment is based on the solution's capacity."
"Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is the cheapest way for us to connect to our cloud infrastructure. Other solutions, such as ExpressRoute are very expensive."
"The software has good pricing compared to other vendors."
"It's an expensive product"
"The product costs us $140 to $180 per month."
"I pay the licensing charges associated with the tool on an hourly basis. The tool is affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Computer Software Company
10%
Non Profit
8%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise13
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Hillstone E-Series?
The most valuable feature of the Hillstone E-Series is its user-friendliness.
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 firewall, where too much memory was consumed, and the firewall was hanging a lot. Wh...
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 which are available in the firewall.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?
In Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, there aren't too many areas for improvement, but the configuration part might be a little tricky. It took some time to get things to work, but once figured out, it b...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?
We work with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway and the VPN firewalls. We have our local physical firewall infrastructure from Cisco and other companies, but we can't compare those with the virtual networ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MS Azure VPN Gateway
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank of China Macao, Instituto Tecnológico Bolivariano, Ministry of Labor in San Salvador, FEDCO
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Hillstone E-Series vs. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.