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Hillstone E-Series vs Norton Small Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

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 SSL VPN
10th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (40th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (20th)
Norton Small Business
Ranking in SSL VPN
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (36th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (26th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 4.6%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Norton Small Business is 3.5%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Hillstone E-Series4.6%
Norton Small Business3.5%
Other91.9%
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

TahirMahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Balaguru Paramasivan - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivery Manager - DBA at HTC Global Services (INDIA) Private
The initial setup phase is very easy and user-friendly
I had tried Kaspersky a long time ago. I think it is available only in India. I don't know for sure. I have used that one for a couple of years, but I didn't like it, and that is the only reason I went back to Norton. Kaspersky was not safeguarding me in all aspects. I had seen some loopholes in the tool, so that is the only reason I went for Norton. The only thing I like about Kaspersky is that it supports the mobile version.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."
"With Hillstone, TCO and ROI are very good, it's an easy sale."
"The initial setup was straightforward. It only took a few hours to deploy."
"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."
"Very reliable solution with good scalability and straightforward implementation."
"If an organization is not looking for a web proxy, it's a very, very good product."
"The most valuable features of the Hillstone E-Series are its hardware capacity, innovation, and the throughput that the hardware can take."
"Five out of five ROI."
"The solution detects viruses very, very fast."
"It offers diverse features, such as antivirus protection, firewall, identity protection, secure VPN, device backup, password management, parental controls, and performance optimization."
"The most valuable feature of Norton 360 has been its robust notification system."
"The performance is fine."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it offers alerts if I get a spam email."
"The product’s valuable feature is the availability of support services 24/7."
"The solution has good performance."
"Norton 360 offers the best defense compared to other low-priced antivirus solutions. Its most valuable feature is storage and automatic backup. You can restore materials from the tool's cloud backup. It is encrypted with authentication."
 

Cons

"The tool provides just a general report. It does not provide a granular report. Hence, the tool should work on its reporting feature."
"The room for improvement would be the SSL VPN license cost."
"Support from Hillstone E-Series has a shortcoming that needs improvement."
"The current usage reporting is very basic. I would like to be able to access more granular data."
"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."
"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 needs to improve its price."
"The solution doesn't have a web proxy built into the system like Sophos. This is something they should work to change."
"The product should be improved with more storage. Though included in its price, the tool's auto VPN doesn't work at times."
"The solution’s stability could be improved."
"The tool's price is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"Norton 360’s features for device optimization could be better."
"The tool should be easily available in the market and should be cheaper."
"There's a need for enhanced security measures."
"One area where Norton 360 could improve is the constant push for upselling."
"The updates must be less frequent."
 

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."
"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 cost per year for licensing, and hardware, is approximately $850 for the basic plan."
"The tool has a yearly licensing."
"It is an inexpensive product. We purchase its yearly license."
"The price is fairly acceptable."
"On a scale of one to ten, if ten is the most expensive and one is the cheapest, I rate the price as nine."
"The solution is cost-effective."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

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

Questions from the Community

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 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 have not used any AI in the tool. I recommend the tool to others. I rate the tool ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Norton 360?
I have a yearly licensing plan. The cost is not that high. The solution is cost-effective.
What is your primary use case for Norton 360?
I use the solution for the general protection of my computer. It runs in the background.
 

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. Norton Small Business and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.