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Hillstone E-Series vs OpenVPN Access Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 14, 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 Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
24th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (39th), SSL VPN (9th)
OpenVPN Access Server
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 1.3%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenVPN Access Server is 13.4%, down from 14.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
OpenVPN Access Server13.4%
Hillstone E-Series1.3%
Other85.3%
Enterprise Infrastructure 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.
reviewer2778669 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Secure remote access has enabled our team to reach on-premise servers from any device
OpenVPN Access Server sometimes faces connection issues in low network conditions, but it is overall good and the latency is getting better. Everything is fine and the UI is pretty useful and comfortable to use since everyone has gotten used to it. I recommend not changing the UI in the future to maintain consistency. I chose a rating of 9 out of 10 because I feel it is actually good, but in some places, the UI is not consistent, particularly between the Android and macOS applications, where one or two steps may differ. The user interface of OpenVPN Access Server is very easy to use, although there is a little bit of inconsistency between the mobile and desktop applications.

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 most valuable feature of the solution is the ransomware protection that the tool offers."
"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."
"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."
"The most valuable features of the Hillstone E-Series are its hardware capacity, innovation, and the throughput that the hardware can take."
"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 initial setup phase of OpenVPN Access Server was fine, and it was easy."
"It is open source and therefore affordable for small projects."
"The solution is user-friendly and easy to implement."
"It is open-source and free to use."
"Two-factor authentication allows us to not force frequent password changes."
"What I appreciate the most about OpenVPN Access Server is that it's very easy to set up."
"OpenVPN Access Server is a simple and easy-to-use solution that I can use myself without anybody's help."
"The most valuable thing about OpenVPN Access Server is its ease of use."
 

Cons

"The tool needs to improve its price."
"Support from Hillstone E-Series has a shortcoming that needs improvement."
"Having frequent live webinars on a monthly basis would really help."
"The tool only had some memory-related problems."
"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."
"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."
"The plan for OpenVPN Access Server could be improved. When adding new people, better plans for startups would be beneficial."
"You do need expertise in implementation if you do the initial setup yourself."
"It could be faster. It could also be more stable."
"The high availability deployment is not very straightforward. They can make it simpler. OpenVPN does not support some of the additional protocols that Pulse Secure and Cisco AnyConnect support. They can include support for these additional protocols."
"The upgrade path from older versions was more difficult than we wanted to tackle, so we ran an older version of the software for longer than I wanted. Patching, updating, and migrating to newer versions was a problem for us. That said, we were on a rather old version that I inherited yet it worked rock solid."
"The interface could be a little bit better in future iterations."
"OpenVPN could improve in centralized management and enhance the GUI configuration steps."
"It should automate our processes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 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 licensing model is very complex with many subcategories of licenses you can purchase. They could make it more simplified for customers to understand."
"The product's pricing is good value, definitely. It is one of the best features, I would say. Evaluate the product before seeing which type of licensing is good for you. I think there is a good evaluation method available for OpenVPN, so you can just evaluate if it meets your needs. Then go forward with the right licensing policy."
"The solution was free of charge."
"OpenVPN Access Server was free for students. I don't know if you have to pay for an advanced version."
"With regard to setup cost, pricing and/or licensing, the simple answer is that you'll need to set aside some time to learn it and experiment with it."
"It is an open-source solution, so we don't pay for anything."
"The licensing has a fixed pricing."
"Open VPN Access Server is open-source and free of charge."
"I would say the product's pricing is a good value. I would recommend to other companies to implement it. I've seen other software, in tandem with the service, to be very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Wholesaler/Distributor
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise14
 

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 ...
How does Fortinet FortiClient compare with Open VPN Access Server?
Fortinet FortiClient is a feature-rich solution that is easy to use and deploy without sacrificing safety and security. It has a very fast connection rate and has a built-in VPN. With this solution...
What do you like most about OpenVPN Access Server?
OpenVPN Access Server is a simple and easy-to-use solution that I can use myself without anybody's help.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OpenVPN Access Server?
The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for OpenVPN Access Server is really good, not that expensive. I am easily able to add new users from the OpenVPN Access Server official websit...
 

Also Known As

No data available
OpenVPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank of China Macao, Instituto Tecnológico Bolivariano, Ministry of Labor in San Salvador, FEDCO
Verizon, Amazon, Disney, HP, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung
Find out what your peers are saying about Hillstone E-Series vs. OpenVPN Access Server and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
882,606 professionals have used our research since 2012.