Hillstone E-Series vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls comparison

Hillstone Networks and Palo Alto Networks are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Hillstone Networks is ranked #38 with an average rating of 8.0, while Palo Alto Networks is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.9. Hillstone Networks holds a 0.3% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Palo Alto Networks’s 4.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Hillstone Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Palo Alto Networks users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

Hillstone E-Series and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are competitive products focusing on cybersecurity solutions. While Hillstone stands out for its affordability and adaptability, Palo Alto Networks gains an advantage with superior security features that justify its premium pricing.

Features: Hillstone E-Series offers cost-effectiveness, scalability, and reliable threat prevention, making it suitable for diverse environments. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls provide advanced visibility, integrated threat intelligence, and zero-day exploit prevention, emphasizing comprehensive security.

Room for Improvement: Hillstone could benefit from enhanced security features comparable to Palo Alto's offerings and improved threat intelligence integration. On the other hand, Palo Alto could improve in cost-efficiency and streamline its user interface to enhance usability and reduce complexity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Hillstone E-Series promises straightforward deployment and offers comprehensive support. Palo Alto Networks provides extensive documentation and high-quality customer service, facilitating seamless integration, which is ideal for complex environments seeking supported setups.

Pricing and ROI: Hillstone E-Series is appealing for budget-conscious businesses with a quicker return on investment. In contrast, Palo Alto Networks is priced at a premium with a longer ROI period due to higher upfront costs, but its extensive feature set can result in long-term savings and security value.

To learn more, read our detailed Hillstone E-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

September 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 September 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.1%, up from 18.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 0.3%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is 4.1%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	20.1%
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls	4.1%
Hillstone E-Series	0.3%
Other	75.5%

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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AmjadKhan1

Head of data centers at a non-profit with 10,001+ employees

Provides inline protection with a unified view and anti-spyware capabilities

I would rate Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls ten out of ten because it is the best. Our disaster recovery site utilizes Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls. We are also in the process of upgrading the firewalls at our 365 sites in Pakistan to Palo Alto Networks firewalls. While budget firewalls may advertise comparable features, they often fall short of effectively detecting viruses, threats, and ransomware. In contrast, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, combined with Cortex XDR, provide comprehensive threat intelligence and detection capabilities, ensuring superior security coverage. I recommend conducting a proof of concept before selecting a firewall. This will allow you to evaluate different options and determine which best suits your needs. While Palo Alto offers robust firewall solutions, it's essential to compare them with other vendors to ensure you make an informed decision.

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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

"It is very flexible to use."

"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."

"Their interface is very easy to use, it is without bugs."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ease of use and there are several operating systems that can include the hardware capacities. In the newer releases, the resources were more useful because they were included in the operating system."

"We have received a very good ROI; it has provided significant time savings of almost 20-25%."

"The most valuable feature is the VDOM, which allows the customer to have multiple firewalls in a single campus."

"The performance is good."

"I find Fortinet FortiGate to be quite stable, as I have never heard of any issues where they broke or malfunctioned; they are always working."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

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

"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."

"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."

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

"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."

More Hillstone E-Series pros

"The basic configuration will only take 15 minutes to set up"

"The DNS sync code in your filtering is the most valuable feature of the Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls."

"It has a unique approach to packet processing. It has single-pass architecture. We can easily perform policy lookups, application decoding, and integration or merging. This can be all done with a single pass. It effectively reduces the amount of processing required to perform multiple actions. This is the main advantage of using Palo Alto."

"It has a very good user interface. The documentation is also very good. It is very useful for monitoring things."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls enabled us to have better visibility overall."

"We standardized on the product and got rid of several other types of firewalls from different vendors."

"It's quite nice. It's very user-friendly, powerful, and there are barely any bugs."

"Some of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls' valuable features are their powerful capabilities and user-friendliness."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pros

Cons

"In most cases, the IPS engine uses too many resources, which makes Fortinet FortiGate devices unstable."

"Fortinet should improve its software, as we are seeing lots of firmware versions generated for each vulnerability issue. It becomes difficult for us to keep updating the firmware frequently due to bugs."

"In their datasheet, they put the throughput as huge, but once you enable all the features of the box, the performance is impacted dramatically."

"As far as wanting more scalability or things in the network diagram, it's going to cost you."

"With the addition of some features, it is possible that FortiGate can be used in all verticals."

"The monitor and the visibility, in this proxy, is very weak."

"The security of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."

"I need user-behavior analytics, to find threat scenarios from inside the organization, insider attacks. That would be very helpful for us. In addition, I would like next-generation features for small and medium businesses. These businesses require UTM, all in one product. Fortinet must include it."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

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

"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."

"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."

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

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

More Hillstone E-Series cons

"They could improve their support and pricing and maybe integration. It's a little more expensive that Check Point but the quality is better. Integration with firewall endpoints could be better. Palo Alto does have very good malware or antivirus protection. I think they could improve on that front."

"The support could be improved. Palo Alto does not have a support team located in Bangladesh, and their support team operates from another location. Therefore, when we raise a ticket, it takes some time for them to respond, which can be problematic for us."

"We haven't had any issues so far."

"It would be better to have more tools to control Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. We don't have too many tools to access Palo Alto. For example, the IT team doesn't have access to it. We can see it physically and see if it's running or not. We need to contact a special team to receive that information. I would also like to see more reporting in the next release."

"As things are evolving, we want to make sure that Palo Alto is able to keep up with what is going on outside. They should continue to do more intelligence-related enhancements and integrate with some of the other security tools. We want to have a more intelligent toolset down the road."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls lack built-in multi-factor authentication, requiring the purchase of a third-party tool to implement this essential security feature."

"One area for improvement with Palo Alto Networks NG Firewall would be customer support. Currently, in regions like India, customer support is handled by third-party partners. Unfortunately, the support provided by these partners has not been satisfactory. It would be beneficial if the tool handled customer support directly, similar to how Cisco maintains high-quality customer care. This would ensure that customers receive the level of support they expect."

"The pricing could be improved. They need to work on the setup over the firewall, VLAN, and PPPoE."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It scales well if you know what to buy from a physical box standpoint. They seem to offer something for every level."

"The initial setup is super straight forward and as far as the licensing goes for the small product that we have, the pricing was pretty competitive. It wasn't as simple and as cheap as a SonicWall but for the service we would get it was a good price."

"By default, they give SD-WAN along with the firewall. They don't have separate licensing for the SD-WAN functionality. However, they have security licenses that are sold separately on a subscription basis. Customers can consume these security features to protect their users from internet traffic."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is the lowest in the market."

"If the customer is looking for SD-WAN, it comes free with FortiGate."

"We just pay a flat monthly fee to the vendor for the support."

"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 of Fortinet FortiGate when compared to other solutions is high. However, my knowledge of the price is from third parties and I am not sure how accurate it is. I typically work in the technical area of my organization."

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."

"Compared to other products, the pricing is flexible and reasonable."

"The solution provides good protection and is worth the price."

"It has a yearly subscription."

"This solution is quite expensive."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are expensive compared to other solutions."

"It's very expensive. However, we usually use all of the subscriptions and threat alerts on any firewall that uses the internet. For each edge security endpoint, we use all subscriptions. Otherwise, we just utilize the threat alert, the antivirus, WildFire, etc."

"The solution is worth the price, as it can be utilized without the need for high-processing CPUs and resources, thus saving us overall."

"I would assume that it's still within mid-range given its company structure and everything else. My guess is it's still okay."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

14%

Computer Software Company

10%

Non Profit

Retailer

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	261
Midsize Enterprise	99
Large Enterprise	143

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	73
Midsize Enterprise	56
Large Enterprise	83

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.

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...

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What is a better choice, Azure Firewall or Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Azure Firewall Vs. Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls Both solutions provide stellar stability and security. Azure Firew...

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Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls

In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...

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Which is better - Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls or Sophos XG?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have both great features and performance. I like that Palo Alto has regular threat si...

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Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 19% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OpenVPN Access Server vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 20% of the time

Hillstone A-Series vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 14% of the time

Sophos XG vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 8% of the time

Sangfor SSL VPN vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 6% of the time

Aruba Remote Access Points vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 5% of the time

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Cisco Secure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 13% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Sophos XG vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 7% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

August 2025

Download Hillstone E-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

August 2025

Download Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

No data available

Palo Alto NGFW, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall

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

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer comprehensive security, including application control, traffic shaping, threat prevention, and load balancing, designed to secure internal networks, perimeter protection, VPN services, and cloud environments.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are a key choice for managing and protecting data centers, securing remote access, network segmentation, malware prevention, and ensuring high availability and performance for business-critical applications. Known for stability and strong security, these firewalls use application-aware identifiers and IPS/IDS subscriptions to offer advanced threat protection. The unified platform facilitates seamless integration, while GlobalProtect and centralized management via Panorama enhance ease of use. However, there are areas for improvement, including pricing strategies, training, user support, and integration with third-party applications.

What are the essential features?

Stability: Reliable performance in different environments.
Application Control: Identifies applications to manage traffic.
Advanced Threat Protection: Includes DNS security, WildFire, and machine learning.
GlobalProtect: Secure remote access for users.
Centralized Management: Managed via the Panorama platform.

What benefits or ROI should users expect?

Security: Protects against threats with robust features.
User-Friendly: Simplified interface and easy configuration.
High Availability: Ensures performance for critical applications.
Integration: Seamless with existing systems and applications.
Support: Reliable technical support and resources.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls secure sensitive data and meet regulatory requirements. These firewalls help manage large-scale networks in these sectors, providing essential security features and maintaining high-performance standards. They are implemented to ensure compliance, protect patient information, secure financial transactions, and safeguard customer data.

Palo Alto Networks

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

SkiStar AB, Ada County, Global IT Services PSF, Southern Cross Hospitals, Verge Health, University of Portsmouth, Austrian Airlines, The Heinz Endowments

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

September 2025

Free Report: Hillstone E-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

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