Hillstone E-Series vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series 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 #17 with an average rating of 8.6. Hillstone Networks holds a 0.4% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Palo Alto Networks’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Hillstone Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Palo Alto Networks users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Hillstone E-Series and Palo Alto Networks PA-Series are popular choices among tech buyers looking for robust security solutions. Based on user feedback, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series seems to have the upper hand due to its advanced features, though Hillstone E-Series is praised for cost-effectiveness and customer support.

Features: Users value the Hillstone E-Series for its reliability, solid security controls, and affordability. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is recognized for its advanced threat detection, extensive feature set, and seamless integration. In user reviews, Palo Alto's more comprehensive features tend to overshadow Hillstone.

Room for Improvement: Hillstone E-Series users identify the need for better reporting, improved analytics, and more intuitive user interfaces. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series users recommend making certain complex configurations more user-friendly, reducing the steep learning curve, and optimizing software updates. Both products have distinct areas requiring attention.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Hillstone E-Series is praised for its straightforward deployment process and responsive customer service. Conversely, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, while more complex to deploy, provides extensive support and training resources, aligning well with its intricate features.

Pricing and ROI: Hillstone E-Series is favored for its affordability and perceived high return on investment. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, requiring a larger initial investment, is considered worth the cost due to its advanced capabilities and high long-term ROI.

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

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

December 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 January 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.8%, down from 20.7% 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 Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is 1.0%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	18.8%
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series	1.0%
Hillstone E-Series	0.4%
Other	79.8%

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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Kevin Burgess

Global Network Engineering Technical Lead at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Has provided strong edge protection and advanced threat visibility while reducing manual effort

Some of the best features of this firewall are flexibility, overall depth of security analysis, and ease of use. I use application-based traffic classification. It has helped reduce my attack surface considerably; it's much better than simply doing a port-based analysis. The usefulness of machine learning algorithms in identifying threats with Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is mostly behind the scenes; we subscribe to the threat analysis, so we don't see too much. It does perform some in-depth analysis, but most of the machine learning features operate on the back end, more than what we would see. Integrated threat intelligence has empowered my organization to adapt to threats by taking a lot of the burden off us; there's just no way we would see the same breadth of knowledge that a vendor or manufacturer would have. They're gathering data from all over the world, and we're going to see what we get hit with, but now we're seeing what everybody else is getting hit with.

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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 solution can scale well."

"It's comprehensive and time-saving. It covers several areas regarding security."

"Allows for firewall rules to be programmed and named in a way that makes it “readable”"

"The product's most valuable feature is the ease of deploying IoT security with a single click. Additionally, the frequent updates to the online database ensure that our security measures are always up to date, enhancing our protection against emerging threats."

"I love the interface."

"Customers want to load balance more than eight lines or six internet lines. FortiGate is the only solution that can accomplish this."

"The solution is superior to Cisco in terms of security."

"The most effective features for threat prevention are the IPS, content filter, and SD-WAN capabilities."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"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."

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

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

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

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

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

"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."

More Hillstone E-Series pros

"The most valuable feature of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is that it is highly customizable."

"The cloud-based aspect helps significantly. It integrates seamlessly with other Palo products like Prisma Cloud, offers robust VPN protection, and it's all in one convenient package."

"The tool's most valuable feature is WildFire."

"I like the tool's security and web filtering features."

"The solution provides good customer support."

"It is stable when you set up something and put it into production. Once it works, you don't have other tasks or actions to perform."

"A valuable feature that we can consider is the deployment time, which is significantly reduced, almost 90% faster compared to other solutions. This leads to quicker deployment and less downtime."

"A valuable feature that we can consider is the deployment time, which is significantly reduced. It is almost 90% faster compared to other solutions."

More Palo Alto Networks PA-Series pros

Cons

"They sometimes hide some features and if you want to enable them, you have to go in the CLI, enable the feature and configure it through the CLI. Customers, typically, like everything to be done by the GUI."

"They could do more work on FortiAnalyzer in terms of the data and the information coming from it."

"The logs need to be better. They need to be more visible and easier to access."

"I would like to see improvements in some of the hard drive features on FortiGate so that we can generate reporting within a single box."

"What could be improved in Fortinet FortiGate SWG is its pricing because it's a bit higher. If it's cheaper, my company could pitch it to customers and engage with customers better about it. What I'd like to see in the next release of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is an improvement in its dashboard or GUI. I'd like it to be more user-friendly."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG can be expensive for some customers."

"One area for improvement is the performance on the bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."

"Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The tool needs to improve its price."

"The current usage reporting is very basic."

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

"The tool only had some memory-related problems."

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

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

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

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

More Hillstone E-Series cons

"With Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, I find that the support team takes a long time to resolve the issues that a user may face during the use of the product."

"Utilizing these features as a unified solution can require additional setup, particularly when incorporating Panorama for centralized management, which may involve extra costs."

"Palo Alto can improve the web application firewall (WAF) feature at layer 7."

"I experienced some problems with AWS cloud parameters connected to Palo Alto firewall."

"The UI definitely needs work. In my opinion, the UI could be simpler and more user-friendly for the average user."

"The pricing of the solution needs improvement."

"As we migrate fully into the cloud, additional features like capacity upgrading and improvements to hardware resources will be necessary, especially since our equipment consists of older-generation switches and routers."

"Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is expensive. We would like to see additional threat hunting features."

More Palo Alto Networks PA-Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is around $50,000 per month."

"Fortinet Secure SD-WAN delivered the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) per Mbps among all other vendors."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable."

"The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate is average, not cheap or overly expensive compared to other firewall solutions in the market. It's effective and affordable for customers."

"Setup cost may be not so low, as you expect, because it depends on different factors, but TCO for 5 years may pleasantly surprise you."

"The cost of Fortinet FortiGate is competitive and not expensive compared to other enterprise- grade solutions. On average, the license cost per year is around seventy percent of the firewall's purchase price."

"When comparing the price of Fortinet FortiGate SWG to other solutions it is expensive. The price could be better."

"Fortinet FortiGate has different licensing models, depending on what you're going to do. Services included would depend on the license model. Licenses can be renewed annually."

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 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."

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

"Palo Alto’s pricing is way higher than any other solution provider."

"From my perspective, managing the price is important, especially because we're a small business. For larger organizations like Barclays, we provide our requirements to the client, and they place the order on BigFix. It's their responsibility to consider their budget and make decisions accordingly. We appreciate the features we get, but the cost-sharing still depends on the client."

"With Palo Alto, even when you enable all the modules, it still provides the exact throughput they advertise."

"While other firewalls may come with a higher cost, when you consider the cost in relation to the services and features that Palo Alto offers, it is clear that Palo Alto is delivering excellent value."

"The cost varies depending on the device model, with entry-level firewalls priced around $1,300 to $1,500, while higher-end models can reach prices of several hundred thousand dollars."

"The pricing is fair."

"Palo Alto is more expensive than FortiGate."

"The product is offered to users at high prices compared to the pricing model of the other vendors in the market."

More Palo Alto Networks PA-Series pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

15%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	357
Midsize Enterprise	133
Large Enterprise	188

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	15

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 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...

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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 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 ha...

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What do you like most about Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?

The reporting feature and application ID functionality within Palo Alto Networks PA-Series are incredibly valuable to...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?

Regarding value for money, we brought this Palo Alto Networks PA-Series firewall last month, and we have taken up to ...

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What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?

The areas that could be improved with Palo Alto Networks PA-Series include price. My experience with the price of the...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

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OpenVPN Access Server vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 16% of the time

Hillstone A-Series vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 10% of the time

Sangfor SSL VPN vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 8% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 6% of the time

A10 Networks Thunder CFW vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 5% of the time

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Sophos Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 12% of the time

OPNsense vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 10% of the time

Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 9% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 6% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks PA-Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

January 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

January 2026

Download Hillstone E-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

January 2026

Download Palo Alto Networks PA-Series product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

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 PA-Series is essential for firewall implementation, perimeter defense, securing infrastructure boundaries, web filtering, VPN, and threat prevention. Organizations deploy it for secure cloud connections, internet security, and managing network devices.

Companies trust Palo Alto Networks PA-Series to protect corporate networks from external threats, control traffic between networks, and meet regulatory compliance. Integrating well with applications, it offers centralized management and advanced security features such as IDS, IPS, and GlobalProtect. It ensures stable performance, application-based policy enforcement, and decryption of SSL traffic while providing efficient resource usage and comprehensive logging.

What are the key features?

Stability: Reliable performance for continuous protection.
App-ID: Application-based policy enforcement.
URL Filtering: Prevents access to malicious websites.
Security Controls: Comprehensive threat prevention mechanisms.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies management and operations.
Efficient Resource Usage: Optimized for minimal resource consumption.
Reporting: Detailed logs and analytics for better insights.
Antivirus: Protects against malware and viruses.
WildFire: Advanced threat prevention with machine learning AI.
Protocol Anomaly Detection: Identifies unusual network behavior.
SSL Decryption: Ensures secure traffic inspection.
Encryption: Safeguards sensitive data.
VPN Capabilities: Secure remote access for users.
Active Directory Integration: Streamlines user authentication.
Quality of Service (QoS): Manages network traffic efficiently.

What benefits should be evaluated?

Enhanced Security: Superior threat prevention and detection.
Centralized Management: Streamlined control of network devices.
Regulatory Compliance: Assists in meeting legal requirements.
Operational Efficiency: Reduced resource usage and downtime.
Comprehensive Reporting: Complete visibility into network activities.
Scalability: Adapts to growing network demands.
User Accessibility: Simplifies secure access for remote employees.

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is implemented across industries like healthcare, finance, retail, and manufacturing. In healthcare, it ensures patient data protection and compliance with HIPAA. Financial institutions utilize it to secure transactions and meet regulatory standards. Retailers benefit from protecting customer information and securing online payments. Manufacturing companies deploy it to safeguard intellectual property and control plant floor operations.

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

December 2025

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

Find out what your peers are saying about Hillstone E-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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