Hillstone E-Series vs SonicWall NSSP comparison

Hillstone Networks and SonicWall are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Hillstone Networks is ranked #38 with an average rating of 8.0, while SonicWall is ranked #34 with an average rating of 9.0. Hillstone Networks holds a 0.3% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to SonicWall’s 0.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Hillstone Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Hillstone E-Series and SonicWall NSSP are compared based on user reviews. SonicWall NSSP seems more favorable due to its extensive features, though Hillstone E-Series presents strong performance in pricing and support.

Features: Hillstone E-Series is noted for robust security and reliability. SonicWall NSSP is recognized for advanced threat protection and comprehensive security features. SonicWall NSSP excels in feature richness and user satisfaction compared to Hillstone E-Series.

Room for Improvement: Hillstone E-Series users suggest better integration with third-party tools and more intuitive management capabilities. SonicWall NSSP users recommend enhancements in scalability and reduction of false positives. NSSP’s users tend to experience fewer integration issues but see opportunities for scalability improvements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Hillstone E-Series deployment is reported as straightforward with good customer support. SonicWall NSSP deployment is also user-friendly but sometimes requires more extensive initial setup. Both receive praise for customer service, with SonicWall NSSP slightly ahead for proactive support.

Pricing and ROI: Hillstone E-Series users appreciate the lower setup costs and good ROI. SonicWall NSSP, while having higher initial costs, is seen as worth the expense due to superior functionalities, providing strong ROI in the long run. Hillstone E-Series is better in cost-efficiency, whereas SonicWall NSSP justifies its cost with richer features.

To learn more, read our detailed Hillstone E-Series vs. SonicWall NSSP Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. SonicWall NSSP

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 October 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.4%, up from 19.1% 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 SonicWall NSSP is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	20.4%
SonicWall NSSP	0.1%
Hillstone E-Series	0.3%
Other	79.2%

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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Winsley De Oliveira

Owner at ANOC

Long-term reliability and efficient customer support elevate user experience

The best features with the SonicWall NSSP firewall are safety and stability. The most defining aspect I can share is that if you try to find firmware, a pirate firmware for Fortinet on the internet, you're going to find it in Russia or elsewhere. However, try to find SonicWall NSSP firmware and you will never find it anywhere. Nobody shares it. I have my internal library for old and deactivated firewalls, but we don't share with anyone. This is very significant because anyone claiming to have hacked SonicWall NSSP firmware is incorrect. With Fortinet, it's different. It's a very nice product. For the customers and clients, it's transparent. We have rules, and they are very strict. Any bad sites or blocklist sites are blocked, and users don't complain. They are used to our controls. We have a standard package for our customers that's the same in every company. When customers buy it, they must accept it. If they don't accept the package we offer as a consulting company, we don't sell. It's a yes or no situation with no options. All our customers have the same scenario and configuration, with very minor exceptions.

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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

"In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable."

"It blocks the vulnerabilities that can negatively impact us."

"Application control and the web filter are the best features of Fortinet FortiGate."

"Fortinet FortiGate is a security device. It can optimize security on the networks of a company. It actually protects the company from attacks from outside. With FortiGate, you can categorize the users. You can create a group of users that can access all of the websites for their work. You can limit other users' access."

"The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with."

"Stateful packet inspection is valuable. It also does SSL packet inspection. It is able to provide a VPN for remote users with secure connectivity."

"The stability of the solution is excellent, as it is with other Fortinet products."

"Fortinet FortiGate is user-friendly and affordable."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

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

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

"The most valuable feature of the Hillstone E-Series is its user-friendliness."

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

"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."

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

"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."

More Hillstone E-Series pros

"The VPN functionality is really good. Overall, the whole device is very easy to manage. The software that comes with it is also good."

"It has been delivering results efficiently. Its configurations and updates have been easy. It is also user-friendly."

"I like the filtering feature, which provides easy access. The SSL certification feature is also nice. The solution enhanced our security posture."

"SonicWall NSSP is stable and scalable too."

"The product's most valuable features are simplicity and comprehensive protection capabilities, including load balancing, IPS, antivirus, and web filtering."

"The solution's pricing is good."

"SonicWall has helped us deliver security solutions effectively, particularly in threat prevention and content filtering."

Cons

"FortiGate can improve its token system, as it requires a purchase before use."

"The price and deployment part of Fortinet FortiGate is good, but it can always be better."

"I often ask for help from the local provider. I haven't found the required efficient help."

"We are not utilizing Fortinet FortiGate to its full capacity because we have to pay for every small feature."

"Previously it had a hiccup around a bug within the authentication VPN due to the firmware, but after updating, it's easier to control."

"I would like to see improvements in the support from Fortinet. Here in the Philippines, whenever we have problems with a Fortinet product, we mostly ask for support from distributors and resellers and not directly from Fortinet."

"We have experienced a number of failures when trying to upgrade firmware and the process takes a long time. We only experienced this when doing major upgrades between versions."

"Fortinet FortiGate can improve by integrating the web application firewall and the DDoS protection part of the solution. Having a WAF feature, web application firewall, and proxy together would be a good benefit."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"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 current usage reporting is very basic."

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

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

"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."

More Hillstone E-Series cons

"No security product is foolproof against hackers, intruders, and other such things. As a security product, they have to keep pace in terms of protection from new hackers and intruders."

"The EDR and XDR capabilities of SonicWall need to be improved."

"The user interface, the GUI, could be improved."

"The platform could benefit from an improved marketing strategy."

"Its reporting functions can be improved. It has decent reporting, but you got to pay a lot more money for it. That's where it begins to fall apart. It comes with minimal zero reporting unless you buy some extra modules. With those extra modules, you can get all the data, but it takes a while to put together what you need for your customer. It is for technical people, but there is no executive summary of the reporting."

"The solution's stability and scalability also need improvement."

"The product needs improvement for phishing emails."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is very cost-effective. You get features similar to other firewalls, such as Palo Alto, but at a lower price."

"Their licensing costs are annual. The UTM feature license along with their support is called FortiCare. We include that as a part of the annual maintenance cost. Palo Alto or Juniper also have an annual subscription charge for UTM. Price, of course, can always be more competitive, but it is not the most expensive product. The price-performance ratio is quite high for FortiGate."

"If you compare Fortinet FortiGate with Sophos and other firewall products available in the market, this solution is affordable."

"Pricing is lower than Cisco."

"The price of FortiGate is comparable to that of most other firewall solutions and is more affordable than Cisco."

"The solution is very expensive so pricing is rated a one out of ten."

"It's very competitive."

"There is a subscription-based model to use Fortinet FortiGate. We pay annually for the solution along with the support. If you want to have all the updates, and security patches you will need to renew your support."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"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'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 cost per year for licensing, and hardware, is approximately $850 for the basic plan."

"I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."

"You got to buy some VPN licenses, and there might be a $40 to $50 one-time license fee per current user. There are different layers. They have several different levels of event security software and depending on the model, it seems to come out to be $1 to $2 a day. So, if you bought a three-year license, it is going to be anywhere from $900 to $1800 depending on the bundle and model that you buy."

"For SonicWall NSSP high availability, active/passive, you need to buy one license, and so you get much more value for money."

"The pricing is cheap, and that's where, you know, the some of the organization goes for the SonicWall."

"The setup costs and licensing are reasonable, and the solution provides good value for its features."

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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%

Non Profit

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	351
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	3

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...

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...

See all answers

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSSP?

The pricing and licensing of the SonicWall NSSP firewall is not too expensive, being comparable to competitors. The c...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SonicWall NSSP?

They need to conduct more marketing campaigns because here in Brazil, when people mention firewalls, Fortinet has mas...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SonicWall NSSP?

I have experience with SonicWall NSSP Firewall, having dealt with NSA firewalls throughout the last 30 years. We're s...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 18% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 9% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

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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

A10 Networks Thunder CFW vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 6% of the time

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SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSSP

Compared 33% of the time

OPNsense vs SonicWall NSSP

Compared 22% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

October 2025

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Firewalls

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

September 2025

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Also Known As

No data available

SonicWall Network Security Services Platform

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

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

The SonicWall Network Security services platform (NSsp) 12000 series takes a modern approach to threat detection and prevention by combining cloud intelligence with appliance-based protection in a scalable, high-speed platform.

SonicWall

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

Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. SonicWall NSSP

September 2025

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