Hillstone E-Series vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM comparison

Hillstone Networks and Sophos are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 100% of Hillstone Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Hillstone E-Series and Sophos Cyberoam UTM based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

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

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos Cyberoam UTM

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 871,358 peers since 2012

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

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.

Read full review

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.

Read full review

Dipak M Gohil

IT Manager at Jord International Pty Ltd

Centralized management enhances remote work with comprehensive security and efficient VPN

The VPN is the most usable feature and is advisable for us to work from home. It provides bandwidth management, category management of websites, blocking certain elements, IPS blocking, DDoS protection, and VPN management between sites and clients. It offers centralized management, which allows us to use everything from a central console.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most important feature, normally for small business customers, is link load balancing."

"Fortinet FortiGate is a simple solution, and the integration with other solutions in the Fortinet portfolio, such as the Security Fabric integration, is competitive."

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is more realistic in application, allowing for more specific, customized security policies without the extensive work involved with static rules."

"The most valuable features of the FortiGate firewall include SSL inspection, VPN functionality, and threat intelligence features for preventing threats."

"The product is easy to install since we only need to follow the user manual, documents, and articles provided by Fortinet to install the product."

"Fortinet FortiGate's reliability is valuable."

"The dashboard I have found the most valuable in Fortinet FortiGate."

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a very high ROI"

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."

"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."

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

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

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the ransomware protection that the tool offers."

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

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

"Five out of five ROI."

More Hillstone E-Series pros

"There are plenty of features that are valuable in the Sophos Cyberoam UTM. We use all the features, such as email Security, firewall rules, web server security, web devices, web protection."

"The best feature is the flexibility the product offers, in terms of remote access. What we had before was a decentralized mechanism in our organization, but after having this product we were able to get the remote locations into the same LAN. We were able to control the bandwidth and were able to take virtual access of those machines and give them the support, as and when required."

"Good user interface."

"The most valuable features are the firewall section, the VPN, and how you control live users."

"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is a very strong product with good support."

"The product is easy to maintain."

"The product is a simple and user-friendly UTM that can handle accounting, reporting, firewall, IPS, and antivirus for industries."

"In terms of features and user-friendliness, the solution is good. It’s very stable. The solution is scalable. In Sophos Cyberoam UTM, the most valuable features are web and application filtering, routing functionalities, and VPN. It has helped us manage the bandwidth."

More Sophos Cyberoam UTM pros

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate can be integrated with different platforms. They have integrations in place, but I can't say they're 100%."

"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."

"There are too many updates coming for VPN, and the VPN keeps disconnecting frequently, which I find problematic. It does what it's supposed to do, but I practically face reconnection issues with the VPN."

"It would be a benefit if Fortinet would release a one-stop solution that is better integrated with other products and an automated emergency response system."

"The solution could be more evenly structured."

"The solution has limited scalability."

"The pricing of the solution should be more affordable"

"Fortinet FortiGate IPS could improve the VPN. There are times it is slow."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

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

"The current usage reporting is very basic."

"The tool needs to improve its price."

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

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

"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."

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

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

More Hillstone E-Series cons

"The price is appropriate, but if you want the real truth, it's actually quite expensive."

"I have problems with the email filtering. Emails pass through without any filtering affecting them. When I get back to them and tell them this is the issue, they check everything and say it is not in their database signature and they have to update it. But you know, by that time, my user has already opened it."

"It isn't missing anything."

"Technical support could be faster."

"Regarding the documentation, I find that it is still lacking, although the YouTube videos, user training, and knowledge forum are now better than they were before."

"Its scalability is not that great."

"The policy is a bit too vague."

"There needs to be more documentation that users can access to help them understand the solution or troubleshoot as necessary."

More Sophos Cyberoam UTM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is cost-effective, and provides a good value for your money. The pricing, and license renewal, is very reasonable for us."

"The Indian market is different than the European and American markets. When you compare they need to be a bit more aggressive on pricing."

"The license for Fortinet FortiGate is affordable in my country."

"Fortinet FortiGate gives you most of the features in one license."

"The pricing is comprehensive and clear. You can easily understand what you are purchasing, including which features correspond to each license and maintenance contract. Overall, the information is straightforward. Additionally, compared to other vendors, their prices are competitive."

"It is an expensive solution."

"The tool's pricing is neither cheap nor expensive. Overall, I find it to be competitive in the market."

"For the performance that we get, the price is reasonable. There are cheaper options, but they may not deliver the same kind of performance that we want. For the performance they provide, the price is acceptable."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

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

"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."

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

"The solution’s pricing is average. The product is worth the money."

"Cyberoam's pricing depends on the services you subscribe for. Most firewalls right now, especially UTM, focus on services and stagger all the services. If you want a particular service, you pay for it."

"The product's pricing is a challenge."

"We paid for a two-year FullGuard license that includes support."

"The solution's pricing is good since it is neither too high nor too low"

"It’s value for the money. It’s functionally competitive with higher priced alternative brands."

"It's not an expensive product."

"Prices are very high."

More Sophos Cyberoam UTM pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

871,358 professionals have used our research since 2012.

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

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	29
Large Enterprise	17

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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 ...

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...

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Sophos Cyberoam UTM?

The solution works perfectly without any users.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Cyberoam UTM?

The price is appropriate, but if you want the real truth, it's actually quite expensive. The annual software licensin...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos Cyberoam UTM?

As for areas where Sophos Cyberoam UTM can be improved, it's hard to say; I have not at the moment seen anything that...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

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

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OpenVPN Access Server vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 19% of the time

Hillstone A-Series vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 13% of the time

Sophos XG vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 7% of the time

Sangfor SSL VPN vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 6% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 3% of the time

More Hillstone E-Series Competitors

OPNsense vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 18% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 11% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 11% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 8% of the time

More Sophos Cyberoam UTM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

October 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

September 2025

Download Hillstone E-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos Cyberoam UTM

September 2025

Download Sophos Cyberoam UTM product report

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

Cyberoam Unified Threat Management hardware appliances offer comprehensive security to organizations, ranging from large enterprises to small and branch offices. Multiple security features integrated over a single, Layer 8 Identity-based platform make security simple, yet highly effective.

Sophos

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

Gulf Corporation for Technology, Maridive & Oil Services, Fidelity Bank, Petra University, Capital FM Kenya, Safari Park Hotel and Casino, Mayfair Casino, Pacific International Lines, Mozambique Ministry of Education, University of Namibia, Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, University of Hawai, New Delhi Municipal Council

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos Cyberoam UTM

September 2025

Free Report: Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Find out what your peers are saying about Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos Cyberoam UTM and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

871,358 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos Cyberoam UTM report.

See our list of best Firewalls vendors.

We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.