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Hillstone E-Series vs Sophos UTM comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
411
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Hillstone E-Series
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (38th), SSL VPN (10th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (28th)
Sophos UTM
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
114
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (5th)
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
TahirMahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Samaila Yusuf - PeerSpot reviewer
Network protection strengthens through effective threat management features and secure access control
The zero-day protection and firewall rules are some of the most effective features for threat management. I can set the rules and features, and also use IPsec to connect all my on-premises servers and link them to Sophos UTM so that they are protected even when in the cloud. Additionally, I use it to control access into the building through a captive portal integrated across all the PCs we have, ensuring secure access only for authenticated users.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can use our devices to check all of the perimeters. It secures email websites."
"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate include the simple user interface."
"We were looking for the VPN feature and controlling the inflow and outflow of all the traffic within the site and across the sites. We are also using it for the VPN and VLANs."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a very stable solution."
"It has very easy management and an amazing ETM configuration."
"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."
"It's an easy solution to set up."
"One of the best features of Fortinet FortiGate is that it's a very powerful equipment that gives many security features in a single box with good performance, and the user interface is friendly to use and configure."
"The most valuable features of the Hillstone E-Series are its hardware capacity, innovation, and the throughput that the hardware can take."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the ransomware protection that the tool offers."
"The initial setup was straightforward. It only took a few hours to deploy."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"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."
"The installation is easy, we have not had any complaints from our customers."
"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."
"It is a stable product... I rate the solution's technical support a nine out of ten...The initial setup is quite easy because they have all the information on their website."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"The platform's most valuable features include the integrated multifactor authentication (OTP) for VPNs, which enhances security, and the flexible and intuitive firewall policy settings that simplify management."
"We find all of the features valuable because together they fit the needs of our customers."
"The scalability is good."
"It improved bandwidth utilization and provided link load balancing features for internet and intranet lease lines."
"I would recommend UTM over XG because it's easier to manage."
"So far, the solution has been problem-free."
 

Cons

"One area for improvement is the performance on bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."
"The solution could be more evenly structured."
"They should improve high CPU and memory usage that occurs."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve the user interface. There should be more functionality and options through the GUI."
"The people we are working with are not able to configure MFA. They are having some technical issues. Fortinet needs to ensure that its partners are well-trained."
"If I had any criticism that I would give FortiGate, it would be that they need to stop changing their logging format. Every time we do a firmware upgrade, it is a massive issue on the SIM. Parsers have to be rebuilt. Even the FortiGate guys came in and said that they don't play well in the sandbox."
"Its pricing can be better."
"I would like to have logs, monitoring, and reporting for a month without extra fees."
"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."
"The tool only had some memory-related problems."
"The current usage reporting is very basic."
"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."
"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."
"The tool needs to improve its price."
"We didn’t find any issues but I know there have been some in the last few years."
"It is a little too CPU resource intensive, so we would like to see improvements there."
"Pricing has become expensive recently due to the dollar hike and naira value changes in Nigeria. Even though it's expensive, I consider Sophos a major first line of protection, so I pay for it nonetheless."
"When we call support, we get put on hold for a long time."
"The lack of import/export functions for network and service options drives me mad."
"The scalability of the product is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"Needs to improve the certificate management (ex. Let's Encrypt support)."
"It is a pretty straightforward setup, but it should be some sort of documentation that takes you step-by-step to help set it up for your VPC."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is very reasonable."
"It was probably about $2,500 per firewall. It was all included. It included support, services, threat management software, and 24/7 FortiCare on it. Cisco products are more expensive."
"The price is fair compared to the other competitors."
"If you compare Fortinet FortiGate with Sophos and other firewall products available in the market, this solution is affordable."
"Fortinet FortiGate gives you most of the features in one license."
"When I look around at other products, such as Sophos, Fortinet FortiGate is 20% to 30% more expensive with our current cost."
"The solution requires a license annually, it is not a user license, you can have as many users as your want. I must renew the license regularly per device."
"Currently, we are paying about $1,500 a month for three sites."
"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 cost per year for licensing, and hardware, is approximately $850 for the basic plan."
"It's expensive. It has a yearly license."
"​In the case of a software/virtual appliance subscription, you pay by protecting user/IP addresses. You can do this to as much hardware resources as you like.​​"
"We purchased the appliance with five years onsite support and licenses."
"It is the cheapest product available. It's good if you have a low budget."
"The pricing is pretty reasonable. I don't think that it is overly expensive."
"Although Sophos UTM is a good product, other products have more flexibility with their pricing. It is a very fine product, but when someone wants more relaxed pricing or more leverage in pricing, Sophos is more rigid."
"The solution is very low cost compared to competitors. You have a good firewall, a lot of functions for less than the price of some omni firewall competitors."
"For under 50 users, MSP licensing is profitable."
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Computer Software Company
10%
Non Profit
8%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business261
Midsize Enterprise99
Large Enterprise143
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business71
Midsize Enterprise26
Large Enterprise26
 

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...
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...
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 ...
What do you like most about Hillstone E-Series?
The most valuable feature of the Hillstone E-Series is its user-friendliness.
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...
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...
What do you like most about Sophos UTM?
The most valuable feature of Sophos UTM is the endpoint protection feature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos UTM?
The value between what I receive and what I pay is the best in the industry.
What needs improvement with Sophos UTM?
With artificial intelligence, there is room for improvement in all antivirus and security software. However, the bad ...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
No data available
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Overview

 

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
One Housing Group
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