Hillstone E-Series vs Sophos XG comparison

Hillstone Networks and Sophos are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Hillstone Networks is ranked #38 with an average rating of 8.0, while Sophos is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.2. Hillstone Networks holds a 0.3% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Sophos’s 9.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Hillstone Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

Sophos XG and Hillstone E-Series are well-known in the firewall market, each providing unique features tailored to varied user needs. Sophos XG is favored for its integrated security and comprehensive management capabilities, while Hillstone E-Series is acclaimed for its robust hardware innovations and cost-effective solutions.

Features: Sophos XG integrates endpoint protection with firewall functions, boasting strong threat management, comprehensive reporting capabilities, and scalability. Hillstone E-Series is notable for its hardware capacity and performance, along with user-friendly virtual switching and routing features, which eliminate the need for additional third-party hardware.

Room for Improvement: Sophos XG needs enhancements in cloud integration and executive-level reporting, as well as faster support response times. Hillstone E-Series requires more frequent updates and better memory management, in addition to improved technical support and user interface updates.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sophos XG is versatile, supporting hybrid, on-premises, and public cloud infrastructures. Hillstone E-Series focuses on on-premises and cloud deployments. Both products have room to improve technical support and customer service, with shared challenges in responsive and knowledgeable support.

Pricing and ROI: Sophos XG is priced mid-range, with flexible licensing but can be expensive with added features, affecting its ROI. Hillstone E-Series offers economical pricing and functional features, presenting good ROI and attractive to budget-conscious buyers.

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

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos XG

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 Sophos XG is 9.9%, up from 9.5% 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%
Sophos XG	9.9%
Hillstone E-Series	0.3%
Other	69.7%

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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TarunPanchal

IT Manager , SAP HANA Administrator at Tara Paints & Chemicals

Decades of expertise lead to seamless installations and robust security

I typically use the Sophos XG Firewall to enhance my cybersecurity by using all layers. The intrusion prevention system impacts my security posture effectively, as we have not faced any ransomware or cyber threats. I have more than 800 servers live from Sophos. The synchronized security feature has proven to be very beneficial, and I have not encountered any issues. Sophos XG Firewall has contributed to reducing overall costs because it helps save money. We purchased endpoint security for the first time last year, and even without endpoint security, it provides comprehensive security. Sophos XG uses AI effectively to enhance threat detection and response, securing from AI at the packet level.

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

"UTM/NGFW features and FortiCloud for logs and backups are awesome."

"It is easy to install. There is not much complexity involved."

"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate are its simplicity, ease of installation, and ease of functionality."

"It's very similar to a Cisco firewall, yet less expensive."

"Customers are more inclined towards FortiGate because of application control, web filtering, and anti-spam features. The support from the FortiGate team is good, and price-wise, it is affordable."

"It's inexpensive compared to some of the other technology out there."

"FortiGate's SD-WAN capability is the most useful feature for us."

"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is value for money."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"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 Hillstone E-Series is its user-friendliness."

"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."

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

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

"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 firewall provides network visibility and reporting capabilities, constantly improving over time. It can be integrated with the cloud console, allowing centralized management of multiple firewalls. integration with endpoint security products ensures seamless traffic flow and rule enforcement, even when endpoints are not directly connected to the firewall."

"The solution was able to be integrated well with exciting hardware and software and in multiple business sectors."

"Sophos Control Center is a good feature. We can monitor everything from the control panel."

"Web publishing is important, as well as the importance of the antivirus patch."

"Most of the features Sophos XG has are valuable. However, if I have two different ISP, I'm able to create an automatic switch between the two ISPs. I can do the same thing for the cloud as well. If I have two subnets coming from the cloud, I'm able to create a type of switch between both of them where if there is traffic on one and has the traffic drop, I'm able to switch to the other ISP without any problems. It's a normal feature and I get to enjoy the ability to switch between services with no issues."

"Sophos XG's price is right, and it's easy to manage. It's a good fit for our current needs at the moment."

"The most valuable feature is the VPN aspect."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

More Sophos XG pros

Cons

"I wish that they could integrate zero-trust technology into Fortinet FortiGate. I am not sure whether it has been done already, but if they could implement that, it would help significantly."

"Their technical support could be improved a little bit in terms of responsiveness."

"Its load balancing feature could be easy to configure."

"I would like some automated custom reporting."

"In the past six months, they took quite a long time to respond to the support tickets. I don't know if they are overwhelmed with too much activity, but for the last six months, the support has not been very good."

"It needs more available central management."

"Fortinet FortiGate is a very good device overall, though it can be improved in certain areas regarding the licenses, particularly the big one called unified threat management, which has many capabilities."

"The scalability could be better."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

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

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

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

"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."

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

"The current usage reporting is very basic."

"The tool needs to improve its price."

More Hillstone E-Series cons

"XG is at its end of life. People are moving to XGS."

"The number of ports, especially on the entry-level appliances, should be increased."

"The UI needs improvement because it can be a little weird at times."

"It would be beneficial if the platform provided more flexible support for a variety of devices."

"I do prefer when updates come out a bit quicker."

"Sophos XG should concentrate on improving SD-WAN solutions. Currently, the in-built GUI doesn't support configuring SD-WAN."

"It is complicated to get the reports if you are not experienced with Sophos."

"The logging side of it could definitely be better. Some of the logging lacks, and the information that they provide you, especially in the spam filtering section, could be better."

More Sophos XG cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not the cheapest one, but its price is very competitive."

"Fortinet FortiGate is expensive."

"The pricing depends on the FortiGate model we are using, ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 US dollars."

"In terms of the market, it's not a cheap product, but it's cost-effective."

"It is an expensive solution."

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

"Pricing for Fortinet FortiGate SWG is more suitable for enterprise or large-sized organizations because they are the ones who can afford it versus small and medium-sized organizations."

"Fortinet costs are 25% lower than the high-cost provider. There is an equipment cost and a recurring monthly cost for licenses and technical support."

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."

"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."

"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 solution is not expensive since one pays as he goes."

"A Sophos XG license costs approximately $45,000"

"The price is reasonable"

"We have our license for three years."

"The price is not reasonable."

"We bought the three-year license, and there are no additional costs."

"The product is more expensive than one of its competitors."

"The Palo Alto solution is expensive and the FortiGate is less expensive than Palo Alto. The Sophos XG would be priced in the middle of the two."

More Sophos XG 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

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	129
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	140
Midsize Enterprise	51
Large Enterprise	36

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.

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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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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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What are the main differences in features between Sophos XG and FortiGate 80F?

Hi Arvind P , The Sophos XG firewall has a number of models right from XG86 to XG135w under the 1U Desktop Form Fact...

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What do you like most about Sophos XG?

IPS works smoothly.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 11% of the time

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WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

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OPNsense 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

Sangfor SSL VPN vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 6% of the time

A10 Networks Thunder CFW vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 5% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 5% of the time

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OPNsense vs Sophos XG

Compared 10% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos XG

Compared 9% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Sophos XG

Compared 5% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sophos XG

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos XGS vs Sophos XG

Compared 3% of the time

More Sophos XG Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

September 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

August 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Sophos XG

August 2025

Download Sophos XG 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

Sophos XG is a versatile network security solution that offers network protection, firewall management, VPN access, web filtering, and intrusion prevention, providing comprehensive security for businesses from small offices to large enterprises.

Sophos XG stands out for its Synchronized Security, easy setup, and robust templates. It manages VPN access, protects against threats, and handles load balancing and traffic monitoring. The cloud-based management, centralized dashboard, and detailed logging make it user-friendly and reliable. Integration of features like email protection, SD-WAN, and unified threat management ensures a broad spectrum of security needs are covered. However, it could benefit from improvements in network security, user portals, technical support, and more scalable SD-WAN features.

What are the key features of Sophos XG?

Synchronized Security: Orchestrates threat intelligence sharing between endpoints and firewall.
Unlimited SSL VPN Clients: Provides extensive VPN client support for secure remote access.
Cloud-Based Management: Facilitates remote administration with a cloud-hosted platform.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and blocks potential threats in real-time.
Centralized Dashboard: Offers a comprehensive view of network security status.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Scalability: Easily adapts to growing business needs.
User-Friendliness: Simplified setup and intuitive management.
Effective Threat Protection: Provides robust security against a wide range of threats.
Comprehensive Reporting: Delivers detailed insights and analytics.
Cost-Effectiveness: Competitive in pricing with flexible deployment options.

Sophos XG is implemented across industries such as healthcare, education, and finance to secure sensitive data and ensure regulatory compliance. It aids in endpoint protection, application control, load balancing, and traffic monitoring essential for these industries. Enhancing network security, simplifying VPN setup, and integrating adaptive security features remain focal points for businesses.

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos XG

September 2025

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