Hillstone E-Series vs Sophos XGS comparison

Hillstone Networks and Sophos are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Hillstone Networks is ranked #35 with an average rating of 8.0, while Sophos is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.6. Hillstone Networks holds a 0.4% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Sophos’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Hillstone Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Hillstone E-Series and Sophos XGS are two advanced cybersecurity solutions with distinct strengths. Users prefer the features of Sophos XGS, but Hillstone E-Series generally gets better feedback on pricing and support.

Features: Hillstone E-Series is known for its robust threat detection, detailed analytics, and comprehensive reporting. Sophos XGS stands out for its advanced threat protection, integration capabilities, and sophisticated feature set that provides a notable edge.

Room for Improvement: Users of Hillstone E-Series suggest enhancements in automation, more frequent updates, and feature expansions. For Sophos XGS, feedback indicates a need for improved support documentation, quicker issue resolution, and enhancements in service aspects.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Hillstone E-Series is praised for its straightforward deployment and responsive customer service. Sophos XGS's deployment is noted as more complex but offset by its responsive customer support and detailed implementation guides.

Pricing and ROI: Hillstone E-Series users highlight its cost-effectiveness and perceived quick return on investment. Sophos XGS users acknowledge higher costs but commend the solution’s comprehensive features as worth the investment.

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

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos XGS

July 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 August 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.8%, up from 17.8% 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 Sophos XGS is 2.4%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

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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Nassif Kaleny

IT Manager at Bavaria Egypt S.A.E.

Dynamic web and mail filtering contribute to improved security measures

The reporting system is very poor. I cannot trace any traffic to our site if it feels some threats. It just tells me that there is something during a certain time but does not provide information about the type of threats or how to get rid of them. This needs improvement.

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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 most valuable feature of the solution revolves around SSL VPN."

"Fortinet FortiGate is among the best firewall solutions, having a significant market share in Egypt."

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

"The most valuable feature is the bundled subscription, which is IPS, TV and web filtering."

"The features that we have found most valuable are the SSL VPN and the User Portal."

"Fortinet FortiGate has impacted our cost savings and security efficiency positively."

"Fortinet FortiGate is a very good next-generation firewall."

"FortiGate improved our security. It's one of the best hardware firewalls."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

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

"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."

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

"Five out of five ROI."

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

"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."

More Hillstone E-Series pros

"The most valuable features of Sophos XGS are the ease of use and powerful interface."

"Sophos XGS is cost effective and provides all necessary security features and throughput."

"The initial setup is very simple."

"This product is very useful, and I rate it 10 out of 10."

"The Sophos XGS product is highly versatile and well-suited for various companies, including small, medium, and large enterprises. Its effectiveness lies in its inspection firewall capabilities, making it a commonly chosen option in our country due to its reasonable pricing. Sophos Firewall's support for VPN encryption and thorough inspection makes it a suitable choice for many companies, and I recommend it accordingly. At the moment, I can't propose any new features. The primary concern is the traffic stability, which needs improvement. Although the traffic stability is generally good, it has been noted that it can impact RAM and CPU, affecting workflow and inspection."

"The stability of Sophos XGS is very high."

"The features that I find most effective in enhancing network security include EDR and XDR."

"It is very stable. I have not heard of any issue where clients would have to replace hardware. It's been really stable for a long while."

More Sophos XGS pros

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate is a firewall solution and once it's deployed, you can rest assured that your system is secure."

"Areas that have room for improvement in Fortinet FortiGate include support and GUI enhancement."

"FortiManager has not been my favorite. I don't use it and cannot say I really care for FortiManager for managing the firewalls."

"The firewall engine is not so strong as of now, in my opinion... My second concern is that, while they have Zero-day vulnerability and anti-malware features, the threat engine needs to be strengthened, its efficiency can be increased."

"I use the FortiGate 60D model and realized the 300Mbps bandwidth limitation. Because it is a product that offers many services, I think it could have greater bandwidth capacity."

"Their support can be better, and there should be better policies for immediate replacement in critical situations."

"Some of the filtering is not robust, you can escape it with a VPN. Some of the users bypass some of the filters. It catches some but it also misses some, that area could be improved. It's functioning reasonably but there's room for improvement in that area."

"Fortinet Fortigate could benefit by simplifying some of their processes."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"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."

"The current usage reporting is very basic."

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

"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."

"The tool needs to improve its price."

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

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

More Hillstone E-Series cons

"I would like to see them in third-party evaluation reports like Gartner, Magic Quadrant, or Forrester to make it easier for us to show our customers that Sophos is a leader in the market."

"After version 18.5, creating a NAT rule has become more complex, requiring the creation of a separate policy and an additional component."

"The SD-WAN feature isn't very good. It's there, but it doesn't work properly."

"The solution could improve inspection processes and troubleshooting for VPNs because this area is very weak."

"The threat detection system could be more GUI-based or provide templates for common threats."

"Sophos XGS's response to zero-day attacks could be improved."

"In the new release 19, there should be the implementation of a cloud service that you can use to set up the IPSec tunnels, and the SD-WAN from the WAN dashboard, and then you can push that configuration out to every firewall that you have."

"Reporting could be improved. The structure could be better because most of the reports aren't detailed."

More Sophos XGS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"The pricing for the product is alright."

"A year or two years back, its price was competitive and reasonable. That was one of the reasons that people easily switched to Fortinet. Over the last two years, the prices have increased drastically. However, the prices of others have also increased. An advantage is there from the price point but not as much as it was previously."

"Its price could be better."

"Work through partners for the best pricing."

"Setup costs and pricing depends on many variables, but it's mostly affordable."

"Its price is normal. If I compare it with other vendors, such as Palo Alto, it's normal. Palo Alto is expensive."

"Fortinet FortiGate is cost-efficient. Palo Alto is expensive, but Fortinet FortiGate is not."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"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."

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

"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 pricing for Sophos XGS is reasonable."

"A central firewall on the cloud with a cluster might be 70,000 to 80,000 euros for a three-year license."

"Sophos XGS is a very expensive solution."

"The price of Sophos XGS depends on the type of license. However, the licensing cost is approximately 60 percent of the total cost."

"There is an annual licensing fee to use Sophos XGS. It is an expensive solution."

"We paid around 17,000 pounds for a three-year package."

"The price of Sophos XGS is less than competitors worldwide. However, in Turkey the solution is expensive."

"I would like to see them reduce the price."

More Sophos XGS pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

15%

Computer Software Company

11%

Non Profit

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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...

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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.

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...

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What do you like most about Sophos XGS?

The policies are the greatest feature. They allow us to configure granular control over our network traffic.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos XGS?

I am satisfied with the price, rating it a nine. There are no extra expenses required after buying the product.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos XGS?

There is room for improvement in Sophos XGS, specifically in three areas: slowness, centralized synchronization, and ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

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OpenVPN Access Server Enterprise vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 19% 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 5% of the time

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OPNsense vs Sophos XGS

Compared 15% of the time

Sophos XG vs Sophos XGS

Compared 15% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos XGS

Compared 9% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Sophos XGS

Compared 6% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sophos XGS

Compared 6% of the time

More Sophos XGS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

August 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

August 2025

Download Hillstone E-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos XGS

July 2025

Download Sophos XGS product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

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 XGS is a comprehensive network security solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats. It combines next-generation firewall capabilities with advanced threat protection, web filtering, and application control.

XGS has powerful deep learning technology and can detect and block even the most sophisticated malware and ransomware attacks. It also offers granular control over web access, allowing organizations to enforce policies and prevent access to malicious or inappropriate websites. Additionally, XGS provides application control features, enabling organizations to manage and prioritize network traffic based on specific applications or user groups.

With its intuitive management interface and centralized reporting, XGS offers easy deployment and monitoring of network security.

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 XGS

July 2025

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