Hillstone E-Series vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall comparison

Hillstone Networks and Zscaler are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Hillstone Networks is ranked #35 with an average rating of 8.0, while Zscaler is ranked #24 with an average rating of 8.3. Hillstone Networks holds a 0.4% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Zscaler’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Hillstone Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Zscaler users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Hillstone E-Series and Zscaler Cloud Firewall are two prominent products in network security. Users find Hillstone E-Series more favorable in terms of pricing and customer support, whereas Zscaler Cloud Firewall has the edge with its comprehensive features.

Features: Hillstone E-Series users highlight its robust performance, automated threat detection, and advanced network control. Zscaler Cloud Firewall is commended for its seamless cloud integration, real-time threat monitoring, and scalable architecture.

Room for Improvement: Hillstone E-Series users suggest enhancements in reporting tools, integration with third-party applications, and UI improvements. Zscaler Cloud Firewall users point to needs for better offline support, more straightforward policy management, and a simpler user interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Hillstone E-Series is noted for its straightforward on-premise deployment process and responsive customer service. Zscaler Cloud Firewall offers quick cloud deployment and robust customer support.

Pricing and ROI: Hillstone E-Series offers competitive pricing with a noticeable ROI, making it accessible for smaller organizations. Zscaler Cloud Firewall, despite higher costs, demonstrates significant ROI due to its extensive features and scalability.

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

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

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 Zscaler Cloud Firewall is 0.4%, up from 0.3% 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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Bhaskar Rao

Network manager admin at Yamaha

Though it helps deal with web traffic or any malicious traffic, it needs to work on its DC performance issues

The product's initial setup phase is moderate in level, so it is neither very complex nor very easy. For the deployment, my company first needs to gather all the requirements of the users and the domain names and consider how many users there are in the company. In the implementation and planning part, my company needs to consider what kind of policies we will create while ensuring that the policies are created based on the requirements of the users. There is a need to segregate the users' requirements since there are separate departments in the company, like the HR department, sales department, IT department, and manufacturing department, so that our company can create policies depending on their requirements. On-site, if you want a GRE tunnel, our company can handle GRE tunnel traffic routing and Zscaler Cloud Firewall, after which Zscaler will take action based on the policies created by our organization. For the deployments and maintenance, a team of five members consisting of two managers and three engineers is required.

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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

"ROI is exceptionally good."

"Overall security features and performance routing is good."

"The dynamic segmentation feature in Fortinet FortiGate is pretty good."

"It is easy to use and performs very well."

"The most valuable features are that it is very simple to configure and to manage."

"The most valuable features are SD-WAN, application control, IPS control, and FortiSandbox."

"The enterprise-level support is excellent, and we receive quick assistance from Fortinet FortiGate."

"Fortinet FortiGate is one of the most solid and secure firewalls as long as you keep it up to date. The price is right; it's not very expensive."

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."

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

"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."

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

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

More Hillstone E-Series pros

"The solution offers good sandboxing."

"The visibility and log availability offered are highly valued for troubleshooting purposes, and this is a key factor driving customer interest in the firewall module."

"The scalability is okay. We have around 2200 people using this solution."

"The product’s firewall and VPN package are fantastic compared to any other solution."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"Includes advanced tech protection."

"It helps a lot of companies to reduce their downtime. Also, It helps businesses in terms of being secured and protected from any threats."

"It is a stable solution."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall pros

Cons

"Scalability is one of the disadvantages. When it comes to scalability, you have to actually change the box. If you want to upgrade it, you need to actually change the existing box and probably you take the system off to other sites."

"I have to say that the initial setup was complex. The deployment took a few days to get set up. Initially, we were using an IPVanish. We switched to this tool since we thought it would be easier. But it turns out it wasn't easier to set up and run."

"They should do a better job in testing when they put out a new release because when a new software version is released, it is not always stable or does not always have all the previous features working correctly."

"FortiGate should have a better way of detecting and managing the system memory because otherwise if the memory is too low, a system restart is required."

"The solution is very expensive."

"The central management for the FortiGate Fortinet Firewall needs improvement. They have the manager to do the essential management for both SD-WAN and for the security policy. They should also improve the SD-WAN function."

"They need faster serviceability and more security features."

"The performance could be a bit better. Right now, I find it to be lacking. Having good performance is very important for our work."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

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

"I am not sure if this solution offers active directory integration. Adding that feature will definitely be an advantage."

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

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

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

"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."

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

"The current usage reporting is very basic."

More Hillstone E-Series cons

"Certain criteria need to be met if you want to scale this solution."

"I don't have the visibility of a control dashboard or a network management system."

"We are having some issues with internet access being denied when organizational ID-based policies change. For example, a lower level employee ends up getting the same level of access as that of a higher level employee."

"The product could improve its integration with some legacy systems."

"Pricing is a challenge."

"There are several areas for improvement. Firstly, the GUI is outdated, with noticeable lags and delays, especially when generating reports for past transactions."

"When it comes to customer support, there is room for improvement in Zscaler's service."

"Instead of the standard license, they should certainly provide customers with the visibility to access and view the logs."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall 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."

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

"The price of FortiGate support is too expensive."

"The license is yearly. We pay for the top end. It's called 360."

"The pricing is flexible."

"The pricing is justified. It's a little pricey, but what you pay for is what you get."

"Its pricing is good. The advantages of Fortinet FortiGate over its competitors include good pricing and meeting our requirements at a lower cost."

"The cost of Fortinet FortiGate is competitive and not expensive compared to other enterprise- grade solutions. On average, the license cost per year is around seventy percent of the firewall's purchase price."

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."

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

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

"There is an annual license required for the use of the Zscaler Cloud Firewall."

"The product is a bit expensive compared to the solutions offered by its competitors, like Palo Alto. There is a need to make yearly payments towards the license in charges associated with the product."

"It is not the most budget-friendly solution, but it's important to consider its overall value."

"There are different subscription models available."

"Zscaler is priced too high compared to the cost of Fortinet."

"There are licensing costs, and I would not say that it's a cheap vendor."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis. It is somewhere around 30 or 40 pounds per user for our organization."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall 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

11%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

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...

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 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...

See all answers

Which lesser known firewall product has the best chance at unseating the market leaders?

Netscope, Zscaler if they continue route they are on now. FIrewalls needs great deal of automation on each end, datac...

See all answers

What do you like most about Zscaler Cloud Firewall?

The product’s firewall and VPN package are fantastic compared to any other solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Cloud Firewall?

Zscaler Cloud Firewall is quite expensive compared to competitors. However, it offered moderate value for money.

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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Azure Firewall vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 15% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 10% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 10% of the time

OPNsense vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

August 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

August 2025

Download Hillstone E-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Zscaler Cloud Firewall

July 2025

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Also Known As

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

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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

Zscaler enables the world’s leading organizations to securely transform their networks and applications for a mobile and cloud first world. Its flagship services, Zscaler Internet Access and Zscaler Private Access, create fast, secure connections between users and applications, regardless of device, location, or network. Zscaler services are 100% cloud-delivered and offer the simplicity, enhanced security, and improved user experience that traditional appliances or hybrid solutions are unable to match. Used in more than 185 countries, Zscaler operates the world’s largest cloud security platform, protecting thousands of enterprises and government agencies from cyberattacks and data loss.

Check more details: https://www.zscaler.com/produc...

Zscaler

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

Zenith Live, Azure, Carlsberg Group

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

July 2025

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