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Hillstone S-Series Network Intrusion Prevention System vs KerioControl comparison

 

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

Hillstone S-Series Network ...
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
23rd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
KerioControl
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
13th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (27th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Hillstone S-Series Network Intrusion Prevention System is 2.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KerioControl is 3.0%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
KerioControl3.0%
Hillstone S-Series Network Intrusion Prevention System2.0%
Other95.0%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1080873 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Complements any firewall
The core processors are there and it's able to generate reports for that. It also complements any kind of firewall. For example, if an end user is using Palo Alto as a firewall, they'd need another layer of firewall like the S-Series that will protect internal servers. It's something that complements any firewall in the market.
Constantnos Achilleos - PeerSpot reviewer
Product manger at Asbis Mediteranean
Leveraging geo-tagging and web filtering for enhanced network security
The solution is used for site-to-site VPN connections and it is valued for its cost efficiency and easy connectivity. It is especially beneficial for multi-site VPNs and is used in about fifteen different components KerioControl has provided a financial benefit as it allows purchasing one license…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Setup is straightforward with the same reliability and scalability as the firewall series."
"The tool shows what has been blocked externally. It's very good because once installed and correctly set up, it allows you to work from home as if you are in the office, without any errors or issues. It's very simple to use, click to connect or disconnect."
"Kerio Control fulfills my needs completely and allows me to get on with my main work without spending any time on security or worrying about threats to the data I have."
"The anti-virus and perimeter security functionality minimizes vulnerabilities in our network and better secures our data, and this also decreases downtime of devices due to viruses and malware attacks."
"Kerio Control gives us everything in one solution."
"Kerio's VPN has easily saved us 50 percent, maybe more, in terms of time spent on support."
"On an annual basis, we save not just hundreds of hours but also labor costs, and over the life of the product, I'm sure it's in the tens of thousands of hours because we don't need an inhouse specialist in Kerio technology."
"The most valuable features of Kerio Control are the IPS and traffic rules, the traffic rules are very user-friendly and the IPS is working well, and additionally, the anti-virus is effective with quick options, such as filtering."
"It works well as it is, and I don't have a problem with how it works."
 

Cons

"Lack of tools to help educate end users"
"If I would suggest anything, it would be to expand on its multifactor authentication to be a little bit more user-friendly. They should do multifactor authentications for the client itself perhaps, rather than served on a webpage, in a page hijack, that might be more user-friendly, but I don't have a lot of complaints about it. It's doing its job. You have to have a certain amount of skills to configure these things anyway, the ones that we use on-site doing point-to-point, and we've been tricked up a few times with their interfaces."
"KerioControl has met some of the network infrastructure needs yet could improve in terms of scalability, which I rate four out of ten."
"The solution should offer more dashboards."
"The overall speed needs improvement. Internet connectivity speed needs to be improved somehow."
"I find it a bit costly to pay for the products that I am not using. They need to change their model in such a way that you don't have to pay for the products that you are not using. Its local support and scalability are also not good. I am looking forward to a more scalable product that will be able to grow with time and technology."
"I would like for there to be a difference between international and national links."
"I would like to see a little improvement in their technical support when you have a problem. I may be a little jaded because I came from Kerio when we could call and get a person on the phone who worked on the product. Every tech had their own demo setup. They had instant messaging capability with the developers. If we found a problem, then we could get a result for it quickly. Now, the product seems to be 24 hours. They have also gone to the model that if you need quicker support, then they now charge you additional for the exact same level of support that they used to give. I am assuming it's the exact same level of support that they say it is. I'm not paying extra for it. That's the biggest flaw with the product."
"I have had a few issues with HTTPS decryption. The solution also does not show the actual user's Internet usage."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Search and compare."
"We have to pay approximately EUR 175 for the product."
"Licensing is easier with Kerio Control. With FortiGate, we realized the licensing is really hectic, because if you skip one year, you have to back pay that year. If you skip two years, you have to back pay two years. With Kerio Control, if a license expires, one year later you can just reactivate and go on."
"There is a yearly upkeep fee."
"GFI has made a stupid decision regarding small office licensing. For offices where there are only three to five employees and had five years towards a five user product, they now force these customers to a 10-year user license. I really don't understand it. It's a stupid decision for the small offices who want a good solution for security because they'll probably decide to go to another product. Why should they buy something that they don't use?"
"It is priced low enough for entry-level, but it has the power to grow with a company without them having to replace it."
"It's too expensive. The license, in the last year or so, has gone up by over a £100. We're almost being out-priced by the annual license at the minute."
"The pricing is in-line with our expectations in terms of the quality that we get for it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Construction Company
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for KerioControl?
KerioControl offers good pricing as one license covers all features needed without extra payment. The price for the product is rated as ten out of ten.
What needs improvement with KerioControl?
Regarding KerioControl's application awareness and control feature, I have not used it much.
What is your primary use case for KerioControl?
With KerioControl, we usually use them for site-to-site VPNs for most of our clients. With multiple offices, we use KerioControl as our solution.
 

Also Known As

Hillstone S-Series NIPS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Triton Technical, McDonald's
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Darktrace, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS). Updated: July 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.