Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Hillstone T-Series vs SonicWall TZ comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

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
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
411
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Hillstone T-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
41st
Average Rating
7.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall TZ
Ranking in Firewalls
18th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 T-Series is 0.1%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall TZ is 2.9%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

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
Is stable and has a user-friendly dashboard and a good interface
We installed Hillstone T-Series after a ransomware attack. The dashboard and user interface are very good We cannot secure a specific IP class with this firewall. Another loophole with Hillstone T-Series is that when we connect through WiFi and turn our hot spot on, all who connect through the…
Subhadip Pakrashi - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides reliable performance with strong features and simplicity
SonicWall TZ is user-friendly, admin-friendly, and a beautiful product. I have been selling SonicWall since 2007 without any issues. SonicWall has been working on it excellently. They are up to date, and their research team is good, making the box feature-rich. Based out of India, I have had some issues with their faulty channel policy. It's a very good product, an awesome product for those who want to use SonicWall TZ. You can bet on it, but check out the channel policies in India. They should check out the channels in the channel business. It's just a precaution, nothing more than that. Overall rating: 9 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This solution has helped our organization by having strong functions and a reliable firewall."
"Fortinet FortiGate provides excellent security against ransomware attacks."
"The solution is very easy to understand. It's not overly complex."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the rules and quality of service."
"The security features are valuable, particularly the ransomware attack protection features. Fortinet FortiGate provides excellent security against ransomware attacks."
"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is value for money."
"Security solution with a straightforward and quick setup. It's a stable and scalable product."
"Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted our organization by preventing hackers from accessing our network."
"We installed Hillstone T-Series after a ransomware attack. The dashboard and user interface are very good."
"It has been stable so far."
"The only firewall able to monitor traffic from a CCTV network. Can detect unauthorized devices plugged into the network, which standard firewalls can't do."
"Customer service is excellent."
"The most valuable features are unified threat management which provides security intelligence and the VPN for both site-to-site and remote access."
"The solution is priced fairly and competitively."
"Most of the features are useful. It is easy to configure and easy to troubleshoot. I can see the utilization of different networks, and there are also App control features."
"The general feature is the antivirus policy, followed by the ransomware protection, and these are the features I was looking at."
"Offers the right amount of control without being incredibly convoluted and frustrating."
"The network security is great."
"From our point of view, the most valuable feature was the ease of deployment."
 

Cons

"Fortinet doesn't provide multiple virtual firewalls which would facilitate end users and customers."
"If they could extend their fabric towards other vendor environments for integration, that would be great."
"In terms of pricing, Fortinet needs to do more to compete effectively."
"Palo Alto has a feature called WildFire Analysis that is unavailable in FortiGate. WildFire is better than a sandbox because it can address zero-day threats and vulnerabilities. It can immediately identify zero-day threats from the cloud."
"It would be a benefit if Fortinet would release a one-stop solution that is better integrated with other products and an automated emergency response system."
"Its customer service could be better."
"I would like some automated custom reporting."
"One drawback of Fortinet FortiGate is that they provide two types of models: one with a hard disk and another without. The model without a hard disk has very low ROM where you can store very few logs, after which you need to upload it to the cloud or purchase a firewall with SSD. That's the only drawback."
"Licensing is not cheap."
"They have a very good technical support team, but I think there are some communication issues due to language differences."
"Another loophole with Hillstone T-Series is that when we connect through WiFi and turn our hot spot on, all who connect through the hotspot get all the functions, and the security does not work."
"It would be good if Analyzer would be part of the stock license, so even if a layperson is getting the device, he or she doesn't forgets about ordering the Analyzer because it's already there."
"The solution should provide some additional ports."
"We have been facing issues with reporting."
"Support for SonicWall TZ needs improvement, particularly the time it takes before you're able to speak to a support person, e.g. you have to wait for at least 30 minutes on the phone."
"If the operation increases and the bandwidth consumption increases, it does not perform as per the expectations."
"It could probably be more user-friendly, and it could be more scalable with releases and subscriptions."
"The products' reporting can be improved."
"The monitoring is a little bit confusing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You need to pay a license for this solution. Our licensing is now done in our subsidiary."
"It's very affordable."
"Fortinet FortiGate has different licensing models, depending on what you're going to do. Services included would depend on the license model. Licenses can be renewed annually."
"When you look at these end security systems and firewalls, these firewalls even five years ago were $50,000 or perhaps $25,000 to implement in some types of customer sites. Now we're talking about tools that are $1,000. In this case, it might have been $500 or something like that."
"It is affordable. Palo Alto is much more expensive than Fortinet."
"The pricing is fair."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is the lowest in the market."
"The price is fair for what we get with FortiGate."
"We got a much cheaper price than that provided by Fortinet right now."
"On a scale from one to ten, with one being low and ten being high price, I would rate the price of Hillstone T-Series at three. There are no additional costs other than renewal costs."
"The solution is expensive."
"The licensing scheme of SonicWall TZ is cost-effective. It's an affordable product, but some competitors, e.g. Sophos and Fortinet offer more competitive pricing."
"The solution is moderately priced, where it's neither cheap nor expensive."
"It is an expensive solution compared to one of its competitors."
"It comes to a range between five hundred to seven hundred dollars."
"The license that we purchased is good for three years."
"The price of SonicWall TZ is good for medium-sized companies."
"The product pricing is justified for the features provided."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
No data available
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 ...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
Would you choose Fortinet Fortigate or Sonicwall TZ?
I’ll say it depends on your needs. Fortinet FortiGate and SonicWall TZ are both next-gen firewalls (NGFW) with simila...
What do you like most about SonicWall TZ?
The most valuable feature of SonicWall TZ is the double authentication, where it asks for one password and again asks...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall TZ?
The price is normal. It is a nominal cost for an SMB TZ used for SMB businesses. However, more licenses are required ...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
Hillstone T-Series Intelligent Next-Generation Firewalls, Hillstone iNGFW
Dell SonicWALL TZ
 

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
University of Córdoba
AeroM_xico Delta TechOps, Unimat
Find out what your peers are saying about Hillstone T-Series vs. SonicWall TZ and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.