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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs Hillstone E-Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 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

Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in SSL VPN
4th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Hillstone E-Series
Ranking in SSL VPN
10th
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
22nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (38th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 10.3%, up from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 4.5%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN10.3%
Hillstone E-Series4.5%
Other85.2%
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Ease and speed of connectivity impress and recommend
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they probably need updates to this product. I do not know what kind of improvements these updates are offering. It is a great product so far.
TahirMahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution's environment is stable and doesn't get disconnected every now and then."
"The valuable features of Cisco IOS SSL VPN are the ease of use and the speed; it is pretty fast and easy to use, definitely helps with our efficiency as it is one of our primary VPN solutions, and helps with maintaining security."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is very stable. We never experience issues with it."
"I have found that Cisco IOS SSL VPN is stable."
"It is a stable solution. In my company, we haven't faced any issues related to the product's stability. I rate the product's stability a ten out of ten."
"The solution is very reliable, and Cisco as an OEM and a service provider is very trustworthy."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is an easy-to-use and straightforward solution."
"We provide remote access solutions, internet access, and Voice over IP for our customers, as well as IT operational support."
"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."
"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 secure connectivity from a remote location to their offices or their servers."
"With Hillstone, TCO and ROI are very good, it's an easy sale."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."
"The most valuable features of the Hillstone E-Series are its hardware capacity, innovation, and the throughput that the hardware can take."
"If an organization is not looking for a web proxy, it's a very, very good product."
 

Cons

"The flexibility of configurations could be improved."
"The administration should be improved."
"They could provide the cloud-based as-a-service model with monthly rental payments."
"Cisco device management is quite difficult. They should work to simplify this."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN doesn't support the configuration of multiple VPNs."
"The Secure Plus Connect product could be improved with many enhancements in any price license, especially for licensing. Cisco could simplify the licensing; it could make it easier to order and use the features."
"I think the administration can be improved to include web interfaces."
"Firewall rule configuration not as intuitive as Checkpoint. ASDM needs work"
"The solution doesn't have a web proxy built into the system like Sophos. This is something they should work to change."
"The current usage reporting is very basic. I would like to be able to access more granular data."
"Having frequent live webinars on a monthly basis would really help."
"The tool only had some memory-related problems."
"The tool needs to improve its price."
"Support from Hillstone E-Series has a shortcoming that needs improvement."
"The room for improvement would be the SSL VPN license cost."
"The licensing model is very complex with many subcategories of licenses you can purchase. They could make it more simplified for customers to understand."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product costs less."
"It is an expensive product."
"The solution is reasonably priced, and we have around 50% to 60% discounts from Cisco."
"I would say it is a bit expensive, but I think it is worth the price."
"The licensing fee is expensive."
"My company makes payments on a quarterly basis to the vendor to cover the licensing costs attached to the product. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is an expensive product. There are no additional costs apart from the licensing costs attached to the product."
"The licensing cost of the solution is on a yearly basis, and it is expensive compared to other solutions in the market."
"The platform is expensive."
"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 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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Construction Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise26
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they...
What is your primary use case for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Currently, I use Cisco IOS SSL VPN to VPN in, but not with high frequency. We use Cisco IOS SSL VPN as our VPN client to connect to our network. This is for health.
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 firewall, where too much memory was consumed, and the firewall was hanging a lot. Wh...
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 which are available in the firewall.
What advice do you have for others considering Hillstone E-Series?
Our company did not use the tool's micro-segmentation features. There were no issues while integrating the tool. I have not used any AI in the tool. I recommend the tool to others. I rate the tool ...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
Bank of China Macao, Instituto Tecnológico Bolivariano, Ministry of Labor in San Salvador, FEDCO
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. Hillstone E-Series and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.