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Cisco Meraki MX vs Hillstone E-Series comparison

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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

Cisco Meraki MX
Ranking in Firewalls
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (6th)
Hillstone E-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
40th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (10th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (19th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Cisco Meraki MX is 3.6%, up from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 0.8%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Meraki MX3.6%
Hillstone E-Series0.8%
Other95.6%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Md Rafique - PeerSpot reviewer
it support at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Centralized security management has simplified daily monitoring and remote troubleshooting
One area that could be improved is providing more advanced reporting and analytics within the dashboard, especially more detailed historical data and customizable reports. It would also be useful to have greater flexibility for advanced firewall and security configuration without making the interface more complex. Better customization and more detailed troubleshooting information would also help administrators. Another improvement would be more granular control over alerts and notifications, so administrators can prioritize critical security and network events without being overwhelmed by less important alerts. More detailed historical analysis and easier integration with third-party security and monitoring tools would also be valuable. Overall, I would keep the simplicity of the Meraki dashboard while adding more advanced options for administrators who need deeper control and visibility. One additional improvement would be better support for integration with third-party security and monitoring platforms. More flexible APIs, deeper SIEM integration, and more detailed security analytics would make Cisco Meraki MX even more useful for organizations with a broader security stack, while the simplicity and centralized management are already strong points.
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

"I've been in this industry for 40 years and this is the simplest and easiest product that I've ever used."
"I would describe my experience with deploying Cisco Meraki MX as seamless."
"Features are straightforward to use as you switch them on or off, which can be advantageous from a simplicity point of view."
"I will never go back to any other solution."
"It is very easy to use and manage. It is also very easy to scale."
"The cloud management system is really valuable."
"Managed centrally over the web: You can manages all your Meraki devices in a single account."
"It is easy to manage, which is one of the most important things for us, and it is also flexible, stable, and scalable."
"The installation is easy, we have not had any complaints from our customers."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."
"With Hillstone, TCO and ROI are very good, it's an easy sale."
"If an organization is not looking for a web proxy, it's a very, very good product."
"Five out of five ROI."
"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."
 

Cons

"Expensive licensing and firewall stops immediately working if the licence is not renewed at the expiration date."
"When it comes to cost, that's a pain point."
"Meraki is a good solution, but it's not the best solution out there."
"In general, the SD-WAN feature needs to be improved. The load sharing and load balancing of the traffic should be improved. I have had some problems with these features in the past."
"The product could improve most by improving the client VPN."
"The event logging, alerting, and reporting features could use improvement."
"The current lead time is longer for Meraki MX, and it needs to be improved."
"Be aware, if you suddenly get more staff and want to have more than 500 users then it's not a firmware upgrade."
"Support from Hillstone E-Series has a shortcoming that needs improvement."
"The room for improvement would be the SSL VPN license cost."
"The tool only had some memory-related problems."
"The licensing model is very complex with many subcategories of licenses you can purchase. They could make it more simplified for customers to understand."
"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."
"Having frequent live webinars on a monthly basis would really help."
"I am not sure if this solution offers active directory integration. Adding that feature will definitely be an advantage."
"The tool needs to improve its price."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution. There is a five-year licensing requirement. We already renewed licenses for all our devices."
"Meraki MX is an expensive solution."
"Like any Cisco product, the license is really expensive for small business clients. It needs to be cheaper. If you look it up, you might go, "That doesn't make any sense.""
"It is a good global solution in terms of the price and features, but because we sell this solution in dollars, sometimes we don't get to sell this solution in Brazil because the dollar is very expensive. The price of every project is different. It varies depending upon the project, scenario, and client."
"Our customers pay for the solution on a monthly basis."
"The price of Meraki MX is between $8 and $1,200. Additionally, we typically purchase a three-year enterprise license, and we pay approximately $899 and mark it up a bit."
"In my country, the product is cheap compared to the UK because of the differences in taxes."
"The pricing could always be improved — especially with the shape the economy is in at the moment."
"The cost per year for licensing, and hardware, is approximately $850 for the basic plan."
"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."
"Hillstone's pricing is economical and neither very high nor very low."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
Construction Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business47
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise20
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

Fortigate 60d vs. Meraki MX67 for a small company without a dedicated IT Department
We have Meraki Mx devices now, we are looking to replace them. But that is because the Meraki MX platform lacks SSL Inspection, Granular Firewall rules (Block only, no allow setting), client vpn re...
Which is better - Meraki MX or Cisco ASA Firewall?
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the operating software for the Cisco ASA suite. It supports network security and firewall options. We researched both Meraki and ASA. We liked t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki MX?
I find the pricing for Cisco Meraki MX reasonable and competitive given the features provided and the target market. I believe it is acceptable.
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

MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hyatt, ONS
Bank of China Macao, Instituto Tecnológico Bolivariano, Ministry of Labor in San Salvador, FEDCO
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki MX vs. Hillstone E-Series and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.