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F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Hillstone E-Series comparison

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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

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in SSL VPN
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (20th), Network Access Control (NAC) (11th), Remote Access (16th), Access Management (13th)
Hillstone E-Series
Ranking in SSL VPN
10th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (40th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (24th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 4.2%, down from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 4.7%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)4.2%
Hillstone E-Series4.7%
Other91.1%
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

SÜ
Senior Cyber Security Consultant at KoçSistem
Has provided reliable policy controls and secure web access for large enterprises
I consider Cloudflare when evaluating centralized access control features; Cloudflare utilizes multi-factor authentication and full API support, while F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) needs to enhance its API support. I recommend F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) for large companies such as Tüpraş and Ford. Tüpraş is one of the biggest companies in Turkey, along with other customers such as Tofaş, Euroko, Koç Holding, and more. For on-premises deployment, I would rate it a 10. For cloud deployment, I would rate it a seven. I primarily use it on-premises. I rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) eight out of ten.
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

"Stickiness is the most valuable feature of the product."
"Our customers have never complained about the stability"
"A lot of features are useful to me, including mostly the authentication, SAML, or SSO, with no sign-on."
"In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work."
"F5 is great for handling complex issues, and most of our big customers, including banks and insurance companies, like it because it's such a robust platform that enables them to do almost anything."
"The portal access was very good."
"F5 BIG-IP APM is relatively easy to use."
"We have had a good experience with customer service and support."
"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 secure connectivity from a remote location to their offices or their servers."
"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."
"With Hillstone, TCO and ROI are very good, it's an easy sale."
"Five out of five ROI."
"The installation is easy, we have not had any complaints from our customers."
"The initial setup was straightforward. It only took a few hours to deploy."
 

Cons

"Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions can simplify user authentication and access control."
"The price of this product can be improved."
"The solution is quite costly."
"I'd suggest improved documentation integration directly within the GUI. Right now, finding comprehensive documentation often requires going to external websites like the community portal."
"The solution’s GUI looks very old."
"The initial setup was not easy."
"Cloud services are something that F5 Access Policy Manager could do better."
"I have had a lot of issues in the past few months with the agents, which was disappointing."
"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 tool provides just a general report. It does not provide a granular report. Hence, the tool should work on its reporting feature."
"I am not sure if this solution offers active directory integration. Adding that feature will definitely be an advantage."
"The tool only had some memory-related problems."
"The room for improvement would be the SSL VPN license cost."
"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."
"The tool needs to improve its price."
"The current usage reporting is very basic. I would like to be able to access more granular data."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
"The product is very 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."
"Hillstone's pricing is economical and neither very high nor very low."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Construction Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability, akin to purchasing a Bentley as opposed to an Audi.
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is not user-friendly and operates slowly. Additional features for architecture such as Anycast would be beneficial. The ability to run the Anycast feature woul...
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
I am using F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) along with Bot Management, API Gateway, API Security, and F5 Cloud. I am using F5 Advanced WAF, but I switch between ZTNA solutions such as FortiSAS...
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Also Known As

F5 Access Policy Manager
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Bank of China Macao, Instituto Tecnológico Bolivariano, Ministry of Labor in San Salvador, FEDCO
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Hillstone E-Series and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.