Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Hillstone E-Series comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Fortinet and Hillstone Networks are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Fortinet is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.4, while Hillstone Networks is ranked #40 with an average rating of 8.0. Fortinet holds a 2.1% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Hillstone Networks’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Hillstone Networks users who would recommend it.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Read 151 Fortinet FortiGate-VM reviews

12,508 Views
11,507 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Hillstone E-Series

Read 10 Hillstone E-Series reviews

3,876 Views
2,248 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Hillstone E-Series

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Hillstone E-Series and Fortinet FortiGate-VM are both competitive products in the network security market. Fortinet FortiGate-VM often has the upper hand due to its advanced features.

Features: Hillstone E-Series users value high throughput, reliable performance, and strong security capabilities. Fortinet FortiGate-VM users value its comprehensive threat protection, seamless integration with other Fortinet products, and an extensive feature set suitable for complex security needs.

Room for Improvement: Hillstone E-Series users suggest enhancing reporting functionalities, scaling options, and user interface. Fortinet FortiGate-VM users recommend simplifying management, reducing the learning curve, and improving documentation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Hillstone E-Series is noted for straightforward deployment and responsive customer service. Fortinet FortiGate-VM is easy to deploy but has mixed reviews on customer service responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI: Hillstone E-Series generally offers a more attractive setup cost and quicker ROI. Fortinet FortiGate-VM, while more expensive, is considered worth the investment due to its extensive feature set and long-term benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. Hillstone E-Series Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. Hillstone E-Series

September 2026

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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-VM

Ranking in Firewalls

11th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

151

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Hillstone E-Series

Ranking in Firewalls

40th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

SSL VPN (10th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (19th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate-VM is 2.1%, up from 1.9% 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
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate-VM	2.1%
Hillstone E-Series	0.8%
Other	97.1%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Ehab Ali

Senior Presales Consultant at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Unified security fabric has simplified multi-country deployments and strengthened threat response

FortiGate VM delivers exceptional performance and security with no degradation of service or protection (same features as the HW option). As part of the Fortinet Security Fabric, it extends across clouds and distributed locations, mitigating blind spots in virtual infrastructures. FortiGate VM can be rapidly deployed, managed through a centralized platform, and offers a range of purchasing options to suit every need. Also, FortiGate VM offers versatile deployment options across both public and private clouds, supporting all major public clouds including AWS, Azure, and Google as well as most hypervisors such as VMware, Hyper-V, and KVM. These deployments enable organizations to create scalable, high-performance firewalls that can be tailored to different virtualized environments and hyper-scale public cloud infrastructures. FortiGate VM integrates seamlessly with various infrastructure as code (IaC) tools such as Jenkins and GitLab, supporting security as code practices.

Read full review

TahirMahmood

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"It has allowed us to centralize every network service into one appliance, administrating all traffic going in and out of my company, and giving us visibility of all network traffic in an easy way."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its ability to deploy it on live physical hardware. Specifically, when providing firewall services for clients, we can leverage such hardware appliances to support multiple customers on the same hardware."

"The customer care center of Fortinet is good. For all the requests that we have done, they work as fast as possible, so this is a good point for Fortinet."

"Technical support has been super responsive and dedicated to getting any challenges resolved."

"I did like the ability to back up the configuration into the cloud, as opposed to having to store the configurations or just downloading them, the backups, to local devices."

"The firewall capabilities are great, we like the EPS antivirus, it's quite a complete solution, the features on offer are good, we find the solution to be stable, and the product can scale."

"The most valuable features are site-to-site connections and UTM."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM pros

"The most valuable feature of the Hillstone E-Series is its user-friendliness."

"Five out of five ROI."

"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."

"If an organization is not looking for a web proxy, it's a very, very good product."

"Very reliable solution with good scalability and straightforward implementation."

"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 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."

More Hillstone E-Series pros

Cons

"Integration could be better. Whatever devices I'm using with FortiGate are all compatible. The access points and switches are also FortiGate, so I can easily integrate them. But it would be better if we could embed other devices as well. There are compatibility issues with other brands, and we need that. We can only integrate universal brands with FortiGate. The initial setup could also be easier."

"Interoperability could be improved."

"The product does not have a good graphical interface."

"Fortinet devices are acknowledged as highly potent and come with a notable cost. These devices offer extensive visibility, an array of configurations, and a range of security features. However, there's room for enhancement in their routing and switching security aspects, akin to Cisco's offerings. A noteworthy aspect here is Meraki, which offers cloud controllers. If FortiGate were to introduce a similar cloud management solution, it could strongly compete with both Meraki and Cisco products. Cisco operates in two sectors: enterprise and SMB. Particularly in the SMB market, they hold sway due to their convenient cloud management features. For instance, Meraki's cameras and wireless access points can be easily controlled through their cloud management portal. If FortiGate were to provide cloud-based management solutions for SMB customers, it could cater to a significant portion of the market, considering that a substantial number of customers fall within the SMB and mid-level enterprise categories."

"The scalability feature of the solution has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required."

"They could provide more integration options with different platforms."

"I think Fortinet should provide us with more reporting from the AI/ML point of view. They could also offer the SaaS application in a single box. The VPN and ZTNA have so many verticals that they work as a standalone solution. They need to be in a single box."

"We face some issues with the IPsec connection during replication."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM cons

"The tool provides just a general report. It does not provide a granular report. Hence, the tool should work on its reporting feature."

"Having frequent live webinars on a monthly basis would really help."

"The room for improvement would be the SSL VPN license cost."

"The current usage reporting is very basic. I would like to be able to access more granular data."

"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."

"The solution doesn't have a web proxy built into the system like Sophos. This is something they should work to change."

"I am not sure if this solution offers active directory integration. Adding that feature will definitely be an advantage."

More Hillstone E-Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."

"The price: It is a bit higher than the other competitors. This is why I started to look at other brands."

"The product’s licensing must be a little cheaper."

"It is more expensive than its competitor, e.g. Sophos."

"The cost of this product is too high."

"We are on an annual license for this solution and it could be cheaper."

"There is a need to make payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."

"The product is expensive. Users can opt for a one-year, two-year, three-year, or five-year subscription model when it comes to licensing."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM pricing and cost advice

"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 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."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

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 Size	Count
Small Business	74
Midsize Enterprise	35
Large Enterprise	43

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1

Questions from the Community

Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls

In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it kind of depends what you value most. PA is good at app control, web filtering a...

See all answers

Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?

Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigate VM integrates well and has excellent centralized reporting. It is very easy to...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGate-VM?

I am not involved in the pricing and costs associated with Fortinet FortiGate-VM, as those are handled by the CFO. We are in operations, and we just access the product as it is and take care of the...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Hillstone E-Series?

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Azure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 9% of the time

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 6% of the time

Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM Competitors

Fortinet FortiGate vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 10% of the time

OpenVPN Access Server vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 8% of the time

Sangfor SSL VPN vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 6% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 6% of the time

More Hillstone E-Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate-VM

September 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate-VM product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

September 2026

Download Hillstone E-Series product report

Also Known As

FortiGate Virtual Appliance, FortiGate-VM

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate-VM delivers robust security services and advanced network management suitable for cloud environments, providing solutions like firewall and SD-WAN, with seamless integration across Fortinet devices.

FortiGate-VM is designed for enterprise security, offering comprehensive features like intrusion prevention and application filtering. It's known for its scalability and flexibility, supporting cloud platforms such as Azure and AWS. It enhances threat response and network management efficiency, thanks to real-time threat response, intuitive integration with existing systems, and cost-effectiveness.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate-VM?

Strong Security: Offers firewall, intrusion prevention, and application filtering.
SD-WAN Capability: Improves network connectivity and performance.
Scalability: Efficient scaling in cloud environments.
Integration: Seamlessly connects with other Fortinet devices.

What benefits can users expect from Fortinet FortiGate-VM?

Enhanced Network Management: Simplifies deployment with real-time threat response.
Cost-Effectiveness: Optimal for managing network protocols at reasonable costs.
Flexibility in Deployment: Suitable for secure virtual machine operations on platforms like Azure or AWS.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM is predominantly employed in industries requiring stringent data center security, enabling network segmentation and VPN services. It's particularly favored by organizations using virtual and cloud networks due to its Unified Threat Management capabilities, making it an efficient solution for protecting virtual environments from threats.

Fortinet

Hillstone E-Series is known for user-friendliness and advanced security features, offering high-performance threat protection with virtual switching and routing to support significant data volumes without third-party hardware. It provides top-notch firewall capabilities tailored to educational and energy sectors.

Hillstone E-Series delivers comprehensive network security with threat intelligence, ransomware protection, and state-of-the-art hardware innovation. Its 64-bit call processor facilitates handling large data volumes efficiently. Capabilities such as SSL VPN, integrated IPS, and application filtering make it a valuable choice for network protection. While further integration with a web proxy and enhanced usage reporting can enhance its offerings, enhancements in pricing models, support systems, and updates align with evolving user expectations for improved regional support and detailed analytics.

What are the standout features of Hillstone E-Series?

User-Friendliness: Intuitive setup and management for all users.
Threat Intelligence: Advanced protection against modern cyber threats.
Ransomware Protection: Strong defenses to mitigate ransomware attacks.
Hardware Innovation: Virtual switching/routing for seamless operations.
64-Bit Call Processor: Efficient performance with high data volumes.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating Hillstone E-Series?

Comprehensive Capability: Addresses complex network security needs.
Impressive Throughput: Maintains high performance under load.
Easy Policy Management: Simplifies network security rule application.
Robust Security Features: Offers extensive filtering and blocking options.

The Hillstone E-Series is implemented extensively across industries like educational institutions and energy companies to safeguard local networks against gateway-level threats. Many organizations benefit from features such as antivirus, integrated IPS, site-to-site VPN, SSL VPN, and policy management, enhancing remote work security and simplifying network management tasks.

Hillstone Networks

Sample Customers

Security7 Networks, COOPENAE

Bank of China Macao, Instituto Tecnológico Bolivariano, Ministry of Labor in San Salvador, FEDCO

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. Hillstone E-Series

September 2026

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