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Fortinet FortiGate vs Hillstone S-Series Network Intrusion Prevention System comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

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
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
592
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Hillstone S-Series Network ...
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
23rd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 9.2%, down from 17.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hillstone S-Series Network Intrusion Prevention System is 1.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate9.2%
Hillstone S-Series Network Intrusion Prevention System1.9%
Other88.9%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

JK
IP Network Security Specialist at MTN Ghana
Process-Level CPU Visibility: Introduce detailed CPU-usage metrics per subsystem (e.g., IPS engine, logging) so administrators can quickly identify and address performance spikes.
Analytics with FortiAnalyzer. Being able to pull in logs not just from our FortiGates but from all our other firewalls and then get them in one view has been a game changer. Whether I’m building an executive dashboard or doing a deep dive forensics session, I get everything I need without navigating consoles.Straightforward Application Control. FortiGate spots and blocks unwanted apps (eq. like BitTorrent or streaming services) with accuracy. Segmentation with VDOMs. We’ve carved our data center into four logical ‘mini-firewalls’ enterprise, core, billing, and WAF—all on one box. Each has its own rules and logs, and any traffic between them still gets inspected. It’s like having multiple appliances without the extra hardware. Always-Up-to-Date Threat Feeds. Daily signature updates and AI-driven threat sensing mean we’re blocking the latest vulnerabilities almost as soon as they’re announced.
reviewer1080873 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Complements any firewall
The core processors are there and it's able to generate reports for that. It also complements any kind of firewall. For example, if an end user is using Palo Alto as a firewall, they'd need another layer of firewall like the S-Series that will protect internal servers. It's something that complements any firewall in the market.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Overall, I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten."
"My advice for anybody who is implementing FortiGate that it is a great product and easy to use, but be careful which firmware you use."
"Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features are the UTM package which provides internet blocking restrictions and load balancing, additionally, the solution is easy to use and the security reporting is good, and the security fabric which they have launched Fortinet FortiGate IPS is very good in terms of giving details."
"The solution is very, very easy to use, the user interface is very nice, the product offers pretty good customization, configuration has been straightforward and simple, the reporting is quite good, the initial setup is straightforward as well, and we've found the pricing to be pretty good."
"The integration of SD-WAN capabilities with Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted application performance."
"Provides good VPN capabilities."
"It can expand easily."
"This solution made it very easy to manage our bandwidth."
"Setup is straightforward with the same reliability and scalability as the firewall series."
 

Cons

"I would like the deployment and integration of this product to be easier. We should be able to deploy the features more easily and have different types of access. It should be easier to integrate. Currently, we need to develop APIs to use this interface."
"I would rate Fortinet support a six out of ten. The immediate response is not that good, particularly when raising a critical or P1 ticket; they lag in the immediate response."
"To some degree, it's almost a question as to why some of this stuff isn't simpler. For example, for an AP deployment, while it's integrated, the number of steps that you have to go through in order to get the AP up, seems like a lot."
"The license renewal process, annual renewal price, and the web application firewall features should be improved."
"Fortinet FortiGate has started implementing AI, however, it hasn't reached full maturity."
"There's always something new that can be added or fixed."
"The technical support that Fortinet provides is not satisfactory. When we call Fortinet technical support, it takes too much time to connect with them."
"Technical support is not helpful."
"Lack of tools to help educate end users"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is relatively expensive compared to other solutions which are providing similar features."
"It has been two years. I don't remember the actual price, but it was affordable. We buy the boxes and then use the license for three years."
"As far as I'm aware, in our case, it's just a yearly pricing arrangement with no additional licensing costs."
"Setup cost may be not so low, as you expect, because it depends on different factors, but TCO for 5 years may pleasantly surprise you."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate could improve, it is expensive."
"The Indian market is different than the European and American markets. When you compare they need to be a bit more aggressive on pricing."
"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten"
"I would rate pricing to be about four or five out of ten, it is reasonable."
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business369
Midsize Enterprise139
Large Enterprise195
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 at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...
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 the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...
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 good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...
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Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
Hillstone S-Series NIPS
 

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
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Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Darktrace, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS). Updated: June 2026.
902,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.