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Hillstone E-Series vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

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

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 (24th)
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
32nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Hillstone E-Series is 0.9%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is 0.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series0.5%
Hillstone E-Series0.9%
Other98.6%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Tejas Jain - PeerSpot reviewer
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Has provided strong traffic visibility and efficient policy management for advanced network environments
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be improved, though I don't think of much. I'm unsure how widespread the adoption for K2-Series alone is. Looking at the base Palo Alto capabilities, they are going in the right direction. K2 specifically about its efficacy with all these 5G protocols, the GPRS tunneling protocol performed without many hiccups during testing. With AI, if there is a Precision AI bundle that you're planning on exploring, then that definitely needs a significant uplift because currently it doesn't work for all the known models. There are many false positives that need to be addressed. While it's still ahead of its competitors, on the AI security side, there is quite a room for improvement.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the Hillstone E-Series is its user-friendliness."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The initial setup was straightforward. It only took a few hours to deploy."
"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."
"Very reliable solution with good scalability and straightforward implementation."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the ransomware protection that the tool offers."
"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."
"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."
"Palo Alto has an approach that makes the configuration easier not only for the customers but also for the IT help for the customers."
"The most valuable features are the intuitive user interface, ease of use, and reporting."
"It is a stable solution."
"Prevention of evasive threats is one of the best tools I've encountered."
"Palo Alto firewalls are scalable enough."
"From a security/cost-benefit perspective, it's one of the best."
"Palo Alto detects a lot of cybersecurity threats, which has been great."
"We are happy with the solution and our return on investment has been extremely high."
 

Cons

"The tool only had some memory-related problems."
"The solution doesn't have a web proxy built into the system like Sophos. This is something they should work to change."
"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."
"I am not sure if this solution offers active directory integration. Adding that feature will definitely be an advantage."
"Having frequent live webinars on a monthly basis would really help."
"The room for improvement would be the SSL VPN license cost."
"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."
"Threat prevention could use improvement."
"I would like to see the threat intelligence capability integrated with other vendors such as Cisco and Forcepoint."
"We had some issues with upgrading in the past. They could make the process easier."
"From a cost perspective, I'd rate the solution two out of ten. I am trying to avoid Palo Alto, even though they have a very good solution, specifically due to the cost."
"The eight-by-seven support is not good in that case if you need it often or at times when it is not available."
"Pricing is a sensitive issue because the cost is high in this market."
"The solution needs to constantly be adapting and updating."
"The scalability of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is good. It is good for larger environments over smaller ones."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"This is an expensive solution, although you will get value for the price."
"Products by the leader in the field are justifiably a bit more expensive compared to other vendors."
"This product is designed for large companies. The price would not be suitable for a small or medium size company."
"When comparing Palo Alto Networks K2-Series with other solutions it is on the higher end of the price scale."
"It is an expensive solution."
"This solution is expensive compared to other, similar products."
"The price of the solution is expensive."
"Palo Alto firewalls are very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
14%
Performing Arts
13%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise13
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?
The pricing for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series solution is affordable and there are no complaints about the licensing.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be improved, though I don't think of much. I'm unsure how widespread the adoption for K2-Series alone is. Looking at the base Palo Alto capabilities, they are goi...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank of China Macao, Instituto Tecnológico Bolivariano, Ministry of Labor in San Salvador, FEDCO
State of North Dakota, SEGA, Alameda County Office of Education, Temple University, VERGE, CAME
Find out what your peers are saying about Hillstone E-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.