Hillstone E-Series vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM comparison

Hillstone Networks and Sophos are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 100% of Hillstone Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Hillstone E-Series and Sophos Cyberoam UTM based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos Cyberoam UTM Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos Cyberoam UTM

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 881,082 peers since 2012

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

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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

Stu Harris

Managing Consultant at Affordable IT

Reliable security features have effectively protected against breaches and promote scalable network management

The methodology of the rule sets is perhaps one of the plus points. I think everybody else does it, but the way the rule sets are configured makes it an easily understandable way to manage. One of my presentations demonstrates appropriate and affordable, comprehensive threat protection with centralized management and improved network security. This describes how firewall and VPN functionalities of this product benefit my organization. Protection and identity based security are probably the major selling points, with logging and centralized management. It allows you to identify issues first, and the reporting facilities are there and can be automated. You've got automated reporting that you can set appropriate levels of reporting to management and to the operational team, so they are alerted to what's going on. This describes how Sophos Cyberoam UTM's reporting capability helps in managing our network effectively.

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 product has the most valuable configuration, offloading, and security features."

"The solution is easy to implement and easy to configure. The most valuable feature is FortiGate’s content filtering."

"The interface is very good."

"What I like the most is the configuration and that it's simple, and straightforward to maintain."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate IPS are firewall and filtering."

"The most valuable features are the enterprise modeling and the simple interface."

"The solution can scale."

"The CLI and GUI do a good job of putting a lot at your fingertips."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

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

"Five out of five ROI."

"Working with the Hillstone E-Series has, from a remote perspective, allowed me to give my clients a secure connectivity."

"The initial setup was straightforward. It only took a few hours to deploy."

"The most valuable features of the Hillstone E-Series are its hardware capacity, innovation, and the throughput that the hardware can take."

"I am impressed with the application filtering feature."

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

"The installation is easy, we have not had any complaints from our customers."

More Hillstone E-Series pros

"In terms of features and user-friendliness, the solution is good. It’s very stable. The solution is scalable. In Sophos Cyberoam UTM, the most valuable features are web and application filtering, routing functionalities, and VPN. It has helped us manage the bandwidth."

"The features that I find most valuable in Sophos Cyberoam UTM is the RED, the Sophos RED, which is the SD-WAN, a very welcome feature that has made us fully transition out of the paid MPLS to SD-WANs."

"I like Sophos Cyberoam UTM as a security component or device for organizations. Performance-wise, it's a satisfactory solution, and it works okay. It also has good features."

"The product has helped control bandwidth utilization, as well as enhanced connectivity and security to remote locations."

"I found that the best feature of Sophos Cyberoam UTM is reporting. Its reporting feature is excellent, fast, and easy to prep and launch."

"I would recommend Sophos Cyberoam UTM to other organizations based on my experience."

"The most valuable feature is the IPSec forwarding."

"The user interface is well laid out and understandable."

More Sophos Cyberoam UTM pros

Cons

"For Fortinet FortiGate, their code development would definitely be something they need to improve on to reduce vulnerabilities that need to be patched."

"FortiGate may include AI capabilities and integrate external threat intelligence. However, version management and backup/restore operations could be improved."

"It should provide better visibility over the network and more information in the form of reports for the end users. Its installation should also be easier."

"The AI with Fortinet FortiGate is not very well integrated on their devices, and their cloud infrastructure is not as good as Cisco's."

"There is a lot of improvement needed with SSL-VPN."

"In the past six to seven years with the Fortinet FortiGate, we've had two major downtimes, both caused by firmware upgrades."

"In some cases, its initial setup could be hard for customers."

"The solution must improve the support provided for customers around the globe, considering the time differences in different places."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The current usage reporting is very basic."

"The tool only had some memory-related problems."

"The tool needs to improve its price."

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

"SSL VPN license cost is not cheap."

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

"Support from Hillstone E-Series has a shortcoming that needs improvement."

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

More Hillstone E-Series cons

"I would say there's room for improvement in terms of the GUI. Because it is better than some of the other standard firewalls. They have the drag and drop features."

"The reporting should be improved as well as the backup."

"Sophos VPN connectivity could be improved, as it can be lengthy, and users take longer to connect"

"In my experience the solution can be easier to configure with more documentation, we need more training."

"The reports need to be more detailed and granular."

"There is a lot or room for improvement, because it is still not a fourth or fifth generation firewall. It lacks security features."

"The reporting part could be more user-friendly for troubleshooting and identifying network issues. It should be more easy for a normal user to identify the problem in their network."

"The product is at its end-of-life. There is nothing to improve as it will be discontinued."

More Sophos Cyberoam UTM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is more affordable than Check Point and Palo Alto. Another thing is that all the features and the OS remain the same irrespective of the size of the device. Pricing-wise, Fortinet typically provides one-year support with the firewall appliance. There is also an option for three years which is how their licensing works."

"Fortinet FortiGate is reasonably priced."

"It is too expensive for us. My organization is very small, and we have a total of ten users. We have three internal users and seven external users. The FortiGate 100D series is too expensive for renewing the licenses."

"The solution requires a license annually, it is not a user license, you can have as many users as your want. I must renew the license regularly per device."

"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten"

"It's a very full-featured and it's priced well solution."

"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten. Its one-year license cost is competitive with three and five-year licenses offered by other products."

"The price is relatively expensive compared to other solutions which are providing similar features."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Hillstone's pricing is economical and neither very high nor very low."

"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."

"Separate license keys are required for different solutions that we implement in the server room, which are an additional cost."

"I consider Sophos Cyberoam UTM to be a competitively-priced product."

"The price is very competitive and the licensing is easy."

"Prices are very high."

"On a scale of one to ten, where ten is the most expensive, and one is the least expensive, I rate the solution a five."

"The solution's pricing is good since it is neither too high nor too low"

"It is not cheap."

"It is worth the value."

More Sophos Cyberoam UTM pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

15%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	357
Midsize Enterprise	133
Large Enterprise	188

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	29
Large Enterprise	17

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 a...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

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 fire...

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 w...

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 ha...

See all answers

What do you like most about Sophos Cyberoam UTM?

The solution works perfectly without any users.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Cyberoam UTM?

The price is appropriate, but if you want the real truth, it's actually quite expensive. The annual software licensin...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos Cyberoam UTM?

As for areas where Sophos Cyberoam UTM can be improved, it's hard to say; I have not at the moment seen anything that...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OpenVPN Access Server vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 16% of the time

Hillstone A-Series vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 10% of the time

Sangfor SSL VPN vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 8% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 6% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs Hillstone E-Series

Compared 3% of the time

More Hillstone E-Series Competitors

OPNsense vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 15% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 9% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 7% of the time

KerioControl vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 5% of the time

More Sophos Cyberoam UTM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

January 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

January 2026

Download Hillstone E-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos Cyberoam UTM

January 2026

Download Sophos Cyberoam UTM product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

Hillstone E-Series is a comprehensive network security solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats. It offers a range of features including a firewall, intrusion prevention system (IPS), virtual private network (VPN), and application control.

With its advanced threat intelligence capabilities, E-Series can detect and prevent sophisticated attacks, ensuring the security of critical data and systems. It also provides granular control over applications, allowing organizations to enforce policies and optimize network performance.

E-Series is easy to deploy and manage, with a user-friendly interface and centralized management console. It offers high-performance throughput and scalability, making it suitable for small businesses to large enterprises. With its robust security features and ease of use, Hillstone E-Series is an ideal choice for organizations looking to enhance their network security posture.

Hillstone Networks

Cyberoam Unified Threat Management hardware appliances offer comprehensive security to organizations, ranging from large enterprises to small and branch offices. Multiple security features integrated over a single, Layer 8 Identity-based platform make security simple, yet highly effective.

Sophos

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

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

Gulf Corporation for Technology, Maridive & Oil Services, Fidelity Bank, Petra University, Capital FM Kenya, Safari Park Hotel and Casino, Mayfair Casino, Pacific International Lines, Mozambique Ministry of Education, University of Namibia, Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, University of Hawai, New Delhi Municipal Council

Buyer's Guide

Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos Cyberoam UTM

December 2025

Free Report: Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Find out what your peers are saying about Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos Cyberoam UTM and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Hillstone E-Series vs. Sophos Cyberoam UTM report.

See our list of best Firewalls vendors.

We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.