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Azure Bastion vs Azure Firewall comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.8
Azure Bastion offers significant savings and seamless infrastructure automation, though some users don't see specific cost or time benefits.
Sentiment score
3.0
Azure Firewall provides cost-efficient security for small applications, with varied ROI experiences depending on organizational needs.
We have noticed savings of approximately twenty percent by using Azure Bastion compared to VM pricing.
Lead Software Engineer at Glastechnische Industrie Peter LISEC GmbH
With Azure Firewall on the cloud, you just need to subscribe to the firewall, configure it, and it will help you protect your environment.
Technical Solution Architect at liwa
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Azure Bastion's customer service is efficient and patient, with positive ratings, though some improvements are needed in data transfer.
Sentiment score
4.2
Azure Firewall support is generally satisfactory, though some suggest improvements in response time and mention occasional third-party reliance.
We usually get backup within two hours.
Lead Software Engineer at Glastechnische Industrie Peter LISEC GmbH
Support is satisfactory but with room for improvement, primarily concerning data transfer issues.
IT Manager at NTT DATA
Microsoft provides excellent customer support, especially with premium support plans.
DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Nevertheless, the final support from Microsoft remains effective.
Information Technology Architect at GMS INC
With Azure products, customer support is really good.
Senior Manager, Information Security at NetSol Technologies Inc.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Azure Bastion offers scalability for extensive use but lacks customization, meeting diverse organizational needs with varying user exploration.
Sentiment score
6.4
Azure Firewall efficiently scales with traffic, supports global users, but larger enterprises seek further scaling improvements for extensive demands.
It is designed to provide access over a private network without hitting the internet.
IT Manager at NTT DATA
Based on my experience, I would rate it nine out of ten for scalability.
Cybersecurity Engineer at AXSYS
Azure Firewall is highly scalable, and I would give it a scalability rating of nine out of ten.
DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
When we started deploying the solution, it was not a mature product at times.
Senior Manager, Information Security at NetSol Technologies Inc.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Azure Bastion is praised for stability and performance, with minimal issues, especially in North America, ensuring long-term reliability.
Sentiment score
8.5
Azure Firewall is praised for stability and reliability, with users noting high uptimes and positive comparisons to competitors.
The stability of Azure Firewall is excellent.
DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
For our use case, Azure Firewall is stable enough.
Technical Solution Architect at liwa
 

Room For Improvement

Azure Bastion users face data retrieval costs, limited functionality, browser issues, and call for improved protocol speed and AI support.
Azure Firewall needs improvements in security, usability, support, pricing, AI integration, and centralized management to match competitors.
I would like to see integrated AI features with Azure Bastion, especially for connectivity issues.
Lead Software Engineer at Glastechnische Industrie Peter LISEC GmbH
A storage solution must be created to transfer data, and this requires additional permissions like ACL or NFS.
IT Manager at NTT DATA
It would be nice to have the capability to cut and paste across desktops, similar to old-fashioned Remote Desktop emulation.
Owner at BNS
If Azure Firewall can integrate identity features, it will help deliver additional next-generation capabilities.
Solutions Area Lead at a tech consulting company with 501-1,000 employees
Improvement in reporting and better visibility into network traffic would also be beneficial.
Cybersecurity Engineer at AXSYS
Azure Firewall could improve its reporting capabilities.
DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Azure Bastion's pricing reflects its high-quality security, starting at $150/month, suitable for enterprises despite competitive alternatives.
Enterprise buyers view Azure Firewall's pricing as variable, with flexible pay-as-you-go costs and mixed opinions on affordability.
Microsoft's pricing is on the higher side and could be more competitive.
IT Manager at NTT DATA
The price is not necessarily cheaper, but it is acceptable.
Lead Software Engineer at Glastechnische Industrie Peter LISEC GmbH
The standard functionality for API Management is at a zero level, and then the next level is one.
Technical Solution Architect at liwa
Azure Firewall is quite expensive, with a high cost.
DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Azure Firewall is subscription-based, which is advantageous as there is no need for upfront payment.
Information Technology Architect at GMS INC
 

Valuable Features

Azure Bastion offers secure VM access with Azure AD integration, avoiding public IPs, supporting scripting, and infrastructure as code.
Azure Firewall offers comprehensive security, seamless integration, user-friendly management, and advanced features for modern security and compliance needs.
The most valuable feature of Azure Bastion is its security, which I find to be the best part.
Lead Software Engineer at Glastechnische Industrie Peter LISEC GmbH
The security is the main reason we use Azure Bastion because it is integrated with Azure Active Directory, ensuring that access is secure.
Owner at BNS
Azure Bastion eliminates the need for a jump server by providing secure access to servers without hitting the public network.
IT Manager at NTT DATA
We have to combine multiple features and multiple products, and then we can say that this is more cost-effective and works properly to ensure the security posture of our cloud deployments.
Senior Manager, Information Security at NetSol Technologies Inc.
With Azure Firewall on the cloud, you just need to subscribe to the firewall, configure it, and it will help you protect your environment.
Technical Solution Architect at liwa
The premium version includes all traditional firewall features, reducing the need for separate compute resources.
DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Bastion
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
18th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (25th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (6th)
Azure Firewall
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
11th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Bastion is 1.5%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Firewall is 3.0%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Azure Firewall3.0%
Azure Bastion1.5%
Other95.5%
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

AP
IT Manager at NTT DATA
Access servers securely over private networks but need better data transfer solutions
Azure Bastion is primarily used to access servers securely without exposing them to the public network. It is configured in a private network to allow accessing an environment without public exposure Azure Bastion eliminates the need for a jump server by providing secure access to servers without…
AD
Technical Solution Architect at liwa
Has enabled us to manage internal access securely but lacks accessible documentation for deeper integration
We haven't required any support, but overall, Microsoft support is good. Whenever we raise any concern, they are supporting us on time. Currently it is good. We are not a public-facing company; it is a retail company only, so that's why I don't think it is required. We don't have an e-commerce solution on Azure. For that, we are using a different stack for the e-commerce portal, so that is not in Azure. We are only using it for business applications, and I think L3 filtering in network security suffices for our problem currently. Regarding scalability for Azure Firewall, we don't need it here because the request to the application is internal. All are internal users. So there is not much request to get into the application, so scalability is not required for us in the current scenario.
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879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise22
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Bastion?
Microsoft's pricing is on the higher side and could be more competitive. Startups and small organizations often prefer AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ) or GCP due to their lower costs, while la...
What needs improvement with Azure Bastion?
Azure Bastion does its job. However, it would be nice to have the capability to cut and paste across desktops, similar to old-fashioned Remote ( /products/remote-reviews ) Desktop emulation. I am u...
What is your primary use case for Azure Bastion?
We use Azure Bastion ( /products/azure-bastion-reviews ) as an administration tool to access Azure ( /products/microsoft-azure-reviews ) Virtual Servers.
What is a better choice, Azure Firewall or Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?
Azure Firewall Vs. Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls Both solutions provide stellar stability and security. Azure Firewall is easy to use and provides excellent support. Valuable features include int...
How does Azure Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks VM Series?
Both products are very stable and easily scalable. The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the overall cost is reasonable. Azure Firewall offers a solid threat awareness, can...
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...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Bastion vs. Azure Firewall and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.