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Azure Bastion vs Azure Network Watcher comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 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

Azure Bastion
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
52nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (12th), Microsoft Security Suite (26th)
Azure Network Watcher
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
46th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Azure Bastion is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Network Watcher is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Azure Network Watcher0.5%
Azure Bastion0.4%
Other99.1%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

AB
Lead Software Engineer at Glastechnische Industrie Peter LISEC GmbH
Have improved security with role segregation and accessibility
The most valuable feature of Azure Bastion is its security, which I find to be the best part. We use Azure AD integration to specify who has access and what they can do. We can segregate roles, allowing some to execute commands while others cannot. Additionally, we are using it internally to connect to our secured AKS Cluster.
PS
Enterprise Architect at ATOS
Monitoring traffic has improved cost control and threat visibility across network flows
The main area for improvement is AI-based features. Currently, many intelligent tools are coming from third parties, and Azure Network Watcher needs to improve in this area. The focus should be on getting better analytics and foundation models for proactive monitoring through AI models. While these capabilities exist, they are still in beta version. Azure Network Watcher should improve to match the capabilities that Google is targeting from an analytical point of view. Azure Network Watcher needs to improve foundation models in terms of AI-specific features and analytics, which are still evolving. This may take some time, but within one or two years, these improvements should reach a nine rating.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product's setup is easy."
"Overall, I had a very positive experience."
"The solution acts as a dedicated server and we have implemented multiple software, users can easily access everything from there, and it's a cost-effective solution as we don't want to purchase any servers because everything is on the cloud, which is the main advantage for the company."
"It provides all the security to us. Without getting on the internet, we can access our servers. We can access our desktop through our web browser. We don't need to run the mstsc command and login to the VM. All those things are not required."
"Azure Bastion makes it easy to provide quick virtual machine access to our customers."
"Azure Bastion eliminates the need for a jump server by providing secure access to servers without hitting the public network."
"The connection to virtual machines is very useful."
"Azure Bastion is preferable because you just switch it on and off you go."
"The most valuable features I have found are typology, visualization, and capture."
"The solution is stable."
"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is the cloud-native application firewall, which is helpful for securing databases."
"The solution is stable, there are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze, it's reliable."
"The solution is good for monitoring device behavior."
"What I like most about Azure Network Watcher is that it's focused more on the architecture. I also like that it has a packet capture feature that tells you how the packet travels and whether it's exiting Azure, etc."
"This will help the company or the administrator, by helping them see how the traffic moves, to make sure that no entities are having any communication issues or different endpoints with task issues."
"This is a stable system providing stable performance."
 

Cons

"When you have a boot issue on Windows, you cannot use Azure Bastion to fix it. You have to use the Azure console or the VM console, and it is very limited."
"Speaking of AI, having Microsoft Copilot in Azure Bastion would be good."
"Currently, Azure Bastion does not allow for direct data transfer between desktops. A storage solution must be created to transfer data, and this requires additional permissions like ACL or NFS."
"When we retrieve that data from the cloud, they require some amount of money. That is the main drawback of this cloud solution. You are charged for retrieving your own data."
"You are charged for retrieving your own data."
"There are some challenges because Bastion is more compatible with Edge but not with the other browsers. As an organization, it doesn't make sense that we have to use only Edge. We should be able to access Bastion over Chrome, Mozilla, or Opera. It should be our choice."
"The protocol speed could be faster."
"The solution breaks down sometimes."
"I would like to see in the future if we can troubleshoot as a firewall because it is equipment as a network player and some diagnostics."
"The solution could use some additional components of the network culture, not only VMs. I'd like to see some additional security features because what they currently have concentrates only on the network."
"The initial setup and deployment could be improved to be simplified."
"Technical support from Microsoft needs significant improvement compared to other product vendors."
"The solution could improve by limiting the need to clarify the logs. When the clarification is minimized, it is better for everyone involved."
"The initial setup and initial learning curve could be improved to be easier."
"I still use Wireshark and Azure Network Watcher to get the required data. My team captures the traffic from Azure Network Watcher, downloads it, then imports that traffic into Wireshark to get more details on the number of hits and replies, for example. If you can do that on Azure Network Watcher and have Wireshark built-in, that would make Azure Network Watcher better. If Azure Network Watcher has that functionality where you won't need a third-party tool to get what you need, that would be helpful. I'm also expecting more from Azure Network Watcher. It's more complex than knowing how the IP flows from its source to the destination. The tool also needs more open-source features, such as having some built-in Wireshark that improves monitoring for customers. Sometimes, you encounter a VPN tunnel, network, or routing issue, but finding out more about the blockage is challenging. Is it one hundred percent an Azure issue? Is it a peer issue? You don't get complete information from Azure Network Watcher, so you must use other tools and depend on your strategies to resolve a specific issue. If more features could be added in the next release of Azure Network Watcher, specifically ones you can find on open-source tools, then that would be a plus point for the tool."
"Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications, for example, an application to log activities for inbound and outbound traffic."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It does not save money for us."
"The tool is cheaply priced. I would say that the product is free to use."
"The pricing is a lower decision point than high-quality security for our organization. Better security comes at a cost, but it's worth it, and that's what we tell our customers."
"Azure Bastion's pricing is good."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"Price-wise, I have no information on how much Azure Network Watcher costs."
"The pricing is good. It's not too expensive."
"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Construction Company
13%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise7
 

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 could be improved with more granular session monitoring, rich audit capabilities, and deeper integration with security operation workflows. We would also appreciate enhanced reporting...
What is your primary use case for Azure Bastion?
Azure Bastion serves as our primary solution for providing secure administrative access to Azure VPNs and VMs without exposing RDP or SSH ports to the internet. From a cybersecurity perspective, it...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Network Watcher?
I do not have the exact setup cost information on hand, but it is available in the public Azure portal. You can access the calculator there to get detailed pricing information.
What needs improvement with Azure Network Watcher?
The main area for improvement is AI-based features. Currently, many intelligent tools are coming from third parties, and Azure Network Watcher needs to improve in this area. The focus should be on ...
What is your primary use case for Azure Network Watcher?
Azure Network Watcher is used for monitoring network traffic. It provides insight into egress and ingress traffic, which helps determine whether consumption can be controlled. Most Azure services c...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Bastion vs. Azure Network Watcher and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.