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Azure Bastion vs Azure Web Application 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
4.4
Azure Web Application Firewall offers cost-effective security, outperforming alternatives in threat management and boosting application development and returns.
We have noticed savings of approximately twenty percent by using Azure Bastion compared to VM pricing.
AI-based recommendations save on time and money.
Recently, they have been under serious attack with major exploits, such as Log4j, affecting Fortinet and Palo Alto, and even Cisco and VMware.
 

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
7.1
Azure Web Application Firewall support varies by service level, with mixed reviews on responsiveness, effectiveness, and necessity of premium plans.
Support is satisfactory but with room for improvement, primarily concerning data transfer issues.
We usually get backup within two hours.
I hardly use Microsoft's paid subscription or maintenance services, however, whenever I send them a note, they have been responsive.
I reached out to their support, and they helped me resolve the issue effectively.
I am very satisfied with the response from Microsoft dedicated architects if it happens that I have to call for their support.
 

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
6.6
Azure Web Application Firewall offers flexible, highly-rated scalability, adapting regionally to traffic, benefiting users with varying and demanding workloads.
It is designed to provide access over a private network without hitting the internet.
Beyond a certain SKU, I can install and use these services.
 

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
7.1
Azure Web Application Firewall is stable and reliable, with infrequent latency issues typically resolved by restarting the system.
Very rarely do I see any latency issues.
 

Room For Improvement

Azure Bastion users face data retrieval costs, limited functionality, browser issues, and call for improved protocol speed and AI support.
Azure Web Application Firewall needs improved management, integration, performance, support, and more affordable pricing for enhanced user experience.
A storage solution must be created to transfer data, and this requires additional permissions like ACL or NFS.
I would like to see integrated AI features with Azure Bastion, especially for connectivity issues.
It would be nice to have the capability to cut and paste across desktops, similar to old-fashioned Remote Desktop emulation.
Upgrading the platform regularly is necessary for security, however, frequent updates every six months or year from Azure can be a maintenance overhead.
 

Setup Cost

Azure Bastion's pricing reflects its high-quality security, starting at $150/month, suitable for enterprises despite competitive alternatives.
Azure Web Application Firewall offers competitive and cost-effective pricing, especially favored for enterprise agreements and its simplicity.
Microsoft's pricing is on the higher side and could be more competitive.
The price is not necessarily cheaper, but it is acceptable.
It is even a lower cost compared to AWS and GCP.
Sometimes, when opting for a higher SKU, it's not the WAF itself that's costly but the additional requirements.
 

Valuable Features

Azure Bastion offers secure VM access with Azure AD integration, avoiding public IPs, supporting scripting, and infrastructure as code.
Azure Web Application Firewall offers strong security, customizable rules, seamless Azure integration, efficient setup, flexible pricing, and effective monitoring.
Azure Bastion eliminates the need for a jump server by providing secure access to servers without hitting the public network.
The security is the main reason we use Azure Bastion because it is integrated with Azure Active Directory, ensuring that access is secure.
We use Azure AD integration to specify who has access and what they can do.
With Microsoft, everything is within a single suite, making it easier to configure and plan.
It is almost impossible to access these assets from outside, requiring a very skilled attacker to obtain asset tokens of a customer using Azure.
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Bastion
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
19th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (24th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (7th)
Azure Web Application Firewall
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
22nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Web Application Firewall (WAF) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Bastion is 1.3%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Web Application Firewall is 1.9%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

Deepanshu Thakur - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use, good for creating complex infrastructures and modernized
Whether Azure Bastion handles network latency and large-scale connections is irrelevant as it is not something that is valid because it is just used as a code for configurations. It would not be right to frame a question where one asks how HTML CSS handles the network connections because network connection, bandwidth, connectivity, and concurrent connections are areas that depend heavily on the infrastructure as opposed to the code. The area revolves around code matters, but infrastructure is the key component. As Azure Bastion is there to create the infrastructure, it is not valid to discuss whether it can handle network latency and large-scale connections. Azure Bastion is a secure tool. I have not seen any AI capabilities in the tool. People can create complex infrastructure and a hierarchy, but it all depends on how they organize their code and files. If they organize it the right way, the entire solution and the entire infrastructure would be smooth enough to be deployed with Azure Bastion. I rate the tool an eight out of ten.
Mano Senaratne - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive suite simplifies configuration while frequent updates require management
Mainly, it comes with the complete suite of Microsoft services. I can use it in conjunction with the best options and other features that come with it. Configuration is much easier than using different platforms. For example, if I have hosted the application in AWS and am using the Application Firewall from Azure, there are certain additional steps to follow when configuring them. With Microsoft, everything is within a single suite, making it easier to configure and plan. Azure continually upgrades platforms and sends us messages to upgrade to the next version, simplifying the process. Later, it's much easier if I want to upgrade the software platform, scale it, or move it to a different application host as the whole suite comes together. The return on investment is good. If I am doing applications for clients, I can invoice them for better costs. Most applications that I run and use have a better return on investment.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Bastion?
Azure Bastion makes it easy to provide quick virtual machine access to our customers.
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 experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Web Application Firewall?
As a technical professional, I am not aware of the exact price details, but I know that specific products are more costly than Azure or AWS WAF ( /products/aws-waf-reviews ).
What needs improvement with Azure Web Application Firewall?
Azure Web Application Firewall could improve in logging and troubleshooting processes by making them more streamlined and easier to manage.
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Bastion vs. Azure Web Application Firewall and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
864,155 professionals have used our research since 2012.