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Azure Bastion vs Microsoft Defender for Business 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
8.2
Microsoft Defender for Business boosts ROI with increased productivity, cost savings, improved security, and enhanced business opportunities.
We have noticed savings of approximately twenty percent by using Azure Bastion compared to VM pricing.
Using Microsoft Defender for Business results in cost reductions as it consolidates various features under one product, saving around 20% to 30% of the budget.
It is pretty good because it offers various features such as Exchange, OfficeSuite, OneDrive, and SharePoint.
The value I see in Microsoft Defender for Business is in its ability to track and respond to application usage and security threats through its CASB and automation features, which are cost-beneficial.
 

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
5.4
Microsoft Defender for Business offers prompt support but lacks efficiency, with slower resolutions and mixed user satisfaction ratings.
We usually get backup within two hours.
Support is satisfactory but with room for improvement, primarily concerning data transfer issues.
It is rated ten out of ten for its quality and assistance.
The onboarding support is exceptional, ensuring seamless integration and implementation.
Faster support is needed for endpoint security solutions.
 

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
8.1
Microsoft Defender for Business is praised for scalability, with high ratings, despite configuration challenges across sectors like IT and government.
It is designed to provide access over a private network without hitting the internet.
The cloud-based nature of the solution ensures high scalability.
The scalability of Microsoft Defender for Business is rated as ten, indicating it is very scalable.
In terms of scalability, I find Microsoft Defender for Business to be good and reliable.
 

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
7.8
Microsoft Defender for Business is stable and reliable, with minimal downtime and occasional bugs, maintaining user satisfaction.
No customer complaints about its functionality or reliability.
Although it generally works, there are occasional issues and errors that sometimes require a complete system format to rectify.
Threat detection capabilities could be improved.
 

Room For Improvement

Azure Bastion users face data retrieval costs, limited functionality, browser issues, and call for improved protocol speed and AI support.
Microsoft Defender for Business needs enhancements in reporting, integration, support efficiency, and pricing, with user-friendliness and communication issues.
I would like to see integrated AI features with Azure Bastion, especially for connectivity issues.
A storage solution must be created to transfer data, and this requires additional permissions like ACL or NFS.
It would be nice to have the capability to cut and paste across desktops, similar to old-fashioned Remote Desktop emulation.
Microsoft should provide batch management solutions with the application, integrating pass management with roles.
Features related to Advanced Persistent Threat detection vectors and cyber kill chain integrations are not available out-of-the-box.
There can be improvements in the user interface to make it more intuitive.
 

Setup Cost

Azure Bastion's pricing reflects its high-quality security, starting at $150/month, suitable for enterprises despite competitive alternatives.
Microsoft Defender for Business offers cost-effective pricing within Office 365 Premium, valued for features and nonprofit discounts, despite some competitors.
Microsoft's pricing is on the higher side and could be more competitive.
The price is not necessarily cheaper, but it is acceptable.
Single-year pricing remains good.
The pricing is quite affordable at the enterprise level with no extra expenses noted.
The package with Business Premium is good for what you get for the price.
 

Valuable Features

Azure Bastion offers secure VM access with Azure AD integration, avoiding public IPs, supporting scripting, and infrastructure as code.
Microsoft Defender for Business provides scalable, cost-effective security with AI-powered threat detection, easy integration, and user-friendly features.
The most valuable feature of Azure Bastion is its security, which I find to be the best part.
The security is the main reason we use Azure Bastion because it is integrated with Azure Active Directory, ensuring that access is secure.
Azure Bastion eliminates the need for a jump server by providing secure access to servers without hitting the public network.
The threat detection capabilities are robust, with a dedicated research team and a continuously updated threat feed.
Its vulnerability management is regarded as one of the best in the industry.
The most effective features of Microsoft Defender for Business include its threat detection and response capabilities in managing vulnerabilities and ransomware attacks.
 

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) (6th)
Microsoft Defender for Busi...
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
15th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (25th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Bastion is 1.4%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 2.9%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

Aladin Steiner - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good scalability and provides secure access to the virtual machines
The product improved the security posture of our organization. We don’t have open ports and connect them to servers using it. We can carry out two-factor authentication to protect the devices with conditional access features. It would be nice to have a feature to copy and paste the files into servers. I rate the product a nine out of ten.
Syed Abid  - PeerSpot reviewer
Advanced threat protection secures diverse workloads with cost-effective deployment
If I need logs and don't have local storage bundled with Defender, I need to add workspace and log analytics, which is costly for storing logs of 2 GB, 5 GB, 10 GB. A default storage of 5 GB for logs should be included with Defender. There are limitations in whitelisting folders and files, and the whitelisting feature for Defender threat protection was deprecated. A straightforward feature for this should be added.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Retailer
7%
Government
6%
 

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?
The price is not necessarily cheaper, but it is acceptable. We are satisfied with the licensing on a yearly basis.
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 do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Business?
A few things are valuable. One is the alerting we see when any kind of intrusion is happening, any kind of malware is being deployed across the endpoints, or any kind of suspicious activity is goin...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Business?
Microsoft Defender for Business offers the best pricing option in the market and is very cost-effective.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Business?
The areas where Microsoft Defender for Business could improve include the support, installation process, and wiki. I should be able to find solutions to issues quickly without having to delve too d...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Bastion vs. Microsoft Defender for Business and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.