Azure Firewall Manager vs Azure Web Application Firewall comparison

Azure Firewall Manager and Azure Web Application Firewall are both solutions in the Microsoft Security Suite category. Azure Firewall Manager is ranked #28 with an average rating of 9.3, while Azure Web Application Firewall is ranked #22 with an average rating of 8.3. Azure Firewall Manager holds a 0.6% mindshare in Microsoft Security Suite, compared to Azure Web Application Firewall’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of Azure Firewall Manager users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Azure Web Application Firewall users who would recommend it.

Azure Firewall Manager

Read 9 Azure Firewall Manager reviews

788 Views
307 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Azure Web Application Firewall

Read 16 Azure Web Application Firewall reviews

3,286 Views
789 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Azure Firewall Manager

Azure Web Application Firewall

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Azure Firewall Manager and Azure Web Application Firewall based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Firewall Manager vs. Azure Web Application Firewall Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Firewall Manager vs. Azure Web Application Firewall

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 869,513 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

Azure Firewall Manager

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

28th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

4.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Firewall Security Management (10th)

Azure Web Application Firewall

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

22nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Web Application Firewall (WAF) (13th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Firewall Manager is 0.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Web Application Firewall is 1.9%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Azure Web Application Firewall	1.9%
Azure Firewall Manager	0.6%
Other	97.5%

Microsoft Security Suite

Featured Reviews

Sikkander Batcha

DevOps Engineer at CloudIQ

Has managed traffic effectively but lacks visibility and advanced control features

Azure Firewall is typically behind other vendor firewalls because we don't see what kind of traffic is traveling through it. That is one drawback. The main drawback is that we need log support from Azure Firewall, which can be quite costly. There is no login feature in Azure Firewall because only the IAM feature is available in the Azure site; we manage it only through the Azure portal, not through any other portal. Other vendors, such as Palo Alto, provide GUI or CLI interfaces to manage their firewalls, whereas we only manage Azure Firewall through the Azure portal. In the future, I would like to see additional features in Azure Firewall Manager to make it more competitive, such as technologies like App-ID and User-ID that Palo Alto has. Azure Firewall currently only allows traffic based on layer four and sometimes layer seven, so they need to improve in those areas compared to other vendors.

Read full review

Mano Senaratne

Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.

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.

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 solution has improved our organization with its firewall."

"Azure Firewall Manager centralizes network security management with a hub and spoke architecture."

"The tool's support is good."

"The solution is very easy to set up."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Firewall Manager is the testing and configuration."

"We are utilizing Azure Entra ID for group labeling, so Active Directory, or now it is Entra ID, securing our application for everyone who accesses it, and Azure Firewall Manager is definitely securing our projects and all its features are fine."

"From a traffic management perspective, it's a good firewall because it's automatically scalable based on the traffic availability."

More Azure Firewall Manager pros

"The most valuable feature of Azure Web Application Firewall is its ability to filter requests and block false positives by using custom rules and the OWASP rule set."

"The integration it has with GitHub is great."

"It has been a stable product in my experience."

"We have found the most valuable features to be the web application, minimal skills required for management, control through policies, and automation."

"The solution has good dashboards."

"It is almost impossible to access these assets from outside, requiring a very skilled attacker to obtain asset tokens of a customer using Azure."

"It's quite a stable product and works well with Microsoft products."

"Configuration is much easier than using different platforms."

More Azure Web Application Firewall pros

Cons

"Azure charges for many aspects including scaling, automated scaling deployment, and traffic management, which leads to higher costs."

"For Azure Firewall Manager, the learning curve for new people is a bit challenging, but the integration should be more straightforward for configuring a centralized system."

"The configuration and settings require substantial time for learning, particularly for new users."

"Azure charges for many aspects including scaling, automated scaling deployment, and traffic management, which leads to higher costs."

"The solution can improve the integration with open-source tools."

"We could do only one-way NAT-ing, where the traffic comes from outside to internal, to Azure, which is fine. However, when we actually do NAT-ed traffic to hit the firewall, that way is not working."

"The tool's security features need to improve. It needs also to include a monitoring system for logs. It is also complicated to find a query on the Azure firewall."

"The price is okay. This said, the solution is certainly expensive in comparison with other cloud services."

More Azure Firewall Manager cons

"In Brazil, we have some problems with the phone service that affect our connection with the cloud. However, it isn't common."

"The documentation needs to be improved."

"From a reporting perspective, they could do more there."

"We would like to see additional site services using AI to provide information about blocking requests and offer analytics on the origin of calls."

"Azure WAF should not be deployed in the middle of the traffic."

"I encountered difficulties with certificates for a Linux server when implementing protection. I had to create the entire chain, as I couldn't simply upload the certificate and the chain."

"I would say that Azure's customer service is not that good...I am not very happy with the support offered."

"The knowledge base could be improved."

More Azure Web Application Firewall cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is reasonable but it is reasonable for the features."

"The solution is certainly expensive in comparison with other cloud services."

"Azure WAF has price advantages over other WAF solutions. The pricing model is flexible because you pay on a scale based on the level of protection you need."

"The price is for this solution is fair and there is a license needed."

"The price is reasonable. It is approximately $2,000 US per month."

"The price of the solution depends on your architecture and how you manage it. You can control the cost in Azure quite well. The costs do not directly correlate to expenses in the features we are using."

"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."

"We have an enterprise agreement with Microsoft and the pricing is good."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Microsoft Security Suite solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

869,513 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	2

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	12

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Firewall Manager?

The most valuable feature of Azure Firewall Manager is the testing and configuration.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Firewall Manager?

The pricing for Azure Firewall Manager seems okay compared to its good features. Although extra expenses are incurred for additional services, these are not directly related to the firewall, and th...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Firewall Manager?

Azure Firewall Manager is good most of the time, but it could be improved regarding cost. The cost is a significant concern because we are in a region where the dollar is not our default currency, ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Azure Web Application Firewall?

The integration it has with GitHub is great.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Web Application Firewall?

I would place Azure Web Application Firewall at an eight on a scale from one to 10, with one being cheap and 10 being expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Web Application Firewall?

The pricing needs improvement, and I think for beginners it will be a little bit complicated, so the ease of use could be enhanced. I've worked with Fortinet and Cisco, and I think the UI is a litt...

See all answers

Comparisons

Azure Firewall vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 29% of the time

FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 27% of the time

AlgoSec vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 14% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Panorama vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 13% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 9% of the time

More Azure Firewall Manager Competitors

AWS WAF vs Azure Web Application Firewall

Compared 21% of the time

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Azure Web Application Firewall

Compared 13% of the time

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall vs Azure Web Application Firewall

Compared 7% of the time

Azure Front Door vs Azure Web Application Firewall

Compared 7% of the time

Akamai App and API Protector vs Azure Web Application Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

More Azure Web Application Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Firewall Manager

October 2025

Download Azure Firewall Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

Azure Web Application Firewall

October 2025

Download Azure Web Application Firewall product report

Overview

Azure Firewall Manager is a security management service that provides central security policy and route management for cloud-based security perimeters.

To learn more about our solution, ask questions, and share feedback, join our Microsoft Security, Compliance and Identity Community.

Microsoft

Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) provides centralized protection of your web applications from common exploits and vulnerabilities. Web applications are increasingly targeted by malicious attacks that exploit commonly known vulnerabilities. SQL injection and cross-site scripting are among the most common attacks.

To learn more about our solution, ask questions, and share feedback, join our Microsoft Security, Compliance and Identity Community.

Microsoft

Buyer's Guide

Azure Firewall Manager vs. Azure Web Application Firewall

September 2025

Free Report: Azure Firewall Manager vs. Azure Web Application Firewall

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Firewall Manager vs. Azure Web Application Firewall and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

869,513 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Azure Firewall Manager vs. Azure Web Application Firewall report.

See our list of best Microsoft Security Suite vendors.

We monitor all Microsoft Security Suite 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.