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

Microsoft and Fortinet are both solutions in the Firewall Security Management category. Microsoft is ranked #10 with an average rating of 9.3, while Fortinet is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.3. Microsoft holds a 1.9% mindshare in Firewall Security Management, compared to Fortinet’s 1.7% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

Azure Firewall Manager

Read 9 Azure Firewall Manager reviews

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481 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

FortiGate Cloud-Native Fire...

Read 16 FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) reviews

524 Views
524 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Azure Firewall Manager

FortiGate Cloud-Native Fire...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Azure Firewall Manager and FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall are essential cloud-based firewall solutions catering to enterprises requiring robust security measures. FortiGate CNF seems to have the upper hand due to its advanced feature set and extensive security capabilities for complex network infrastructures.

Features: Azure Firewall Manager is integrated into the Azure ecosystem, providing centralized policy management, scalability, and ease of use within Azure environments. FortiGate CNF offers advanced threat protection, intrusion prevention, and deep application visibility, making it appealing to organizations that require deeper security insights.

Room for Improvement: Azure Firewall Manager could improve its flexibility outside the Azure ecosystem and expand its advanced feature offerings. It may benefit from better integration options with non-Azure platforms. FortiGate CNF could enhance its user interface for new users, improve the ease of integration with specific Azure services, and simplify its licensing model.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: FortiGate CNF is praised for flexible deployment options across various cloud environments and strong support for hybrid cloud strategies. Azure Firewall Manager benefits from seamless deployment within Azure and offers quality Azure platform support. While FortiGate CNF has comprehensive support channels, Azure Firewall Manager excels in its platform-specific assistance.

Pricing and ROI: Azure Firewall Manager has a straightforward pricing model within the Azure platform, making it cost-effective for existing Azure clients with a strong ROI for enterprises fully invested in Azure services. FortiGate CNF, while potentially costlier initially, offers significant long-term ROI due to its extensive features, optimizing network security for businesses requiring sophisticated measures.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Firewall Manager vs. FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

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

September 2025

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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 Firewall Security Management

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

4.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Microsoft Security Suite (28th)

FortiGate Cloud-Native Fire...

Ranking in Firewall Security Management

6th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Firewall Security Management category, the mindshare of Azure Firewall Manager is 1.9%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) is 1.7%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewall Security Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF)	1.7%
Azure Firewall Manager	1.9%
Other	96.4%

Firewall Security Management

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.

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MuhammadJahangir

Senior Manager Tech Compliance at Qenta Inc.

Provided us with a good experience, making it the best firewall for our needs

We are using two Fortinet firewalls. One is as an office firewall for all users behind it, configured with remote VPN for users working from home. The other firewall is for production use, with our applications behind it, ensuring PCI DSS compliance. It is deployed in AWS Cloud FortiGate has…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

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

"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."

"The tool's support is good."

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

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

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

"The solution is very easy to set up."

More Azure Firewall Manager pros

"The focus is on the comprehensive coverage of threats and the reliability of the chosen solution. Ease of use and familiarity are crucial."

"Unlike other products, the FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall has many features under one appliance."

"FortiGate provides features such as Internet connections, monitoring, VPN, WiFi management, and centralized management system with FortiManager."

"I have configured some SD-WAN features, and it's worked pretty well. It manages pretty well, connecting all links to the firewall. It can lower balance and traffic management."

"The people I work with appreciate the stability of FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF), as they love its reliability."

"The important part of FortiGate CNF is the UPM. It has a significant impact on the network by providing additional attributes such as a binder filter. This feature is very beneficial."

"The solution can scale well."

"Support is excellent. There is local support through the distributor, which is efficient and provides a friendly relationship."

More FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) pros

Cons

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

"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 cost is a significant concern because we are in a region where the dollar is not our default currency, and converting to dollars makes it very expensive."

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

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

"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. Improvements in ease of configuration would benefit users significantly."

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

More Azure Firewall Manager cons

"There are some bugs that need to be fixed, and they can take some time to resolve."

"Unfortunately, FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) is not very scalable. For businesses that grow or develop further, only about ten percent can handle the increase."

"There is room for improvement in terms of support."

"There could be more detailed descriptions regarding version upgrades, particularly in terms of the upgrade process."

"The customization of FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) could be improved, particularly in terms of configurations to better adjust to specific needs."

"We sometimes encounter issues with the SSL certificate."

"The solution needs to improve on box clustering and IPS configuration."

"The prices for FortiGate are way too high and are perceived as overpriced."

More FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) 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."

"The tool's licensing costs are cheap and yearly."

"FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall is not an expensive solution."

"The pricing is competitive."

"It is an expensive platform."

"FortiGate's price is really good."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

22%

Computer Software Company

18%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Media Company

Construction Company

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	11
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	3

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 is expensive. In our project, we have used both Palo Alto Firewall and Azure Firewall. Azure charges for many aspects including scaling, automated scaling dep...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Firewall Manager?

See all answers

What do you like most about FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF)?

The platform has good stability.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF)?

The pricing is a bit expensive, primarily due to licensing fees. Extra expenses include upgradations beyond licensing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF)?

The customization of FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) could be improved, particularly in terms of configurations to better adjust to specific needs.

See all answers

Comparisons

Azure Firewall vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 26% of the time

AlgoSec vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 13% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Panorama vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 9% of the time

AWS Firewall Manager vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 7% of the time

More Azure Firewall Manager Competitors

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud vs FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF)

Compared 49% of the time

More FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Firewall Manager

October 2025

Download Azure Firewall Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF)

October 2025

FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) report

Download FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) product report

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Microsoft

Fortinet

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

FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (CNF) is a cloud-native, next-generation firewall as a service (FWaaS) that delivers enterprise-grade security for dynamic cloud environments like AWS and Azure.

FortiGate CNF offers seamless protection by automatically scaling to meet the needs of modern cloud environments. By focusing on threat prevention for malware, data exfiltration, botnets, and compliance violations, it simplifies operations and reduces costs by being managed entirely by Fortinet. With capabilities like intrusion prevention, web filtering, and DNS security, FortiGate CNF integrates smoothly with cloud service tools such as AWS Firewall Manager, ensuring centralized policy management across cloud and on-premise deployments.

What are the core features?

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Protects against known and emerging threats without sacrificing performance.
Web Filtering: Monitors and controls access to web resources to prevent malicious content.
DNS Security: Protects against DNS-based threats and improves network reliability.
East-West Traffic Security: Prevents lateral movement of threats across different trust zones.
Outbound Traffic Inspection: Ensures outgoing traffic is inspected and filtered to prevent data leaks to malicious destinations.

What benefits can users expect?

Cost Efficiency: Lower operational costs with cloud-native management and simplified security operations.
Scalability: Automatic scaling matches the elastic nature of cloud environments without manual intervention.
Integration: Seamless connection with existing FortiManager deployments and cloud service tools for enhanced management.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Offers advanced threat detection and prevention for securing workloads effectively.

FortiGate CNF is particularly useful in industries that require stringent security measures, offering flexible, scalable protection while simplifying compliance management in sectors like finance, healthcare, and technology. By integrating with existing infrastructures, it provides robust security aligned with industry-specific needs.

Fortinet

Buyer's Guide

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

September 2025

Free Report: Azure Firewall Manager vs. FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF)

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