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Azure Firewall Manager vs Microsoft Defender for Business comparison

Azure Firewall Manager and Microsoft Defender for Business are both solutions in the Microsoft Security Suite category. Azure Firewall Manager is ranked #28 with an average rating of 9.3, while Microsoft Defender for Business is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.6. Azure Firewall Manager holds a 0.6% mindshare in Microsoft Security Suite, compared to Microsoft Defender for Business’s 3.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Azure Firewall Manager users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Microsoft Defender for Business users who would recommend it.
Azure Firewall Manager
Read 8 Azure Firewall Manager reviews
  • 861 Views
  • 327 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
Microsoft Defender for Busi...
Read 19 Microsoft Defender for Business reviews
  • 4,907 Views
  • 1,521 Comparison Views
87% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Azure Firewall Manager and Microsoft Defender for Business 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.

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To learn more, read our detailed Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Defender for Business Report (Updated: July 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Defender for Business
July 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 Microsoft Security Suite
28th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Firewall Security Management (12th)
Microsoft Defender for Busi...
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
17th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (21st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 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 Microsoft Defender for Business is 3.3%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

MuhammadShakeel - PeerSpot reviewer
Manages multiple firewalls effortlessly but faces challenges with cost efficiency
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, and converting to dollars makes it very expensive. Microsoft should calculate and show the products in local currencies, such as PKR or Bangladesh currency, and also introduce Indian currency similarly for Pakistan. The technical support could be improved. When a resource is assigned, that resource should follow the ticket and respond swiftly, including sending an email to inform me that an agent has been assigned. I still find myself waiting for an agent to connect with me and resolve my issues. I have not been integrating Azure Firewall Manager with Azure Virtual WAN.
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Takayuki-Umehara - PeerSpot reviewer
Product deployment protects assets but needs improvement in system support
I am doing maintenance for Microsoft Defender for Business, and I'm currently working with it. We don't need to use the latest version of Microsoft Defender for Business. We still use the latest virus definition file that Microsoft Defender for Business has automatically updated. We implement a basic update mechanism. Our compliance division manages how many servers and PCs we have and whether those servers have antivirus solutions. I am not certain about how Microsoft Defender for Business helps with AI-driven security strategies. I just use it normally and don't know if it uses AI technology. I rate Microsoft Defender for Business a six out of ten.
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."
"It is easy to install and does not require any plugins for your browser."
"Azure Firewall Manager centralizes network security management with a hub and spoke architecture."
"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 most valuable feature of Azure Firewall Manager is the testing and configuration."
"The best feature of Azure Firewall Manager is that it is easy to maintain and configure."
"The solution is very easy to set up."
More Azure Firewall Manager pros
"Microsoft Defender for Business stands out due to its ease of use, particularly due to the fact that many of my customers already use Microsoft and Azure."
"Everything is stable. There have been no technical errors or stability issues."
"Defender's main strength is its integration with Microsoft Sentinel, offering valuable insights."
"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 going on. We have a footprint across all of North America, Canada, and Mexico, so we want to make sure that all our endpoints are protected and we are able to look for any anomalous activity."
"The security features in Microsoft Defender for Business that have been most effective for our company include the way it's built-in and intertwined into all the operating systems, giving us a good opportunity to holistically block things for the organization using that tenant."
"I rate Microsoft Defender for Business a 10 out of 10."
"The interface is quite user-friendly."
"I haven't had any problems with the tool's stability."
More Microsoft Defender for Business pros
 

Cons

"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."
"The price is okay. This said, the solution is certainly expensive in comparison with other cloud services."
"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 configuration and settings require substantial time for learning, particularly for new users."
"The solution can improve the integration with open-source tools."
"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."
"There should be a simple one-click deployment for a firewall, rather than a set of setup instructions that include steps such as the DNS configuration, et cetera."
More Azure Firewall Manager cons
"Pricing could be lowered as it is expensive and not suitable for low-budget organizations."
"The tool's support is an area of concern where improvements are needed."
"It is not quick to make exclusions or specific configurations compared to other antiviruses on the market."
"The technical support from Microsoft is very poor. I would rate it a one, as their technical staff are very junior and take a long time to respond to simple questions."
"Threat protection could be improved even though it is already a built-in feature."
"Defender's threat protection should be fine-tuned to reduce false positives. It could be more targeted, reflecting a continuous evolution in detecting. Also, it could be easier to integrate into other environments."
"The biggest one is that Defender needs to be more proactive to the emerging threats. There can be tighter integration with email, especially how it integrates with our email system, which is the Microsoft Outlook suite. There should be the ability to react a lot quicker to emerging threats because sometimes, it takes a few days before some of these new threats are fully identified, and we need that to be a few hours."
"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."
More Microsoft Defender for Business 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 cost has been a little high, but I do not think it was terrible."
"Since we're a nonprofit, we get pretty good discounts on the tool."
"Defender for Business is included by default with an Office 365 premium subscription."
"It has to get more competitive because we are starting to see some of the competitors providing better pricing, and some of it, of course, is to gain market share. The Defender product pricing is probably a little higher than the competitors."
"The tool is cheap, while some other solutions are more expensive. I remember the tool cost about five euros for a workstation or for a user on a monthly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Retailer
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 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...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Business?
Our thoughts on the pricing for Microsoft Defender for Business are that we wish it could be better. If the pricing was a little better, we would definitely increase what we currently have.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Business?
Microsoft Defender for Business could improve by offering more of their offerings available in the basic tenants since not everyone has a budget for higher-level licenses, but everyone needs securi...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Azure Firewall vs Azure Firewall Manager Logo
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Compared 33% of the time
FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) vs Azure Firewall Manager Logo
FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) vs Azure Firewall Manager
Compared 27% of the time
Palo Alto Networks Panorama vs Azure Firewall Manager Logo
Palo Alto Networks Panorama vs Azure Firewall Manager
Compared 13% of the time
AlgoSec vs Azure Firewall Manager Logo
AlgoSec vs Azure Firewall Manager
Compared 11% of the time
AWS Firewall Manager vs Azure Firewall Manager Logo
AWS Firewall Manager vs Azure Firewall Manager
Compared 9% of the time
More Azure Firewall Manager Competitors
HP Wolf Security vs Microsoft Defender for Business Logo
HP Wolf Security vs Microsoft Defender for Business
Compared 19% of the time
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Microsoft Defender for Business Logo
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Microsoft Defender for Business
Compared 12% of the time
Trend Micro Worry-Free Services Suites vs Microsoft Defender for Business Logo
Trend Micro Worry-Free Services Suites vs Microsoft Defender for Business
Compared 7% of the time
Microsoft Defender XDR vs Microsoft Defender for Business Logo
Microsoft Defender XDR vs Microsoft Defender for Business
Compared 7% of the time
Norton Small Business vs Microsoft Defender for Business Logo
Norton Small Business vs Microsoft Defender for Business
Compared 4% of the time
More Microsoft Defender for Business Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Azure Firewall Manager
August 2025
Azure Firewall Manager reportDownload Azure Firewall Manager product report
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender for Business
August 2025
Microsoft Defender for Business reportDownload Microsoft Defender for Business 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

Microsoft Defender for Business is a new endpoint security solution that was designed especially for the small and medium-sized business (up to 300 employees). With this endpoint security solution, your company's devices are better protected from ransomware, malware, phishing, and other threats.

Microsoft
Buyer's Guide
Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Defender for Business
July 2025
Free Report: Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Defender for Business
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