Azure Firewall Manager vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Firewall Manager
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
31st
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Firewall Security Management (13th)
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (6th), Container Management (10th), Container Security (3rd), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (3rd), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (3rd), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (3rd), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (3rd), Compliance Management (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2024, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Firewall Manager is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is 8.0%, down from 11.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite
Unique Categories:
Firewall Security Management
2.2%
Vulnerability Management
7.5%
Container Management
1.1%
 

Featured Reviews

Gunjan Singh. - PeerSpot reviewer
May 26, 2023
Useful testing, simple configuration, and scales well
We use Azure Firewall Manager for testing and security policies The most valuable feature of Azure Firewall Manager is the testing and configuration. The solution can improve the integration with open-source tools. I have been using Azure Firewall Manager for approximately seven months. I rate…
Srikanth Matsa - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 5, 2022
Offers a security posture score that indicates how well our environment is protected but should offer better pricing options
Before Microsoft Defender our external team would give us updates on which ports are opening and which vulnerabilities are being attacked. Now with the recommendations of Microsoft Defender, we can find these vulnerabilities sooner and fix them. Before onboarding those respected resources into Microsoft Defender, we faced a few issues. Once we onboarded those resources, we received prompt recommendations that helped us make the organization's resources more secure. If resources are not secured, it can impact the reputation of the organization. The solution helped identify a lot of the issues, at a high priority that we could resolve. Microsoft Defender helps any organization that needs to follow security baseline recommendations in order to improve its environment. Regarding threats, I recommend Microsoft Sentinel for detecting and hunting the threats. I can identify what exactly happened at that particular time or particular resource with the help of Microsoft Sentinel. The solution has significantly reduced the overall time it takes us to detect issues. Most of the resources are scanned every 30 minutes, so it doesn't take much time for the solution to give us the respected recommendations. Depending on the issue, Microsoft Defender for Cloud has helped reduce our overall time to respond. There are a few recommendations that we can fix immediately by just clicking using the UI. However, the overall time to respond to issues depends upon that respected recommendation list. There are a few things that we need to consider when it comes to the security settings of our virtual machines which can take a long time to identify and fix.

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."
"It is easy to install and does not require any plugins for your browser."
"The most valuable feature of Azure Firewall Manager is the testing and configuration."
"The solution is very easy to set up."
"The tool's support is good."
"Microsoft Defender has a lot of features including regulatory compliance and attaching workbooks but the most valuable is the recommendations it provides for each and every resource when we open Microsoft Defender."
"With respect to improving our security posture, it helps us to understand where we are in terms of compliance. We can easily know when we are below the standard because of the scores it calculates."
"The integration with Logic Apps allows for automated responses to incidents."
"It has seamless integration with any of the services I mentioned, on Azure, such as IaaS platforms, virtual machines, applications, or databases, because it's an in-house product from Microsoft within the Azure ecosystem."
"Defender lets you orchestrate the roll-out from a single pane. Using the Azure portal, you can roll it out over all the servers covered by the entire subscription."
"DSPM is the most valuable feature."
"Defender is user-friendly and provides decent visibility into threats."
"Defender for Cloud is a plug-and-play solution that provides continuous posture management once enabled."
 

Cons

"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."
"The solution can improve the integration with open-source tools."
"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 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 documentation and implementation guides could be improved."
"Another thing that could be improved was that they could recommend processes on how to react to alerts, or recommend best practices based on how other organizations do things if they receive an alert about XYZ."
"Sometimes, it's very difficult to determine when I need Microsoft Defender for Cloud for a special resource group or certain kinds of products. That's not an issue directly with the product, though."
"I would suggest building a single product that addresses endpoint server protection, attack surface, and everything else in one solution. That is the main disadvantage with the product. If we are incorporating some features, we end up in a situation where this solution is for the server, and that one is for the client, or this is for identity, and that is for our application. They're not bundling it. Commercially, we can charge for different licenses, but on the implementation side, it's tough to help our end-customer understand which product they're getting."
"We would like to have better transparency as to how the security score is calculated because as it is now, it is difficult to understand."
"After getting a recommendation, it takes time for the solution to refresh properly to show that the problem has been eliminated."
"They could always work to make the pricing a bit lower."
"The solution is quite complex. A lot of the different policies that actually get applied don't pertain to every client. If you need to have something open for a client application to work, then you get dinged for having a port open or having an older version of TLS available."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is certainly expensive in comparison with other cloud services."
"The price of the solution is reasonable but it is reasonable for the features."
"They have a free version, but the license for this one isn't too high. It's free to start with, and you're charged for using it beyond 30 days. Some other pieces of Defender are charged based on usage, so you will be charged more for a high volume of transactions. I believe Defender for Cloud is a daily charge based on Azure's App Service Pricing."
"Azure Defender is definitely pricey, but their competitors cost about the same. For example, a Palo Alto solution is the same price per endpoint, but the ground strikes cost a bit more than Azure Defender. Still, it's pricey for a company like ours. Maybe well-established organizations can afford it, but it might be too costly for a startup."
"We are using the free version of the Azure Security Center."
"Our clients complain about the cost of Microsoft Defender for Cloud."
"Although I am outside of the discussion on budget and costing, I can say that the importance of security provided by this solution is of such importance that whatever the cost is, it is not a factor."
"This is a worldwide service and depending on the country, there will be different prices."
"There are two different plans. We're using the secure basic plan, but we have used the end security plan as well. There are additional costs, but it gives us more functionalities compared to the basic plan."
"The price of the solution is good for the features we receive and there is an additional cost for Microsoft premier support. However, some of my potential customers have found it to be expensive and have gone on to choose another solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Firewall Manager?
The price of the solution is reasonable but it is reasonable for the features.
What needs improvement with Azure Firewall Manager?
The solution can improve the integration with open-source tools.
How is Prisma Cloud vs Azure Security Center for security?
Azure Security Center is very easy to use, integrates well, and gives very good visibility on what is happening across your ecosystem. It also has great remote workforce capabilities and supports a...
What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Cloud?
The entire Defender Suite is tightly coupled, integrated, and collaborative.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Cloud?
Our clients complain about the cost of Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Microsoft needs to bring the cost down. What we're doing to their detriment is simply lowering the amount of log retention we're...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
793,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.