Azure Firewall Manager vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

Azure Firewall Manager and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 are both solutions in the Microsoft Security Suite category. Azure Firewall Manager is ranked #25 with an average rating of 9.3, while Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.5. Azure Firewall Manager holds a 1.2% mindshare in Microsoft Security Suite, compared to Microsoft Defender for Office 365’s 3.8% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of Azure Firewall Manager users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 users who would recommend it.

Azure Firewall Manager

Read 9 Azure Firewall Manager reviews

1,563 Views
766 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender for Offi...

Read 61 Microsoft Defender for Office 365 reviews

17,515 Views
2,102 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Azure Firewall Manager

Microsoft Defender for Offi...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Azure Firewall Manager and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 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. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365

June 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 909,725 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

25th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Firewall Security Management (11th)

Microsoft Defender for Offi...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

9th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Archiving (1st), Email Security (2nd), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (3rd), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Firewall Manager is 1.2%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 3.8%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 365	3.8%
Azure Firewall Manager	1.2%
Other	95.0%

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

Emeka Ndulu

Cloud Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Improves threat visibility and response while reducing manual tasks and training users against phishing

I appreciate the attack simulation feature whereby I get to train users and educate them on how to identify phishing emails and spam emails, as well as the anti-spam protection. It gives me visibility into my threat environment and threat landscape to ensure that I am one step ahead of any likelihood of threats within my environment. I get to detect it and respond, so the threat intelligence is very effective. Microsoft security solutions save my time. It saves money because once I protect my environment, I don't lose money. It has decreased my detection time and my time to respond.

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 best feature of Azure Firewall Manager is that it is easy to maintain and configure."

"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."

"I would definitely recommend the solution to my clients, especially if one is using Azure Cloud."

"It has helped us in multiple ways; for example, we don't require different spaces to manage it, we can do a lot of automation integrations into the code, we could integrate it into the DevOps pipeline, and it has helped us with our time-to-market for a very specific product when we are actually deploying or upgrading."

"The solution has improved our organization with its firewall."

"The solution is very easy to set up."

"The most valuable feature is the web firewall, as it is easy to install and does not require any plugins for your browser."

More Azure Firewall Manager pros

"I appreciate the attack simulation feature whereby I get to train users and educate them on how to identify phishing emails and spam emails, as well as the anti-spam protection."

"One of our clients didn't have the budget to invest in a SOC team, but we deployed the solution for them, and they now run a SOC with only one analyst."

"With Defender for Office 365, we have been able to increase the security posture across our organization."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its spam filter."

"The features I appreciate most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365 are admin notifications for potential threats along with protecting our Microsoft apps such as Outlook from potential phishing attacks."

"The good part is that you don't have to configure it, which is very convenient."

"The solution is very easy to use. All you have to do is to assign the license to the end-user and it's done. The customer will only have the feature activated, and the solution will monitor the emails to determine if they are a threat or not."

"The insights provided with Microsoft Defender for Office 365 are helpful because it comes with the E5 license, and by default, we can use a lot of capabilities."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pros

Cons

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

"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 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."

"With Azure Firewall, the problem is that the NAT-ing still has to be improved."

"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."

More Azure Firewall Manager cons

"We are always looking for others tools to increase automation on tasks. There can be better integration with other solutions, such as PowerPoint and email."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 should be more proactive."

"We are waiting for better software to block viruses."

"There needs to be an improvement in integrating the product to work across multiple operating systems, and to have better support for non-Microsoft file types."

"One area for improvement is support, in terms of being able to reach them and, especially, technical support for configuration."

"They can improve their security in a way where a customer can know if all their attachments are safe or not to open through a report. The solution does its job perfectly, but it never reports to the customer whether those attachments have been stopped before or not."

"Specifically, within Microsoft Defender for Office 365, I want it to improve the DLP capabilities."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is not up to the mark in comparison with Wiz or Palo Alto."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 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."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."

"Defender is a little bit more expensive as compared to others. We are in the manufacturing environment. So, we don't have a high budget for all of our endpoint devices. Its cost is a major concern for us."

"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."

"While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 necessitates pricier E3 or E5 subscriptions, the extensive functionality offered by these licenses across various Microsoft products justifies the investment."

"It's a user-base subscription."

"The pricing has become expensive."

"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."

"Defender for 365 comes in various plans and licenses, along with other Microsoft security solutions. Purchasing this kind of package or security bundle gives good value for money, and that's what I recommend."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pricing and cost advice

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

909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

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	24
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	32

Questions from the Community

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 is your primary use case for Azure Firewall Manager?

My customers are using Azure Firewall Manager, so I'm learning from both documentation and practical knowledge. I usually recommend Azure Firewall Manager for projects such as an animal hospital pr...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?

My experience with pricing, setup, and licensing is that it's actually quite reasonable even on the licensing side as a standalone product. It's very competitive compared to what competitors are ch...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?

I think Microsoft Defender for Office 365 can be improved by creating more educational pieces about not just looking for malware. We are seeing a lot more malware-less emails that Defender for Offi...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?

My main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Office 365 include email hygiene.

See all answers

Comparisons

Azure Firewall vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 16% of the time

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

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 11% of the time

AlgoSec vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 10% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Panorama vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 9% of the time

More Azure Firewall Manager Competitors

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 6% of the time

Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 4% of the time

Mimecast Advanced Email Security vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Secure Email vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 3% of the time

Barracuda Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Firewall Manager

August 2026

Download Azure Firewall Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

August 2026

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 report

Download Microsoft Defender for Office 365 product report

Also Known As

No data available

MS Defender for Office 365

Overview

Azure Firewall Manager offers easy configuration, centralized management, and automatic scalability. Its integration with Azure Entra ID provides secure access, while Power BI facilitates centralized monitoring, contributing to its cloud-native benefits and reliable network management.

Azure Firewall Manager is recognized for its efficient security policy management and the ability to configure and test firewall settings across multiple locations. Its integration with Azure Kubernetes supports cloud environment security and the seamless migration of on-premise components to the cloud. With its hub-and-spoke architecture, users can detect threats and orchestrate policies more effectively, although integration with open-source tools and technical support responsiveness could be enhanced. Improvements in NAT capabilities and an AI-driven phishing prevention system would enhance its offering.

What are Azure Firewall Manager's key features?

Easy Configuration: Simplifies firewall setup without additional plugins.
Centralized Security Management: Streamlines policy management across locations.
Automatic Scalability: Adjusts resources to meet changing demands seamlessly.
Integration with Azure Entra ID: Provides secure user access control.
Hub and Spoke Architecture: Enables efficient threat detection and policy orchestration.

What benefits and ROI should users evaluate?

Cloud-Native Benefits: Offers stability and seamless integration with cloud environments.
Fair Pricing: Competitive cost structure, despite currency conversion challenges.
Simplified Monitoring: Uses Power BI for comprehensive security insights.
Enhanced Security: Protects against phishing and ransomware threats.

Azure Firewall Manager is widely implemented in industries like finance to secure applications and manage B2B interactions. This tool supports endpoint security, traffic management, and seamless orchestrations within cloud environments, ensuring robust protection against various threats.

Microsoft

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers real-time email security, enhancing threat detection through integration within the Microsoft ecosystem. Its user-friendly interface and central management streamline operations, providing robust protection against phishing, ransomware, and malware.

Defender for Office 365 is focused on efficiently securing email communication by safeguarding against phishing, malware, and spam threats. With its strong integration with other Microsoft services, it is tailored to improve endpoint security and identity protection. Its centralized management tools simplify threat prioritization, while the automated threat response capabilities ensure swift actions against potential risks. Organizations leverage its capabilities to efficiently manage their cybersecurity efforts, particularly in remote work environments, while maintaining a secure system across Office 365 applications and Azure-hosted services.

What are the key features?

Real-time Email Protection: Continuously monitors and protects email communications.
Safe Attachments and Links: Scans attachments and links for potential threats.
Anti-Phishing Measures: Provides tools to detect and block phishing attempts.
Integration with Microsoft Services: Seamlessly connects with other Microsoft applications for enhanced security.
Automated Threat Responses: Activates immediate responses to detected threats.

What benefits should users expect from reviews?

Time Savings: Automates processes to reduce manual threat management efforts.
Improved Cybersecurity: Strengthens organizational defenses against various cyber threats.
Efficient Remote Work: Enhances protection for remote teams and virtual collaborations.
Comprehensive Coverage: Extends protection across Office 365 and Azure services.

Implementations of Defender for Office 365 vary across industries, optimizing email security for sectors such as finance, healthcare, and education. In finance, it aids in protecting sensitive financial data from phishing and fraud. Healthcare benefits from secure communications, ensuring patient data privacy. Educational institutions use it to maintain secure virtual learning environments against cyber threats.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.

Buyer's Guide

Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365

June 2026

Free Report: Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 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.