Azure Firewall Manager vs Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence comparison

Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence

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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

Ranking in other categories

Firewall Security Management (11th)

Microsoft Defender Threat I...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

15th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (10th), Threat Intelligence Platforms (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Firewall Manager is 0.5%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite

Featured Reviews

MuhammadShakeel

Senior System Engineer at Confiz Solutions

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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TapabrataSamanta

Lead Architect at Zones

A cost-effective solution for monitoring and security but lacks supports for non-Microsoft products

There are weaknesses, and Microsoft is working on addressing them. Over the past three to four years, the ATP and other components have improved significantly, and the integration has also advanced. We are using third-party services. While we have Microsoft Threat Intelligence, which leverages Microsoft's facilities, we also utilize additional third-party threat intelligence. As of today, we don't completely rely on Microsoft for certain regions. This is an area where Microsoft needs to improve. Consequently, we use Anomali, a third-party threat intelligence provider. We integrate our product's intelligence with Anomali, from which we obtain threat insights. Microsoft products offer significant advantages, especially in the realm of threat intelligence. It works very well with Microsoft products. However, you might need additional services if you have non-Microsoft products in your environment. For instance, if you use Apple or Linux, Microsoft's solutions alone might not be sufficient. If they can work more effectively, especially with zero-day attack speed and other sophisticated threats, it will help us provide our customers with timely newsletters about new attacks.

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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

"The tool's support is good."

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

"The solution is very easy to set up."

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

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

"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."

More Azure Firewall Manager pros

"It is very scalable. There are approximately 2,000 endpoints and up to 200 servers in our company."

"The solution blocks incoming threats on the local PC or any cloud-based threats."

"The product provides efficient email security for sending links and file attachments."

"Offers easy integration with a cloud-based infrastructure"

"I rate the tool's stability a ten out of ten."

"Its user-friendliness is its most valuable aspect."

"The product is useful when the end user downloads malware files."

"I value how Threat Intelligence integrates with the different platforms in Microsoft."

More Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence pros

Cons

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

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

"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 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 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."

"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."

"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

"It's a bit complicated to manage because you have many dependencies of servers, many dependencies in queue, and so on. Entries or different endpoints, and you make different configuration topics for each one. So that's a major problem."

"Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence is evolving and needs to fix and enhance numerous issues like stability and licensing. The continuous rebranding and licensing changes are confusing."

"One area where Microsoft Defender could be improved is in its support for non-Microsoft products, particularly for systems running Linux or other open-source platforms across ecosystems."

"I would like to see more integration with other solutions. For example, integration well with Microsoft but not with other solutions."

"Some of the customization features could be improved by providing a portion of it as open source."

"Technical support could be a bit better."

"The tool's onboarding of users that use on-premise or hybrid environments needs to be improved."

"While the current setup meets our needs, Microsoft can constantly improve customization and adaptability to rapidly evolving cybersecurity threats."

More Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence cons

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."

"I use the product's default version, which is a free one and not the licensed version."

"The solution can be licensed, but most users would already have it in their Office 365 license."

"The solution is relatively expensive; however, our status as a gold partner provides us with several complimentary licenses, which offsets the cost."

"The solution's pricing is reasonable and not very expensive."

"It is an expensive product."

"Considering Microsoft is constantly changing licensing, I would give it a seven out of ten. It can be difficult to get your head around it, especially for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)."

"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing charges attached to the product."

"The tool is expensive as a stand-alone solution. However, it is not cheap when you purchase it as a bundle."

More Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

20%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Educational Organization

12%

Manufacturing Company

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.

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...

What needs improvement with Azure Firewall Manager?

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence?

It just runs in the background. I don't have to worry about, making sure it's Intelligence. So, you know, this kind of makes it very easy, have to worry about installing. It is easy to use.

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence?

From the telemetry data standpoint, I would prefer Defender data to be more open in future updates.

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence?

We have tried Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence. I have expertise with Microsoft Defender products. I am not familiar with Microsoft Defender for IoT because we did not use that in our environ...

Azure Firewall vs Azure Firewall Manager

Comparisons

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Compared 28% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Panorama vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 15% of the time

AlgoSec vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 12% of the time

AWS Firewall Manager vs Azure Firewall Manager

Compared 9% of the time

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Recorded Future vs Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence

Compared 24% of the time

VirusTotal vs Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence

Compared 20% of the time

Anomali vs Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence

Compared 15% of the time

Cisco Threat Grid vs Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence

Compared 15% of the time

Microsoft Sentinel vs Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence

Compared 11% of the time

More Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence Competitors

Product Reports

Firewall Security Management

Download Azure Firewall Manager product report

Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence

Download Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence product report

Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence 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 Threat Intelligence is a comprehensive security solution that provides organizations with real-time insights into the latest cyber threats. Leveraging advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities, it offers proactive threat detection and response, enabling businesses to stay one step ahead of attackers. With Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence, organizations gain access to a vast array of threat intelligence data, including indicators of compromise (IOCs), security incidents, and emerging threats. This data is collected from a wide range of sources, such as Microsoft's global sensor network, industry partners, and security researchers, ensuring comprehensive coverage and accuracy. The solution's advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms analyze this threat intelligence data in real-time, identifying patterns, trends, and anomalies that may indicate a potential security breach. By continuously monitoring the network and endpoints, Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence can quickly detect and respond to threats, minimizing the impact of attacks and reducing the time to remediation.

Microsoft

Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence