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Azure Firewall Manager vs Microsoft Entra ID Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
26th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.8
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Firewall Security Management (10th)
Microsoft Entra ID Protection
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (8th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Firewall Manager is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID Protection is 3.1%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Entra ID Protection3.1%
Azure Firewall Manager0.8%
Other96.1%
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

Sikkander  Batcha - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
reviewer2133984 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Security Analyst/Incident Response at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees
Conditional access provides detailed security customization
The best features of Microsoft Entra ID Protection are the conditional aspects, particularly the conditions that can be created. Microsoft Entra ID Protection has helped us because it gives us conditions that we can filter on or support, providing us more granularity. Microsoft Entra ID Protection allows blocking based on geolocation and similar parameters. The protections for handling identity threats in Microsoft Entra ID Protection, such as the automated remediation, are working effectively. With Microsoft Entra ID Protection, we are able to pivot off of particular alerts and stay abreast of them, which works to enhance our organization's security strategy. They definitely aid in threat detection with Microsoft Entra ID Protection.

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."
"Azure Firewall Manager centralizes network security management with a hub and spoke architecture."
"From a traffic management perspective, it's a good firewall because it's automatically scalable based on the traffic availability."
"From a traffic management perspective, it's a good firewall because it's automatically scalable based on the traffic availability."
"The solution has improved our organization with its firewall."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of Azure Firewall Manager is the testing and configuration."
"I use conditional access most of the time."
"Microsoft's support is commendable. Their response time is quick, and they handle inquiries effectively, ensuring ongoing support processes."
"The multifactor authentication feature is effective, providing an additional layer of security."
"I find the most valuable feature to be conditional access. It allows for comprehensive security controls, network security, and application label security."
"For me, automatization is most valuable."
"The valuable features of Entra ID Protection include providing me visibility of my entire estate, managing access, and having a level of control."
"We can solve many problems without deep knowledge of coding, and it's very quick to solve problems with the no-code, low-code solution of Microsoft for us."
"For me, automatization is most valuable."
 

Cons

"Azure charges for many aspects including scaling, automated scaling deployment, and traffic management, which leads to higher costs."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Azure charges for many aspects including scaling, automated scaling deployment, and traffic management, which leads to higher costs."
"The configuration and settings require substantial time for learning, particularly for new users."
"Azure AD could improve by enhancing the availability of specialized courses for security, such as NETSCOUT security or other relevant certifications. It would be beneficial to have specific courses for security, to provide in-depth knowledge and skills related to Azure AD. While there are micro-learning resources available for various concepts, many people in the IT industry may not have the time to go through all the courses to properly configure and utilize Azure Active Directory. Simplifying the implementation process and making it easier for individuals to join a company with Azure AD could also be considered areas for improvement."
"The experience is not very smooth for the user. This is an area where Microsoft could improve the authorization process."
"Integrating some notifications, not necessarily all, but at least for important events or alerts, would be beneficial as it would function as a team solution or something similar."
"The pricing could be improved."
"The recent CrowdStrike issue affected most systems."
"Support or customer service with Microsoft Entra ID Protection can be challenging because you can get lost in the queue. You can open up a case, but sometimes it can be an hour or even a day between communications."
"The product's initial setup phase is not easy."
"Identity labeling and sensitivity needs improvement."
 

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 product cost is on the expensive side."
"Azure Active Directory Identity Protection is not very expensive."
"The price of Azure AD is not expensive."
"From one to ten, if one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the tool a seven out of ten."
"The pricing is competitive in the SMA segment and runs $5-$6 per user."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
18%
Educational Organization
7%
Retailer
5%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

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 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...
What needs improvement with Azure Firewall Manager?
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory Identity Protection?
The pricing for Microsoft Entra ID protection is not expensive. It varies based on the company's size and quality.
What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory Identity Protection?
We explore the possibilities to use Purview to control our applications, though not very deeply as it's not very helpful at this moment.For us, the most important problem is access; we need an easy...
What is your primary use case for Azure Active Directory Identity Protection?
We are still deep involved in the use of Microsoft technology for databases and business intelligence, and in the last three years with Power Apps and Power Automate, all that means Azure services,...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Azure Active Directory Identity Protection, Azure AD Identity Protection
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Firewall Manager vs. Microsoft Entra ID Protection and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.