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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
28th
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
7.0
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (6th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 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 Entra ID Protection is 3.5%, down from 5.1% 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 Protection3.5%
Azure Firewall Manager0.6%
Other95.9%
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

Sikkander  Batcha - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Ankit Gupta. - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive identity management enhances security and access controls with advanced integration
The monitoring from Microsoft Entra ID Protection provides great visibility at a granular level. It provides all the details, including IP address, username, and permission or error logs. This information is available in both the audit log and regular log. The alert functionality supports general day-to-day monitoring and any violation or trigger for errors. Microsoft Entra ID Protection's features are suitable for all sizes of companies. It's a must-have product because traditionally Active Directory was used for identity and authentication on computers. Now, with hybrid capabilities, every company of any size needs these features and tools. I rate Microsoft Entra ID Protection ten out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution is very easy to set up."
"The tool's support is good."
"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."
"The solution has improved our organization with its firewall."
"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."
"It is easy to install and does not require any plugins for your browser."
"I use conditional access most of the time."
"For me, automatization is most valuable."
"The solution's technical support offers great assistance to users."
"Microsoft Entra ID Protection's features are suitable for all sizes of companies; it's a must-have product because traditionally Active Directory was used for identity and authentication on computers, and now with hybrid capabilities, every company of any size needs these features and tools."
"These features ease the job of security analysts, providing a better vision of user activities and potential risks."
"I find the most valuable feature to be conditional access. It allows for comprehensive security controls, network security, and application label security."
"The deployment process is straightforward. It takes a few hours to complete."
"As an end-user, I find the experience to be quite seamless. My main advantage is that I only need to manage one login and one two-factor authentication method to access all the necessary tools. I don't have to set up separate logins and authentication for each application."
 

Cons

"The price is okay. This said, the solution is certainly expensive in comparison with other cloud services."
"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 configuration and settings require substantial time for learning, particularly for new users. Improvements in ease of configuration would benefit users significantly."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"I rate the quality of support at four out of ten because of inefficiencies in the ticket handling process. Tickets often bounce from person to person, requiring the sharing of information multiple times."
"Entra ID lacks a function to synchronize from the cloud to the local directory. This is a significant issue since there is no write-back feature from the cloud to local, which would allow me to use my own credentials from the cloud tenant securely."
"The solution is not optimized to work with Mac devices on a granular level. They work seamlessly with Windows but have a lot to improve to work with Mac devices. It also needs to improve stability and scalability."
"Identity labeling and sensitivity needs improvement."
"The product's initial setup phase is not easy."
"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 platform's pricing and scalability need improvement."
"Entra ID lacks a function to synchronize from the cloud to the local directory. This is a significant issue since there is no write-back feature from the cloud to local, which would allow me to use my own credentials from the cloud tenant securely."
 

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

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
13%
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 Business14
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 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?
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, ...
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?
A potential area of improvement in Microsoft Entra ID Protection could include backup-level capability or snapshot capability. Currently, we are required to use third-party backups for the overall ...
 

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: September 2025.
869,089 professionals have used our research since 2012.