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Azure Firewall vs Azure Web Application Firewall 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
3.0
Azure Firewall provides cost-efficient security for small applications, with varied ROI experiences depending on organizational needs.
Sentiment score
3.9
Azure Web Application Firewall offers cost-efficiency through reduced administration, AI enhancements, and competitive pricing compared to leading competitors.
With Azure Firewall on the cloud, you just need to subscribe to the firewall, configure it, and it will help you protect your environment.
Technical Solution Architect at liwa
Recently, they have been under serious attack with major exploits, such as Log4j, affecting Fortinet and Palo Alto, and even Cisco and VMware.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
AI-based recommendations save on time and money.
Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.2
Azure Firewall support is generally satisfactory, though some suggest improvements in response time and mention occasional third-party reliance.
Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft support is generally satisfactory, with users preferring higher-tier options for faster response and clearer communication.
Microsoft provides excellent customer support, especially with premium support plans.
DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Nevertheless, the final support from Microsoft remains effective.
Information Technology Architect at GMS INC
With Azure products, customer support is really good.
Senior Manager, Information Security at NetSol Technologies Inc.
They are good at troubleshooting and configuring things.
Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.
I am very satisfied with the response from Microsoft dedicated architects if it happens that I have to call for their support.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
I reached out to their support, and they helped me resolve the issue effectively.
Owner at ICAL S.A.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.4
Azure Firewall efficiently scales with traffic, supports global users, but larger enterprises seek further scaling improvements for extensive demands.
Sentiment score
6.6
Azure Web Application Firewall offers flexible, highly-rated scalability, easily adapting to traffic changes and various workload needs across subscriptions.
Based on my experience, I would rate it nine out of ten for scalability.
Cybersecurity Engineer at AXSYS
Azure Firewall is highly scalable, and I would give it a scalability rating of nine out of ten.
DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
When we started deploying the solution, it was not a mature product at times.
Senior Manager, Information Security at NetSol Technologies Inc.
Some Azure applications, like the web application firewall, require a certain level of SKU for hosting setup.
Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.
For our company, Azure Web Application Firewall works effectively for scalability.
Global IT Solutions Specialist at RELIEF INTERNATIONAL INC
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
Azure Firewall is praised for stability and reliability, with users noting high uptimes and positive comparisons to competitors.
Sentiment score
7.1
Azure Web Application Firewall is highly stable, with minimal connectivity or performance issues and consistently earns high reliability ratings.
The stability of Azure Firewall is excellent.
DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
For our use case, Azure Firewall is stable enough.
Technical Solution Architect at liwa
Very rarely do I see any latency issues.
Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.
 

Room For Improvement

Azure Firewall needs improvements in security, usability, support, pricing, AI integration, and centralized management to match competitors.
Azure Web Application Firewall needs better reporting, integration, cost plans, and process streamlining for enhanced management and support.
If Azure Firewall can integrate identity features, it will help deliver additional next-generation capabilities.
Solutions Area Lead at a tech consulting company with 501-1,000 employees
Improvement in reporting and better visibility into network traffic would also be beneficial.
Cybersecurity Engineer at AXSYS
Azure Firewall could improve its reporting capabilities.
DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Upgrading the platform regularly is necessary for security, however, frequent updates every six months or year from Azure can be a maintenance overhead.
Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.
The pricing needs improvement, and I think for beginners it will be a little bit complicated, so the ease of use could be enhanced.
Global IT Solutions Specialist at RELIEF INTERNATIONAL INC
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers view Azure Firewall's pricing as variable, with flexible pay-as-you-go costs and mixed opinions on affordability.
Azure Web Application Firewall offers scalable pricing, valued functionality, and favorable terms, appealing compared to AWS and GCP.
The standard functionality for API Management is at a zero level, and then the next level is one.
Technical Solution Architect at liwa
Azure Firewall is quite expensive, with a high cost.
DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Azure Firewall is subscription-based, which is advantageous as there is no need for upfront payment.
Information Technology Architect at GMS INC
It is even a lower cost compared to AWS and GCP.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
Sometimes, when opting for a higher SKU, it's not the WAF itself that's costly but the additional requirements.
Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.
I would place Azure Web Application Firewall at an eight on a scale from one to 10, with one being cheap and 10 being expensive.
Global IT Solutions Specialist at RELIEF INTERNATIONAL INC
 

Valuable Features

Azure Firewall offers comprehensive security, seamless integration, user-friendly management, and advanced features for modern security and compliance needs.
Azure Web Application Firewall offers robust security, seamless Azure integration, automatic rule management, and scalable, user-friendly deployment with minimal downtime.
We have to combine multiple features and multiple products, and then we can say that this is more cost-effective and works properly to ensure the security posture of our cloud deployments.
Senior Manager, Information Security at NetSol Technologies Inc.
With Azure Firewall on the cloud, you just need to subscribe to the firewall, configure it, and it will help you protect your environment.
Technical Solution Architect at liwa
The premium version includes all traditional firewall features, reducing the need for separate compute resources.
DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
With Microsoft, everything is within a single suite, making it easier to configure and plan.
Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.
It is almost impossible to access these assets from outside, requiring a very skilled attacker to obtain asset tokens of a customer using Azure.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
It integrates effectively with things such as Sentinel and Defender for Cloud, so mostly it's the analytics and now the AI capabilities that have been introduced with Co-pilot.
Global IT Solutions Specialist at RELIEF INTERNATIONAL INC
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Firewall
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
11th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (11th)
Azure Web Application Firewall
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
21st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Web Application Firewall (WAF) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Firewall is 2.8%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Web Application Firewall is 2.0%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Azure Firewall2.8%
Azure Web Application Firewall2.0%
Other95.2%
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

AD
Technical Solution Architect at liwa
Has enabled us to manage internal access securely but lacks accessible documentation for deeper integration
We haven't required any support, but overall, Microsoft support is good. Whenever we raise any concern, they are supporting us on time. Currently it is good. We are not a public-facing company; it is a retail company only, so that's why I don't think it is required. We don't have an e-commerce solution on Azure. For that, we are using a different stack for the e-commerce portal, so that is not in Azure. We are only using it for business applications, and I think L3 filtering in network security suffices for our problem currently. Regarding scalability for Azure Firewall, we don't need it here because the request to the application is internal. All are internal users. So there is not much request to get into the application, so scalability is not required for us in the current scenario.
Mano Senaratne - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.
Comprehensive suite simplifies configuration while frequent updates require management
Mainly, it comes with the complete suite of Microsoft services. I can use it in conjunction with the best options and other features that come with it. Configuration is much easier than using different platforms. For example, if I have hosted the application in AWS and am using the Application Firewall from Azure, there are certain additional steps to follow when configuring them. With Microsoft, everything is within a single suite, making it easier to configure and plan. Azure continually upgrades platforms and sends us messages to upgrade to the next version, simplifying the process. Later, it's much easier if I want to upgrade the software platform, scale it, or move it to a different application host as the whole suite comes together. The return on investment is good. If I am doing applications for clients, I can invoice them for better costs. Most applications that I run and use have a better return on investment.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise22
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What is a better choice, Azure Firewall or Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?
Azure Firewall Vs. Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls Both solutions provide stellar stability and security. Azure Firewall is easy to use and provides excellent support. Valuable features include int...
How does Azure Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks VM Series?
Both products are very stable and easily scalable. The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the overall cost is reasonable. Azure Firewall offers a solid threat awareness, can...
Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?
Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigate VM integrates well and has excellent centralized reporting. It is very easy to...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Web Application Firewall?
I would place Azure Web Application Firewall at an eight on a scale from one to 10, with one being cheap and 10 being expensive.
What needs improvement with Azure Web Application Firewall?
The pricing needs improvement, and I think for beginners it will be a little bit complicated, so the ease of use could be enhanced. I've worked with Fortinet and Cisco, and I think the UI is a litt...
What is your primary use case for Azure Web Application Firewall?
Because we mostly operate in the cloud and because we're a Microsoft environment, it was the best option in the scenario. The options were limited in terms of wanting to be an only Microsoft enviro...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Firewall vs. Azure Web Application Firewall and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,768 professionals have used our research since 2012.