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Azure Firewall vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management 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
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
11th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (11th)
Microsoft Defender External...
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
32nd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Attack Surface Management (ASM) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Firewall is 3.3%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Azure Firewall3.3%
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management0.4%
Other96.3%
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

Rashedul Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless integration enhances security while reducing manual effort
We didn't use TLS termination or malware filtering extensively because those are part of the premium features for Azure Firewall. At this point, I cannot see much improvement needed for Azure Firewall, because it served my purpose; having used it for four months, I am satisfied with the features and performance that I needed for my project. Features that integrate AI functionalities into Azure Firewall could be added, which can also address costing issues. We have features that we require, but they are in the premium offerings. If some features with limitations, for example, limited users, could be made available in the standard Azure Firewall, it would be easier for beginners choosing Azure Firewall at a very first level to test those features without needing to upgrade to premium.
AndyChan3 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced visibility and exposes vulnerabilities but needs more integration
I am currently in the pilot stage of implementing Microsoft External Attack Surface Management (EASM). My organization is transitioning to a comprehensive track of Microsoft solutions, and we will move to full-scale production in another year, maybe Microsoft External Attack Surface Management…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution has many useful features. For example, the solution allows users to create virtual IP addresses."
"The most valuable feature is threat intelligence. It is based on filtering and can identify multiple threats."
"I find the solution to be very stable, and would rate it a ten out of ten in terms of stability."
"Azure Firewall is a cloud-native solution that removes the pain of load balancers."
"I like that you can deploy the policies separately from the firewall."
"The solution can autoscale."
"We secure the entry point to the virtual data center with the firewall."
"It is easy for me to protect certain ports or even the IP addresses, as well as do whitelisting, blacklisting, and the FQDN when we want virtual machines connected and to protect certain websites."
"It seems to be better at protecting from cyberattacks."
"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."
"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."
 

Cons

"The solution lacks artificial intelligence and machine learning. It might be in the roadmap. However, currently, it's not available."
"They can improve the pricing of Azure Firewall."
"It is a cloud service, but the lending speed for each region is not always the same. For example, in China, the speed is slow. They need to think about how to make sure that the service pace or speed is always the same in all regions. It would be a great improvement if they can provide the same pace worldwide."
"Right now, with Azure Firewall, we cannot have a normal inbound traffic flow. For inbound, Microsoft suggests using application gateways, so the options are very limited. I cannot use this firewall as an intermediate firewall because of the limitations, and I cannot point routing to another firewall. So if I want to use back-to-back firewall architecture in my environment, I cannot use Azure Firewall for that type of configuration either."
"The threat intelligence part could be better. I don't see why our customers have to get an additional solution with Azure Firewall. It would be great if they made it on par with Palo Alto."
"I would like the premium and standard features to be available on the basic package. Additionally, it lacks some functionalities when compared to competitors like Check Point and Fortinet, such as WAF or load balancing."
"For larger enterprises, they need to adjust the scalability."
"In terms of improvements, I think the price could be a concern as Azure services are often more expensive compared to other firewalls."
"The integration is not as seamless compared to competitors like Palo Alto."
"With Microsoft, support is always crazy, it's not easy to get support."
"Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive, especially with the premium functions. For one of the clients, it was very expensive. You have to use it more at an enterprise level, and there, it was not at an enterprise level. So, it was very costly, but security-wise, it was a very wise decision to use it that way."
"The solution is cheaper than other brands. My company has an enterprise contract and we finally got a good price with Azure."
"Before choosing this solution, we evaluated others, and we found this to be the most cost-effective."
"Azure Firewall is quite an expensive product."
"Azure Firewall comes with Azure native services. We did not buy any kind of license for it. Whether you have a free subscription or a pay-as-you-go model, you can deploy the Azure Firewall service... The amount that you use will determine how much you pay."
"Azure Firewall is more expensive. If Microsoft can make Azure Firewall cheaper, I can see that all clients will think of using it. One client used FortiGate because it is much cheaper. Some clients ask me for Cisco, but in the cloud estimate, I found its cost is the same as Azure Firewall."
"Azure Firewalls operate on a pay-as-you-go model, similar to cloud services."
"The licensing module is good."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise21
No data available
 

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 needs improvement with Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?
Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement. Introduction of more AI automation into the products would also be beneficial. The integration is not as seamless co...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?
I am currently in the pilot stage of implementing Microsoft External Attack Surface Management (EASM). My organization is transitioning to a comprehensive track of Microsoft solutions, and we will ...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Firewall vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,202 professionals have used our research since 2012.