Azure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series comparison

Microsoft and Palo Alto Networks are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Microsoft is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.2, while Palo Alto Networks is ranked #34 with an average rating of 8.3. Microsoft holds a 2.2% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Palo Alto Networks’s 0.1% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Palo Alto Networks users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Azure Firewall and Palo Alto Networks K2-Series are two prominent firewall solutions. Based on user reviews, Azure Firewall excels in pricing and customer support, while Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is favored for its advanced features and overall performance.

Features: Azure Firewall offers scalability, seamless integration, and a straightforward deployment process, making it suitable for large environments. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is known for its comprehensive security features, robust threat intelligence, and detailed documentation. The K2-Series stands out for its superior security capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Azure Firewall could improve its threat detection and management tools, streamline configuration processes, and reduce costs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could focus on simplifying the configuration process, enhancing user-friendliness, and reducing hardware costs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Azure Firewall is noted for its straightforward deployment and responsive customer support. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series, despite its comprehensive documentation, may require a more complex setup and users sometimes experience longer support response times.

Pricing and ROI: Azure Firewall is considered cost-effective with a transparent pricing structure and quick return on investment. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series, although delivering high-quality security, is seen as a more expensive option, potentially impacting ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Firewall vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Firewall vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

June 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 860,592 peers since 2012

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

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.2%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Firewall is 2.2%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

Read full review

AnvarSadique

Information Technology Architect at GMS INC

Easy setup and effective traffic routing enhance security

In terms of improvements, I think the price could be a concern as Azure ( /products/microsoft-azure-reviews ) services are often more expensive compared to other firewalls. However, the functional aspects of Azure Firewall met our needs. While I found the interface not particularly user-friendly, this is a common issue across vendors.

Read full review

Krishnakumar M

enterprise architect at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

One of the best tools for the prevention of evasive threats

There is a feature called granular application controls, which I liked. Instead of relying on ports and IP addresses, they use AMP ID. This kind of solution is very good. Another valuable feature is the prevention of evasive threats, which is one of the best tools I've encountered. SSL decryption and app ID-based SSL decryption are also impressive, along with the integration with user ID. Identity-based policies ensuring only authorized users can access specific resources are excellent features. Normally, there is something called SIM or SCIM in IDA IDM, but this feature is provided on the box, which is exemplary.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Fortinet FortiGate has a very stable Linux-based operating system that is easy to use."

"The CLI and GUI do a good job of putting a lot at your fingertips."

"The most important feature, normally for small business customers, is link load balancing."

"It is useful for protecting and segregating the internal networks from the internet. Most of our customers also use the FortiGate client to connect to their offices by using the VPN client, and of course, they usually activate the antivirus, deep inspection, and intrusion prevention services. They are also using it for web filtering and implementing various policies dealing with forwardings, NAT, etc."

"The simplicity of the product is great. It's very easy to use, which is a compliment we get all the time in terms of feedback."

"FortiGate's ability to perform as expected and fulfil our needs has been the most compelling feature for network security."

"This version is stable. I don't have any issues with this solution, in our environment, it works well."

"The GUI is very simple, and what is very good is that every product, regardless of size, has the same interface."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Performance and stability are the key features of this product."

"Azure Firewall is a cloud-native solution that removes the pain of load balancers."

"The solution can autoscale."

"I like that you can deploy the policies separately from the firewall."

"With Azure products, customer support is really good."

"I think that one of the best features is definitely the premium version, along with the IDPs in terms of the intrusion detection and prevention system."

"Great security and connectivity."

"The firewall policy control, URL content control, and antivirus are all the most valuable aspects. Threat prevention is as well quite good."

More Azure Firewall pros

"As long as the solution is kept updated, it's pretty stable."

"Everything I could possibly want has already been implanted in the new version."

"The most valuable feature of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is its management abilities. Additionally, the updates are very good."

"The scalability of the product is quite high."

"Mainly, it is very easy to understand, and the logs are very good."

"The most valuable feature is availability."

"It is a stable solution."

"This firewall is very good for our customers because they don't have to write their own rules for adding an application."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series pros

Cons

"It is very expensive, and their support is not very good. I hope that their technical support will be better in the future."

"They should improve the interface to make it more user-friendly."

"It would be good if they had fewer updates."

"A sandbox would be good in order to be able to inspect the emails containing spam and be able to validate the emails that contain malware, prior to delivering to the customer."

"They should offer special pricing to premium partners and customers."

"The initial setup is complex."

"Scalability is one of the disadvantages. When it comes to scalability, you have to actually change the box. If you want to upgrade it, you need to actually change the existing box and probably you take the system off to other sites."

"The solution lacks multi-language support."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"There is room for further integration of AI into the system."

"For large organizations, a third-party firewall would be an added advantage, because it would have more advanced features, things that are not in Azure Firewall."

"Azure Firewall definitely needs a broader feature base. It should be able to go all the way up to layer 7 when looking at applications and things like that."

"One thing that would help engineers adopt it better is the documentation."

"In terms of improvements, I think the price could be a concern as Azure services are often more expensive compared to other firewalls."

"There is a lot of room for improvement, so I would rate it a six out of ten overall."

"We find it's different implementing it region-to-region. It might help if it was universal across all regions."

"It has fewer features than you can get from other firewalls, like anti-spam and anti-phishing. Those kinds of things are not included. It only includes IDS and IDB."

More Azure Firewall cons

"The ease of management and configuration should be improved."

"The scalability for on-premises version is limited as it depends on the model."

"The product should get frequent updates allowing us to add new signatures."

"Palo Alto has many other products. It would be nice for these products to be centralized under one tool"

"The solution's commitment time could be reduced as it often takes a lot of time to execute."

"It would be really helpful to have dashboards that provide information on IOC blockings such as where and how many. It will also be good to know how many hashing files have been reported. It would also be nice to have easy access to this information. Otherwise, it's a painful, manual task."

"The graphical user interface is a little complex and difficult to manage. L1 engineers cannot work on the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series because it's too complex, which requires L2 and above level of engineers."

"I'd like to see more data protection on the system."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It was probably about $2,500 per firewall. It was all included. It included support, services, threat management software, and 24/7 FortiCare on it. Cisco products are more expensive."

"It's expensive, but compared to the competition it's okay."

"It is cost-effective, and provides a good value for your money. The pricing, and license renewal, is very reasonable for us."

"The price is high compared to some of the other solutions."

"Other firewalls are more expensive than Fortinet FortiGate, such as the Azure firewall."

"Fortinet is the least expensive solution."

"This is not a cheap solution but it isn't expensive, either. It's a good solution for the right price."

"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"I rate the product pricing a five out of ten."

"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."

"The total cost of ownership is much less than Palo Alto, Cisco, or any other brand."

"Azure Firewall is quite an expensive product."

"The pricing of Azure Firewall is pay-as-you-go. Fortinet also has a pay-as-you-go model, but Azure's pricing is higher and, with FortiGate, you also have the license."

"Azure Firewalls operate on a pay-as-you-go model, similar to cloud services."

"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."

"Before choosing this solution, we evaluated others, and we found this to be the most cost-effective."

More Azure Firewall pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is expensive."

"This is an expensive solution, although you will get value for the price."

"It is an expensive solution."

"Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is an expensive solution, the price could be reduced. They are more expensive than some of their competitors."

"The price of the solution is expensive."

"It would be nice if they lowered their prices for small businesses."

"The overall price of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be reduced."

"When comparing Palo Alto Networks K2-Series with other solutions it is on the higher end of the price scale."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Educational Organization

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

19%

Performing Arts

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...

See all answers

What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...

See all answers

What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

See all answers

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 Firew...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?

Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigat...

See all answers

Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls

In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...

See all answers

What do you like most about Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?

It is a stable solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?

The pricing for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series solution is affordable and there are no complaints about the licensing.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Azure Firewall

Compared 19% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Azure Firewall

Compared 17% of the time

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs Azure Firewall

Compared 7% of the time

Azure Front Door vs Azure Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

Check Point NGFW vs Azure Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

More Azure Firewall Competitors

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

Compared 100% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

June 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Azure Firewall

June 2025

Download Azure Firewall product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

June 2025

Download Palo Alto Networks K2-Series product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

Azure Firewall is a user-friendly, intuitive, cloud-native firewall security solution that provides top-of-the-industry threat protection for all your Azure Virtual Network resources. Azure Firewall is constantly and thoroughly analyzing all traffic and data packets, making it a very valuable and secure fully stateful firewall as a service with built-in high availability and unrestricted cloud scalability. Azure Firewall allows users to create virtual IP addresses and provides for secure DDoS protection for the virtual machines on your network. It also provides fast and efficient east-west and north-south traffic security.

Azure Firewall is a managed, cloud-based network security service built to protect your Azure Virtual Network resources. It is a fully stateful firewall as a service with built-in high availability and unrestricted cloud scalability.

Azure Firewall has two significant offerings, Standard and Premium.

Azure Firewall Standard works directly with Microsoft Cyber Security and supplies excellent L3-L7 filtering and threat awareness. The proactive real-time threat awareness will quickly alert you and immediately deny all traffic to and from any known problematic or suspicious domains or IP addresses. Microsoft Cyber Security is updated continually to protect against all new and known potential threats at all times. To learn more about Azure Firewall Standard, click here.

Azure Firewall Premium provides everything the standard version does, and additionally adds extra levels of data encryption, network intrusion detection, extended URL filtering, and Web category filters. To learn more about the added features of Azure Firewall Premium, click here.

Key Benefits and Features of Azure Firewall:

High availability - You do not need load balancers with Azure Firewall; it's already built in and ready to go.
Self-scalability - Azure Firewall is intuitive and will auto-scale as needed based on traffic flow to be ready for peak traffic times.
Threat awareness - Using Microsoft Cyber Security to filter traffic, Azure Firewall will deny any known problematic threats to keep your network safe.
Additional IP addresses - You can securely add up to 250 public IP addresses with Azure Firewall
Improved web category filtering - You can set up specific protocols to allow or deny categories within websites that are deemed inappropriate for use within your network. You have the ability to organize categories based on a defined set of descriptions.

What our real users have to say:

Many PeerSpot users found Azure Firewall to be very user-friendly and easy to use. They liked that it offers seamless integration to the cloud and were especially pleased with the threat filtering options.

Regarding integration and threat intelligence, our users wrote:

“The most valuable feature is the integration into the overall cloud platform.”

“The most valuable feature is threat intelligence. It is based on filtering and can identify multiple threats.”

“I think that one of the best features is definitely the premium version, along with the IDPs in terms of the intrusion detection and prevention system.”

Microsoft

Designed to handle growing throughput needs due to increasing amounts of application-, user-, and device-generated data, the K2-Series offers amazing performance and threat prevention capabilities to stop advanced cyberattacks and secure mobile network infrastructure, subscribers, and services.

Palo Alto Networks

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

Information Not Available

State of North Dakota, SEGA, Alameda County Office of Education, Temple University, VERGE, CAME

Buyer's Guide

Azure Firewall vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

June 2025

Free Report: Azure Firewall vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Firewall vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Azure Firewall vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report.

See our list of best Firewalls vendors.

We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.