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Azure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

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
6.5
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series offers cost-effective security solutions with advanced features, providing significant ROI within three to five years.
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 return on investment with this product is a hard question because security tends to be a cost center rather than a profit center.
Global Network Engineering Technical Lead at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series will be more reliable and will save money, time, and multiple resources.
Project Engineer at IT Solution
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is definitely worth the investment a company is paying to use it.
Senior Network Security Engineer at UNITE HERE HEALTH
 

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
6.2
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series customer service is praised for knowledge but criticized for slower response times compared to Cisco.
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're constantly following up after a case has been opened to ensure that it has been resolved properly.
Global Network Engineering Technical Lead at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Cisco TAC support comes within five to ten minutes on the call.
Cloud Network Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Initially, it took one or two hours to get a Palo Alto engineer, which is quite slow.
Operations Specialist - MX Operations at Bank Alfalah Limited
 

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
6.9
The PA-Series provides excellent scalability for enterprises, with virtual models offering adaptability for thousands of users and devices.
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.
If you talk about virtual firewall, it is easy to autoscale.
Cloud Network Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The solution can handle more than ten thousand users in my organization.
Operations Specialist - MX Operations at Bank Alfalah Limited
There are no restrictions in scalability.
Asisstant Manager at Yaskawa America, 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
8.2
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is praised for stability due to consistent updates, high availability, and reliable long-term operation.
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
I am giving stability a rating of 10 out of 10 because since implementation, we have not observed any issues with Palo Alto Networks PA-Series related to version, vulnerabilities, or anything else.
Cloud Network Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees
If the data plane hangs or gets stuck, then we can troubleshoot using the management plane.
Project Engineer at IT Solution
 

Room For Improvement

Azure Firewall needs improvements in security, usability, support, pricing, AI integration, and centralized management to match competitors.
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series faces high costs, complex setup, slow support, and demands for better integration, UI, and features.
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
You can buy cheaper products, but I believe in the value they're giving us.
Global Network Engineering Technical Lead at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The interface of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series should be made much more user-friendly.
IT Coordinator at CSA Makati
For the next release of the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series firewall, I would like to see logs monitoring included.
Asisstant Manager at Yaskawa America, Inc
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers view Azure Firewall's pricing as variable, with flexible pay-as-you-go costs and mixed opinions on affordability.
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series provides high-end security and support valued by enterprises, despite its higher price compared to competitors.
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
The firewall is expensive for every company, but the cost is worth it to ensure maximum security.
Operations Specialist - MX Operations at Bank Alfalah Limited
The price of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is expensive.
IT Coordinator at CSA Makati
Overall, the pricing is good, but if they included GlobalProtect, it would be more valuable.
Project Engineer at IT Solution
 

Valuable Features

Azure Firewall offers comprehensive security, seamless integration, user-friendly management, and advanced features for modern security and compliance needs.
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series offers advanced security features and simplified management for organizations prioritizing data security and flexibility.
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
Integrated threat intelligence has empowered my organization to adapt to threats by taking a lot of the burden off us; there's just no way we would see the same breadth of knowledge that a vendor or manufacturer would have.
Global Network Engineering Technical Lead at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series has multiple security features, including antivirus, IPS, and behavior-based analysis.
Project Engineer at IT Solution
The most effective features of the solution are its Magic Quadrant positioning, making it a leading firewall on perimeter areas and internet edges.
Operations Specialist - MX Operations at Bank Alfalah Limited
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Firewall
Ranking in Firewalls
13th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (10th)
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
18th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Azure Firewall is 2.7%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is 1.1%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Azure Firewall2.7%
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series1.1%
Other96.2%
Firewalls
 

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.
Rohit Ghorpade - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Network Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Identity-based perimeter control has improved security and supports reliable remote access
Currently, we are working with vendors such as Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, Cisco, Check Point, and Citrix. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is a better firewall. Deep packet inspection and threat prevention basically comply with whatever traffic is incoming and outgoing through the firewall. I do not think anything improvement is required. The thing is that Palo Alto Networks PA-Series works mostly on a license-based model. If you want to utilize any feature, you have to purchase the license. For example, URL filtering requires a license purchase. It simplifies the implementation because LDAP server profile can be integrated. Basically, that simplifies the implementation of access rule or security policy.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

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 Business14
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise17
 

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 Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?
If we look at the features, then the price is good, but they do charge for the GlobalProtect VPNs. Overall, the pricing is good, but if they included GlobalProtect, it would be more valuable.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?
There is room for improvement in Palo Alto Networks PA-Series in the areas where they can minimize applications and implement features that can be useful for us.
What is your primary use case for Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?
I am using Palo Alto Networks PA-Series to ensure protection and cybersecurity by preventing and implementing network security features to safeguard networks against threats and malware. I have to ...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Firewall vs. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,153 professionals have used our research since 2012.