Azure Web Application Firewall vs Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention comparison

Azure Web Application Firewall vs. Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention

December 2025

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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

3.9

Azure Web Application Firewall offers cost-efficiency through reduced administration, AI enhancements, and competitive pricing compared to leading competitors.

Sentiment score

6.3

Users benefit from Microsoft Purview DLP due to seamless integration, cost savings, productivity boosts, and enhanced security without extra expenses.

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.

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Web Application Firewall report

Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.

We save a lot of time for legal by using Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention when searching data for legal and HR and employee issues.

Anand Venkatachalapathy

Staff Systems Administrator at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees

In these days of data breaches and data leakages that result in huge regulatory fines, we have not had any data breaches that could result in such fines.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Head of Geographies; Data Protection Officer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

The fact that we are not being fined is crucial.

Scott Priddy

Cloud Architecture Lead at bolder inc

Customer Service

Sentiment score

7.1

Microsoft support is generally satisfactory, with users preferring higher-tier options for faster response and clearer communication.

Sentiment score

5.9

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention support experiences vary, with praised documentation but mixed reviews on response time and effectiveness.

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.

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Web Application Firewall report

Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology

I reached out to their support, and they helped me resolve the issue effectively.

Adolfo Albanell

Owner at ICAL S.A.

I rate it a ten because they are very quick to respond and very quick to escalate if needed.

Scott Priddy

Cloud Architecture Lead at bolder inc

Once we got to the Microsoft engineers, the experience was great.

ChrisVinding

Director of Cyber Security

In terms of support, it's top-notch and always available to help us with any support issues we raise.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Head of Geographies; Data Protection Officer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

6.6

Azure Web Application Firewall offers flexible, highly-rated scalability, easily adapting to traffic changes and various workload needs across subscriptions.

Sentiment score

7.3

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is scalable for medium to large organizations but faces integration challenges with non-Microsoft systems.

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.

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Web Application Firewall report

Global IT Solutions Specialist at RELIEF INTERNATIONAL INC

The policy working and detection technology need enhancements.

reviewer2262372

Solution Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention scales well with the growing needs of our organization.

Head of Geographies; Data Protection Officer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention scales effectively.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Director, IT Infrastructure at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.1

Azure Web Application Firewall is highly stable, with minimal connectivity or performance issues and consistently earns high reliability ratings.

Sentiment score

7.7

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is stable and reliable, with minor configuration issues but overall positive user feedback.

Very rarely do I see any latency issues.

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Web Application Firewall report

Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.

I would assess the stability and reliability of Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention as high.

Brian Ricks

Co-Owner and Principal Consultant at BriComp Computers

The stability and reliability of Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is great.

ClayHampton

Senior Infrastructure Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

I assess the stability and reliability of Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention as quite good because I don't think it's ever gone down, unlike other parts of Azure.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Director, IT Infrastructure at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

Room For Improvement

Azure Web Application Firewall needs better reporting, integration, cost plans, and process streamlining for enhanced management and support.

Microsoft Purview DLP requires improvements in integration, stability, AI, licensing, language support, documentation, compatibility, and OCR features.

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.

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Web Application Firewall report

Global IT Solutions Specialist at RELIEF INTERNATIONAL INC

Business Premium users can get the data loss prevention features of E5, which is fantastic.

ClayHampton

Senior Infrastructure Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

Implementing a degree of severity ranking is essential.

ChrisVinding

Director of Cyber Security

More guides, more examples, and more compliance frameworks such as NIST or even PCI compliance would be great.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Director, IT Infrastructure at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

Setup Cost

Azure Web Application Firewall offers scalable pricing, valued functionality, and favorable terms, appealing compared to AWS and GCP.

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention in E5 licenses offers competitive pricing and value with bundled security features and flexible options.

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.

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Web Application Firewall report

Global IT Solutions Specialist at RELIEF INTERNATIONAL INC

In terms of pricing, I would say it's unlimited value because it's bundled in our A5 and E5 licensing situation.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Director, IT Infrastructure at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

The pricing for Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is generally set; E5 is required, but it comes with all other products, so I would say it is fine.

Iohann Gessenay

Security Engineer at baseVISION

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that it is very straightforward because we are all using E5 licenses, so we are covered.

Scott Priddy

Cloud Architecture Lead at bolder inc

Valuable Features

Azure Web Application Firewall offers robust security, seamless Azure integration, automatic rule management, and scalable, user-friendly deployment with minimal downtime.

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention excels in data protection, compliance, and productivity through integration and machine learning capabilities.

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.

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Web Application Firewall report

Global IT Solutions Specialist at RELIEF INTERNATIONAL INC

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention prevents users from sharing sensitive information outside the organization based on the configurations that we've implemented.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Head of Geographies; Data Protection Officer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Microsoft Purview has helped improve our organization's ability to discover sensitive data significantly as we use eDiscovery Purview, which is incredibly helpful.

Anand Venkatachalapathy

Staff Systems Administrator at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention usually performs well, except for endpoint Data Loss Prevention, which may need improvements.

reviewer2262372

Solution Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Categories and Ranking

Azure Web Application Firewall

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

21st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Web Application Firewall (WAF) (12th)

Microsoft Purview Data Loss...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

13th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Web Application Firewall is 2.0%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is 2.6%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention	2.6%
Azure Web Application Firewall	2.0%
Other	95.4%

Microsoft Security Suite

Featured Reviews

Comprehensive suite simplifies configuration while frequent updates require management

Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.

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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ClayHampton

Senior Infrastructure Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

Protects sensitive data across devices and helps address client compliance needs proactively

The reporting in Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is a little easier than most Microsoft portals. I understand the licensing cost, especially if you're a Business Premium or in the SMB world, and a lot of clients run with a Business Premium. That comes with data loss prevention in a manual process, whereas E5 gives automation. Microsoft has said, 'Okay, here's your Microsoft 365 E5 compliance add-on that can go on the Business Premium.' So Business Premium users can get the data loss prevention features of E5, which is fantastic. That was the big point that they were missing, and I'm glad that they actually have an add-on now that makes it possible. So truly, I don't think there's a downside. Maybe more reporting, but that's it.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	15

Questions from the Community

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...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention?

The pricing of Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is acceptable for us.

What needs improvement with Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention?

I think that a feature on the side where you could click on something with a question mark, and then if you click on it, it would open up a new window and give you more information on that, almost ...

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention?

My main use case is to upload mailboxes. We're using Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention to upload mailboxes. The migration tool that's built into the Microsoft Hybrid isn't working on our domai...

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Product Reports

Azure Web Application Firewall

January 2026

Download Azure Web Application Firewall product report

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention

January 2026

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Download Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft Endpoint Data Loss Prevention, MS Endpoint DLP, Microsoft Endpoint DLP

Overview

Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) provides centralized protection of your web applications from common exploits and vulnerabilities. Web applications are increasingly targeted by malicious attacks that exploit commonly known vulnerabilities. SQL injection and cross-site scripting are among the most common attacks.

To learn more about our solution, ask questions, and share feedback, join our Microsoft Security, Compliance and Identity Community.

Microsoft

At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is grounded in both the world in which we live and the future we strive to create. Today, we live in a mobile-first, cloud-first world, and the transformation we are driving across our businesses is designed to enable Microsoft and our customers to thrive in this world.

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