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AWS Direct Connect vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

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

AWS Direct Connect
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
12th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 2.1%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is 6.5%, down from 8.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Flavio Gomes Figueira Camacho Junior - PeerSpot reviewer
Establish secure and private connections between on-premise infrastructure and cloud environments
AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure. This is particularly beneficial because it helps me use our infrastructure for databases and testing while leveraging AWS's computing power for production purposes. I also do not need to expose management of our machines to the public internet, enhancing security by using a private connection.
MatsHagberg Olsson2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Designs subnets with high security while navigating evolving integration processes
The primary function of Azure VPN Gateway allows for designing subnets from existing networks, whether they are physical or virtual networks within Azure or other cloud instances. You can configure these networks using IP numbers and connect them using certificates or SaaS strings. It also requires Entra ID for privileged access groups, resulting in high security.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet."
"The platform's most valuable feature for us is its robust network performance."
"Direct Connect provides an improved connection quality and a diversified link, which contributes to high availability and failover capabilities."
"AWS Direct Connect is highly secure and much faster compared to normal network infrastructure."
"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."
"It is a highly scalable solution."
"AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure."
"AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure."
"The VPN Gateway is valued for its ease of use and redundancy."
"It works perfectly for me. It is very user-friendly in terms of the configuration and the setup process."
"The scalability is a highly valued feature."
"The Azure tool is useful and powerful and availability for clients. The updates are very good and reliable."
"You can configure these networks using IP numbers and connect them using certificates or SaaS strings."
"The side-to-side connections are valuable."
"I like the stability, HA, and performance of the product."
"The most valuable feature is the networking. I didn't have a good experience with the networking that Sophos has."
 

Cons

"AWS Direct Connect is straightforward and performs well for me."
"There is no room for improvement in Direct Connect right now."
"It can be difficult to configure compared to cloud-based GUIs."
"I would like to see better traffic visibility and higher throughput security, especially for organizations that require more than what the current limit allows."
"AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure and AWS, for disaster recovery purposes on different cloud platforms."
"Having more locations could improve the convenience of using the service."
"The platform's stability needs improvement."
"Its terminologies are challenging to interpret."
"I would like to see improvements in the deployment process as I faced challenges."
"Microsoft's support is rated at four due to issues such as speed of response and coordination difficulties."
"The connectivity should be faster."
"There is a need to improve the paperwork and management approval process, which is currently painful, though not directly related to the VPN Gateway itself."
"The instructions should have been more accessible and less time-consuming to find the best solution tailored for the customer."
"Make it completely routable, for example, if I have a gateway, I should be able to connect to whatever network I want on either side of the gateway, and the gateway should figure out which packet goes where."
"The monitoring part needs to be improved."
"It isn't stabilized on the first day, and you need to set up the channels properly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The solution is subscription-based and very cheap."
"Payment for licensing the solution is part of the operating model. So, one needs to keep on paying while consuming the solution. In short, the payment is based on the solution's capacity."
"There is a monthly license and the price depends on how many users are using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. The price could be less expensive."
"The costs are quite high."
"Its price is reasonable for new technology."
"I pay the licensing charges associated with the tool on an hourly basis. The tool is affordable."
"The product costs us $140 to $180 per month."
"It's saved us money compared to getting a third-party appliance."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
5%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Direct Connect?
AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet.
What needs improvement with AWS Direct Connect?
AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure ( /products/microsoft-azure-reviews ) and AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ), for disaster recovery pur...
What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?
I have used AWS Direct Connect ( /products/aws-direct-connect-reviews ) in projects to directly connect artifacts and for setting up a call center service in a customer service project. It is used ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?
The instructions on how to integrate P2N and P2S type networks into Azure VPN Gateway could be improved, though it is a constantly evolving process. The instructions should have been more accessibl...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?
I would advise comparing Azure VPN Gateway with other market leaders in this segment and referencing sources like Forrester and Gartner. It's crucial to look at which competitors in this spectrum h...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MS Azure VPN Gateway
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Direct Connect vs. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.