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Azure Bastion vs Azure Firewall 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.3
Organizations achieved 20% cost savings and faster admin tasks with Azure Bastion, streamlining infrastructure and supporting more environments.
Sentiment score
3.0
Azure Firewall provides cost-efficient security for small applications, with varied ROI experiences depending on organizational needs.
We have seen a clear return on investment from Azure Bastion, mainly in operational efficiency and reduced infrastructure overhead.
Manager Technical support at Softcell Technologies Limited
We have noticed savings of approximately twenty percent by using Azure Bastion compared to VM pricing.
Lead Software Engineer at Glastechnische Industrie Peter LISEC GmbH
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
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Azure Bastion customer service is efficient and knowledgeable, with high satisfaction but some data transfer concerns.
Sentiment score
4.2
Azure Firewall support is generally satisfactory, though some suggest improvements in response time and mention occasional third-party reliance.
One thing I would highlight is the response time of the engineers and the expertise they have, which is very valuable.
Manager Technical support at Softcell Technologies Limited
We usually get backup within two hours.
Lead Software Engineer at Glastechnische Industrie Peter LISEC GmbH
Support is satisfactory but with room for improvement, primarily concerning data transfer issues.
IT Manager at NTT DATA
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.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
Azure Bastion offers scalable enterprise solutions, though customization limits and concurrent user restrictions affect some user experiences.
Sentiment score
6.4
Azure Firewall efficiently scales with traffic, supports global users, but larger enterprises seek further scaling improvements for extensive demands.
It is designed to provide access over a private network without hitting the internet.
IT Manager at NTT DATA
It scales well across multiple subscriptions and virtual networks without requiring separate jump host infrastructure per environment.
Manager Technical support at Softcell Technologies Limited
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.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
<p>Azure Bastion is stable and reliable, with few issues reported, benefiting from Microsoft's strong R&amp;D support.</p>
Sentiment score
8.5
Azure Firewall is praised for stability and reliability, with users noting high uptimes and positive comparisons to competitors.
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
 

Room For Improvement

Azure Bastion needs browser updates, better AI for connectivity, and improvements in file transfer, monitoring, and networking.
Azure Firewall needs improvements in security, usability, support, pricing, AI integration, and centralized management to match competitors.
We would appreciate more advanced session recording, centralized audit reporting, and tighter integration with SIEM or SOC workflows to improve privileged access monitoring and forensic investigations.
Manager Technical support at Softcell Technologies Limited
I would like to see integrated AI features with Azure Bastion, especially for connectivity issues.
Lead Software Engineer at Glastechnische Industrie Peter LISEC GmbH
A storage solution must be created to transfer data, and this requires additional permissions like ACL or NFS.
IT Manager at NTT DATA
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
 

Setup Cost

Azure Bastion pricing is debated, balancing affordability and security with varied opinions compared to AWS and GCP costs.
Enterprise buyers view Azure Firewall's pricing as variable, with flexible pay-as-you-go costs and mixed opinions on affordability.
Microsoft's pricing is on the higher side and could be more competitive.
IT Manager at NTT DATA
The price is not necessarily cheaper, but it is acceptable.
Lead Software Engineer at Glastechnische Industrie Peter LISEC GmbH
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
 

Valuable Features

Azure Bastion ensures secure, efficient VM access with centralized control, eliminating public IP exposure and enhancing network integration.
Azure Firewall offers comprehensive security, seamless integration, user-friendly management, and advanced features for modern security and compliance needs.
Browser-based RDP or SSH through Azure Bastion has reduced operational overhead because administrators can securely access VMs without VPN dependency, jump servers, or exposed management ports.
Manager Technical support at Softcell Technologies Limited
The most valuable feature of Azure Bastion is its security, which I find to be the best part.
Lead Software Engineer at Glastechnische Industrie Peter LISEC GmbH
The security is the main reason we use Azure Bastion because it is integrated with Azure Active Directory, ensuring that access is secure.
Owner at BNS
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
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Bastion
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
26th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (46th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (13th)
Azure Firewall
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
11th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Bastion is 2.0%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Firewall is 3.1%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Azure Firewall3.1%
Azure Bastion2.0%
Other94.9%
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

Anand Yadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager Technical support at Softcell Technologies Limited
Secure remote access has reduced attack surface and simplifies privileged administration
The best features of Azure Bastion are secure browser-based RDP or SSH access, elimination of public IP exposure on VMs, and seamless integration with Azure networking. From a cybersecurity perspective, we especially value centralized access control, reduced attack surface, and the ability to provide privileged administrative access without deploying and maintaining traditional jump servers. Browser-based RDP or SSH through Azure Bastion has reduced operational overhead because administrators can securely access VMs without VPN dependency, jump servers, or exposed management ports. Centralized access through Azure role-based access control makes permission management much easier, allowing us to enforce least-privilege access and maintain consistent administrative controls across multiple customer environments. Another feature we find valuable in Azure Bastion is its ability to standardize secure administrative access across different customer environments. From a security operation perspective, it reduces dependency on legacy jump host architectures, simplifies access management, and helps enforce a consistent remote access security model across Azure workloads.
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.
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Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise22
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Bastion?
Microsoft's pricing is on the higher side and could be more competitive. Startups and small organizations often prefer AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ) or GCP due to their lower costs, while la...
What needs improvement with Azure Bastion?
Azure Bastion could be improved with more granular session monitoring, rich audit capabilities, and deeper integration with security operation workflows. We would also appreciate enhanced reporting...
What is your primary use case for Azure Bastion?
Azure Bastion serves as our primary solution for providing secure administrative access to Azure VPNs and VMs without exposing RDP or SSH ports to the internet. From a cybersecurity perspective, it...
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...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Bastion vs. Azure Firewall and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.