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Azure Bastion vs Azure Key Vault 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
7.1
Azure Key Vault delivers ROI through cost-efficiency, enhanced security, compliance, and centralized management, improving organizational security and access control.
We have seen a clear return on investment from Azure Bastion, mainly in operational efficiency and reduced infrastructure overhead.
Manager Technical Support Engineer 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
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Azure Bastion customer service is efficient and knowledgeable, with high satisfaction but some data transfer concerns.
Sentiment score
6.9
Azure Key Vault support is praised for responsiveness and knowledge, though some experience communication issues and delays reaching experts.
One thing I would highlight is the response time of the engineers and the expertise they have, which is very valuable.
Manager Technical Support Engineer 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
Technical support from Azure responds as quickly as possible without any delay.
Security Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I have a strong relationship with Microsoft since we are one of their best clients in Spain.
Software Architect at RedesCDM
The skill level of the support staff is also questionable.
IT Director at Infosys
 

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
7.2
Azure Key Vault is scalable, cloud-based, suitable for enterprises, but requires improved integration; users rate scalability highly.
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 Engineer at Softcell Technologies Limited
 

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
8.1
Azure Key Vault is highly reliable, rated 8-10, with minor performance issues as usage increases, outperforming competitors in stability.
 

Room For Improvement

Azure Bastion needs browser updates, better AI for connectivity, and improvements in file transfer, monitoring, and networking.
Azure Key Vault needs an intuitive interface, improved integration, enhanced security, optimized pricing, and better support and accessibility.
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 Engineer 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
My security area wants to rotate passwords every day, every week, or every month, depending on the services.
Software Architect at RedesCDM
One of our certificates was not getting deployed, and during that time, the support team was unsure and had to connect with the back-end team for assistance.
Senior Infrastructure Engineer at MIC Global
The skill level of the support staff is also questionable.
IT Director at Infosys
 

Setup Cost

Azure Bastion pricing is debated, balancing affordability and security with varied opinions compared to AWS and GCP costs.
Azure Key Vault pricing varies by usage, seen as cost-effective versus competitors, though some find it expensive.
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
I would classify it as low priced.
Enterprise Architect at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The pricing of Azure Key Vault is nominal, not that expensive.
Associate Vice President (Data Security & Protection - Confidential AI) at Standard Chartered Bank
We are planning to buy protection for Entra.
IT Director at Infosys
 

Valuable Features

Azure Bastion ensures secure, efficient VM access with centralized control, eliminating public IP exposure and enhancing network integration.
Azure Key Vault offers secure, scalable secret management with easy integration, featuring advanced protection, role-based access, and DevOps support.
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 Engineer 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
All secrets are in the Key Vault, and access is managed by the integrated management in ITT, which Azure provides to the services.
Software Architect at RedesCDM
It also helps me increase my security posture and assists with regulatory and compliance requirements.
Enterprise Architect at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Since implementing Azure Key Vault, I have observed that instead of storing plain values, we can store them securely as and when required.
Software Engineer at Synoptek
 

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 Key Vault
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Password Managers (1st), Certificate Management Software (1st), Secrets Management Tools (2nd)
 

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 Key Vault is 2.5%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Azure Key Vault2.5%
Azure Bastion2.0%
Other95.5%
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

Anand Yadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager Technical Support Engineer 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.
Rajthilak BS - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Vice President (Data Security & Protection - Confidential AI) at Standard Chartered Bank
Have addressed compliance challenges but still struggle with seamless integration of certificate issuance between environments
In terms of Azure Key Vault improvements, we have to compare the competitor. If we consider AWS, our bank has Microsoft PKI, which is a Microsoft product, for the entire digital certificate infrastructure. Even in the cloud, when it is AWS, the internal certificates are MS PKI. When we had a problem, users had to come to on-premise to get a certificate and import it to AWS Certificate Manager and assign it. We wondered why we could not issue the certificate directly from the cloud for cloud users. There was a simple way in AWS. They have a Private Certificate Authority (PCA) and Amazon Certificate Manager. Private Certificate Authority issues certificates to Amazon services. They also provide Amazon Certificate Manager to store and deploy certificates. These are two neat components - one is an issuer and another is storage and deployment solutions for certificates. With PCA, I can directly enable it and get certificates from AWS itself. AWS can issue SSL/TLS certificates if you enable it directly. If you consider Azure, it is not very clear. Even the naming convention, Key Vault, might not suggest that this is a PKI or certificate manager. You cannot issue certificates directly. They have app certificates and did not have a clear-cut certificate management solution in the cloud when I worked at that time. I am not sure whether they have updated Azure Key Vault as a full-fledged PKI solution now. From what I saw, it was not a full-fledged PKI solution. We are not majorly using Azure Key Vault because it is only for storing secrets. If some solutions can provide guidance on how we can maximize leverage, we can immediately look forward to doing that. We already have some business problems we want to solve. While our primary focus is AWS, many of the services such as ADO are running on Azure, and the secondary services are growing bigger.
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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%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
6%
 

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 Business15
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise27
 

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...
Which is better - Azure Key Vault or AWS Secrets Manager?
Azure Key Vault is a SaaS solution. You can easily store passwords and secrets securely and encrypt them. Azure Key Vault is a great solution to ensure you are compliant with security and governanc...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Key Vault?
Based on my three years of experience, I believe there have been no updates to Azure Key Vault. I think the product needs upgrades in terms of access control and certification improvements. While A...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft Azure Key Vault, MS Azure Key Vault
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Adobe, DriveTime, Johnson Controls, HP, InterContinental Hotels Group, ASOS
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Bastion vs. Azure Key Vault and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.