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Azure Bastion vs ConnectWise Automate comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

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

Azure Bastion
Ranking in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
12th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (52nd), Microsoft Security Suite (26th)
ConnectWise Automate
Ranking in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
10th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) category, the mindshare of Azure Bastion is 2.5%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ConnectWise Automate is 5.5%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ConnectWise Automate5.5%
Azure Bastion2.5%
Other92.0%
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2142519 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Azure Bastion is Microsoft’s fully managed Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution designed to provide secure, seamless Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Secure Shell (SSH) connectivity to Azure Virtual
Metric / Area Traditional Jump Host / Direct IP With Azure Bastion Attack Vector Exposed management ports on public IPs Private IPs only; TLS encapsulation over Port 443 Maintenance Manual OS updates, AV checks, jump VM management Zero operational maintenance (Managed PaaS) User Access Require corporate VPN or local credentials Web browser native or Azure CLI native client Governance Disparate local/domain accounts Integrated Entra ID with MFA, PIM, & RBAC
MikeChacker - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager Global Service Delivery at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Facilitates valuable patch cycles, but the web client is not very intuitive and needs updating, and the scripting has room for improvement
The fixed client for Automate is slow. The web client is not very intuitive. It could use some updating and some thought around the UX. Also, with the scripting, I would like to see something where it could have third-party scripts already pre-built, and all you have to do is say, "Hey, I need this," and go load it. It's not as automated as I'd like it to be.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Azure Bastion eliminates the need for a jump server by providing secure access to servers without hitting the public network."
"The connection to virtual machines is very useful."
"The solution acts as a dedicated server and we have implemented multiple software, users can easily access everything from there, and it's a cost-effective solution as we don't want to purchase any servers because everything is on the cloud, which is the main advantage for the company."
"The solution's most valuable feature is that it is easy to use...It is modernized, so I can create complex infrastructures."
"The most significant advantage lies in its runbook features, particularly beneficial for our infrastructure team."
"Azure Bastion makes it easy to provide quick virtual machine access to our customers."
"It provides all the security to us. Without getting on the internet, we can access our servers. We can access our desktop through our web browser. We don't need to run the mstsc command and login to the VM. All those things are not required."
"As an Azure consultant, for me, it is the best way to give the administrator access as you can manage the permission - including who can access Bastion."
"ConnectWise Automate's interface is pretty easy to use; it's pretty intuitive to get around and navigate it, and it does what I need, which is usually connecting to the client and customers systems so I can just help them from home or from work."
"One of the greatest benefits of LabTech is less client downtime, because LabTech lets you proactively monitor and fix issues before they interrupt your clients’ business, so you can virtually eliminate system outages."
"Technical support has been good. Everyone we have been in contact with has responded to our queries in a reasonable amount of time."
"The most value we get from this solution is that everything is on a patch cycle, so all my team has to do is go through patches, whereas previously, they were doing all the patches manually."
"The initial setup is easy and the deployment is quick."
"Remote access and detailed monitoring help us support our equipment."
"It allows us to manage all client requests, jobs and invoicing."
"Maybe they could improve the capability to be multi-tenant."
 

Cons

"You are charged for retrieving your own data."
"The solution breaks down sometimes."
"There is room for improvement with AI features. I would like to see integrated AI features with Azure Bastion, especially for connectivity issues."
"We are not able to copy and paste files directly into the server over the patch host. We have to transfer files over to Azure Storage."
"Speaking of AI, having Microsoft Copilot in Azure Bastion would be good."
"While general support is valuable, having a detailed breakdown of the specific issues would contribute to a more streamlined and efficient resolution process."
"Currently, Azure Bastion does not allow for direct data transfer between desktops. A storage solution must be created to transfer data, and this requires additional permissions like ACL or NFS."
"When you have a boot issue on Windows, you cannot use Azure Bastion to fix it. You have to use the Azure console or the VM console, and it is very limited."
"They could use some automated alerts particularly when we're talking about an MSP that might shoot over."
"The menu doesn't always load properly."
"The wait time for a support ticket to be addressed needs to be reduced. They take a couple of days to get back."
"We would love to get feature updates and cumulative updates fixed. I know they aren't really supposed to be pushed with Patch Manager. We've got recommendations from ConnectWise to use the scripted feature update installs, scripted KB updates, etc. Having these in Patch Manager itself would be great."
"I almost would rather have a different tool, but I'm not sure which one yet."
"They always change the GUI to some dumb-down version of tiles which are more "user-friendly", but slows my team down in the end."
"Technical support was helpful."
"The wait time for a support ticket to be addressed needs to be reduced. They take a couple of days to get back. It is a little frustrating when we have to wait for a couple of days. A lot of times, the issue is critical for us. If we're reaching out to their support team and submitting a ticket, it is because we need it handled quickly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Azure Bastion's pricing is good."
"It does not save money for us."
"The tool is cheaply priced. I would say that the product is free to use."
"The pricing is a lower decision point than high-quality security for our organization. Better security comes at a cost, but it's worth it, and that's what we tell our customers."
"I believe Automate is available for around $2."
"From what I've overheard, it is pretty comparable to other solutions in terms of price."
"I pay $85 a month per user for a ConnectWise package that contains multiple solutions."
"Pricing and licensing are reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Construction Company
8%
Performing Arts
8%
Manufacturing Company
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 Business10
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise1
 

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...
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Also Known As

No data available
LabTech for IT Service Providers, ConnectWise Automate for Corporate IT Departments, ConnectWise Automate for IT Service Providers
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
I-M Technology, Mainstay Technologies, PC Works Plus, Integrity IT, Kerkhoff Technologies Inc., Marathon Consulting, Christenberry Sales Company, EDTS, Secom Technology, Ready to View, ARRC Technology, DaVinci Digital, JNR Networks, Quinn Technology Solutions, PCIT, Liberty Technology, Capital Computers & Networks, Atlanta Technology Force, Doberman Technologies, First Column Enterprises, CisCom Solutions
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Bastion vs. ConnectWise Automate and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.