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Azure Bastion vs N-able N-central comparison

 

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)
N-able N-central
Ranking in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) category, the mindshare of Azure Bastion is 2.5%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of N-able N-central is 5.5%, down from 8.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
N-able N-central5.5%
Azure Bastion2.5%
Other92.0%
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
 

Featured Reviews

AB
Lead Software Engineer at Glastechnische Industrie Peter LISEC GmbH
Have improved security with role segregation and accessibility
The most valuable feature of Azure Bastion is its security, which I find to be the best part. We use Azure AD integration to specify who has access and what they can do. We can segregate roles, allowing some to execute commands while others cannot. Additionally, we are using it internally to connect to our secured AKS Cluster.
NM
Senior Operations Specialist at Tagit cc
Transition has been smooth and integration supports compliance with ease
The transition to N-able N-central was very smooth. We were confident that our migration would not affect any operations. It was easy to migrate our clients into the new solutions. What we have experienced is that only branding has changed along with the way reports are structured. The solution is more advanced and the transition was well thought out. The process is managed properly. Regarding the integration capabilities of N-able N-central, my colleagues who work with this solution recently completed an ISO quality audit. The auditor could understand and manage how we handle our assets and environment because it's quite simple, even for someone who doesn't use the platform daily. This demonstrates that we are using a solution that meets our compliance requirements. N-able N-central is easy to use. Once licenses are provisioned, it's simple for my team to deploy the solution from anywhere remotely, provided there is internet access or remote access to the device.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The connection to virtual machines is very useful."
"It is very easy to use as it's in the browser; it is on the menu of the virtual machine, so you just need to type your username and password and you will have a full RDP experience."
"Azure Bastion is preferable because you just switch it on and off you go."
"The most significant advantage lies in its runbook features, particularly beneficial for our infrastructure team."
"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."
"Azure Bastion makes it easy to provide quick virtual machine access to our customers."
"The solution's most valuable feature is that it is easy to use...It is modernized, so I can create complex infrastructures."
"The product's setup is easy."
"N-able N-central is an easy tool to implement with customers."
"The most valuable feature of N-able N-central is the many options it has."
"The most valuable features of N-central are its ease of deployment and ease of use."
"I like the remote connectivity, reporting suite, and patch management module."
"The most helpful features of N-able N-central include providing a single pane of glass for many insights in an environment regarding their patching, their assets, their devices in general, and the active issues that they show."
"The solution's service is good."
"N-able N-central is very scalable."
"The support is at a good level. So normally, we can always get to a solution when we are stuck with some monitoring problems that we encounter."
 

Cons

"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."
"There are some challenges because Bastion is more compatible with Edge but not with the other browsers. As an organization, it doesn't make sense that we have to use only Edge. We should be able to access Bastion over Chrome, Mozilla, or Opera. It should be our choice."
"The solution breaks down sometimes."
"The protocol speed could be faster."
"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."
"Azure Bastion does its job. However, it would be nice to have the capability to cut and paste across desktops, similar to old-fashioned Remote Desktop emulation."
"While general support is valuable, having a detailed breakdown of the specific issues would contribute to a more streamlined and efficient resolution process."
"The industry has moved towards Redfish for out-of-band and in-band monitoring, yet N-able N-central still relies on older protocols like SNMP."
"There is room for improvement in the development of custom monitoring services."
"The solution's overall integration should be improved."
"N-central has limited mobile device management (MDM) support, specifically for Android devices. This limitation affected a deal with a client who had numerous Android devices to manage. It would be beneficial if N-central could expand its MDM support to include Android devices."
"It was previously expensive and tedious to manage different licenses."
"At this moment, we encounter stability issues with N-able N-central from time to time."
"We have to do the effort ourselves because Enable is not really strategically going there because I assume there's not much money to make to improve that or to convince customers to start with their product."
"N-able N-central could improve the remote access, my technicians have complained about it. They have used other free tools instead to compensate, such as TeamViewer. Additionally, when using remote access on the web, it is lacking reports."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It does not save money for us."
"Azure Bastion's pricing is good."
"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."
"The tool is cheaply priced. I would say that the product is free to use."
"The pricing and licensing are average, almost six out of ten."
"N-able N-central is not an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
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 Business8
Midsize Enterprise2
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...
What needs improvement with N-able N-central?
The MSP part of N-able N-central has evolved over the years. They have been trying to move from professional or network server and desktop licensing to make it more comprehensive. With professional...
What is your primary use case for N-able N-central?
We have been dealing with Enable EDR and N-able N-central, which is a management center. It's the NOC solution that we are currently running our asset management on. We are managing tasks in that e...
What advice do you have for others considering N-able N-central?
There's a new node for N-able N-central which they have addressed. Our outstanding items include reviewing our pricing and partnership level, which can provide additional benefits when we exceed 10...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SolarWinds N-central, SolarWinds MSP N-central
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Premier Technology Solutions
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Bastion vs. N-able N-central and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.