Azure Network Watcher vs vRealize Network Insight comparison

Microsoft and Broadcom are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Microsoft is ranked #41 with an average rating of 8.5, while Broadcom is ranked #36 with an average rating of 8.0. Microsoft holds a 0.5% mindshare in NMS, compared to Broadcom’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Azure Network Watcher

Read 14 Azure Network Watcher reviews

1,914 Views
1,857 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

vRealize Network Insight

Read 47 vRealize Network Insight reviews

4,479 Views
3,314 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

Azure Network Watcher

vRealize Network Insight

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

vRealize Network Insight and Azure Network Watcher compete in network management and monitoring. vRealize Network Insight appears more suited for extensive VMware ecosystems, offering functionality despite its high cost, while Azure Network Watcher is considered more affordable, especially within the Azure ecosystem.

Features: vRealize Network Insight offers comprehensive visibility and insights into network communications, assisting in traffic analysis with visual analytics and intuitive usage. It integrates with VMware, storing logs and providing actionable insights. Azure Network Watcher provides tools for packet capture, network diagnostics, and integration with Azure for robust cloud-based monitoring.

Room for Improvement: vRealize Network Insight could benefit from better documentation, pricing improvements, and enhanced reporting. Users also desire more seamless integration with diverse networks. Azure Network Watcher could improve its initial setup, enhance open-source features, and expand AI capabilities while providing richer documentation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: vRealize Network Insight supports on-premises and cloud deployments with positive feedback on its technical support, regarded as responsive and helpful. Azure Network Watcher is designed for Azure environments and is considered easy to use, though users suggest improving initial user guidance.

Pricing and ROI: vRealize Network Insight, while criticized for high costs, offers ROI through time-saving efficiencies in labor and cost reductions. Azure Network Watcher is seen as affordable for basic options and offers cost-effectiveness within enterprises, despite higher expenses with detailed configurations.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Network Watcher vs. vRealize Network Insight Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. vRealize Network Insight

June 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 900,644 peers since 2012

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 Network Watcher

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

41st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

vRealize Network Insight

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

36th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (41st)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Azure Network Watcher is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vRealize Network Insight is 0.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
vRealize Network Insight	0.8%
Azure Network Watcher	0.5%
Other	98.7%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Bijoyendra Roychowdhury

Program Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

Network monitoring provides comprehensive analytics while the interface requires further development

The quality of Azure Network Watcher is quite good in terms of the in-depth analysis you can create from these matrices. There are other monitoring tools such as New Relic, AppDynamics, and Dynatrace which provide very detailed network tracing. Cloud providers such as Azure or AWS do not have that kind of GUI-based capability at this point, but using PowerShell or Python, you can develop it yourself. From the GUI perspective, it still needs to evolve in terms of quality and standard, though overall, it is quite good for troubleshooting. Regarding areas for improvement, when comparing to other network tools beyond Azure Monitor or Azure Network Watcher, those tools can identify single failed packets. This level of granularity is not currently possible with cloud providers as they only go to a certain level rather than the granular level needed for deep troubleshooting, though they do provide hints with available matrices.

Read full review

Shaijith KB

Senior System Specialist at General Directorate of Residence and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA)

Comprehensive management and detailed reports benefit operations while improvements are needed in support and maintenance

We have Tanzu and OpenShift. We have OpenShift, Canonical, and the Tanzu one. The Tanzu platform from VMware is a Kubernetes platform. We haven't completely installed Tanzu yet; we installed the vROps part. vRealize Network Insight is beneficial because you can control the East-West traffic. vRealize has a component called NSX, which has East-West traffic controlling and micro-segmentation, that is one of the best options, and we have the layer extension, layer 2 extension possible through NSX. If you have anything accountable in any business, even in a candy business, having proper accountability on what you are selling and buying will save a lot. If you don't know what you're selling and buying, you will end up with a loss. My team does not use the flow analytics feature; we have a security and network monitoring team, which is a different SOC team. I am using it as an administrator internally. We perform different tasks including costing analysis, capacity management, and many other things. vRealize Network Insight has a concern about the maintenance part, as it requires a person to monitor it completely. It's not something you install and your report will be generated automatically. You have to work on this properly to get the insights. vRealize Network Automation, vRealize Operations, and vRealize Network Insight are completely related to the network. I cannot say much about these network aspects because I am on the operations side, but overall, the vRealize suite is good for reporting perspective or any ISO-related documentation; this is very helpful. The product is called vRealize Operations Manager, and now it is referred to as Aria or vAria. I am now a Senior System Specialist. We use different metrics because we have multiple departments, and we can monitor utilization and comparisons with the previous year. On a scale of one to ten, I rate this solution a seven.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is stable."

"The stability is very good. I rate it a ten out of ten."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is the cloud-native application firewall, which is helpful for securing databases."

"I like the visibility."

"It provides good visibility."

"What I like most about Azure Network Watcher is that it's focused more on the architecture. I also like that it has a packet capture feature that tells you how the packet travels and whether it's exiting Azure, etc."

"We use the solution to monitor network services. It helps to capture any network issues."

"This will help the company or the administrator, by helping them see how the traffic moves, to make sure that no entities are having any communication issues or different endpoints with task issues."

More Azure Network Watcher pros

"It has definitely helped us to meet compliance rules by assuring that all traffic is going to where it's supposed to go. It can be used to report that you are in compliance, as well as helping you get into compliance."

"It allows us to see how the network devices function as well as to see network glitches or fluctuations or dropping of packets."

"We are better able to understand our needs for future growth and budgeting purposes."

"It especially helps with deploying NSX, that you're not having to manually chase down and figure out what you need to do to microsegment VMs. This gives a nice option where you can say, "Hey, this VM, show me what flows are there." I can export it out and then import it as an NSX rule and job done."

"It's a pretty good system if you're doing troubleshooting and microsegmentation."

"With this product, we can precisely identify communication patterns between virtual machines within our data center, whether it's east-east or east-west communication."

"Login site gives you the opportunity to collect logs from all of your hypervisors and your virtual servers, then put them all in one location and make them searchable."

"It is user-friendly. It's pretty simple to deploy and to run. It gives you pretty easy-to-understand reports, very graphically intense, so you can visualize what's going on in your network."

More vRealize Network Insight pros

Cons

"Azure is good, however, the Fortinet GUI is more intuitive and I like it more than anything else."

"Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications, for example, an application to log activities for inbound and outbound traffic."

"Sometimes, you encounter a VPN tunnel, network, or routing issue, but finding out more about the blockage is challenging."

"Lacks sufficient security features."

"Technical support from Microsoft needs significant improvement compared to other product vendors."

"Azure Network Watcher needs to have better documentation and it needs to capture information accurately."

"It's not the most friendly or straightforward to set up. I don't see the value versus the way you have to set it up at first."

"User experience could be improved."

More Azure Network Watcher cons

"The product is slightly complex to use, while still being user-friendly. It could use more training modules, as it is not a straightforward product."

"There is room for improvement as not all cases are getting resolved, and we often do not get L3 support directly, having to go through L1 and L2, resulting in delays that usually are a headache for us."

"However, stability is still in question because I don't think we have tested it to the core."

"If it were more application-aware, more descriptive; if it were able to determine the application that is actually doing the communication, that would be easier. More application information: which user or account it's accessing, is it accessing this application, doing these calls, if it is accessing a script, what script is it accessing. Things like that would provide deeper analytics so I can track what's going on. It would not just be, "These people shouldn't be talking," but who is actually doing these calls."

"After you use it for a little while you become accustomed to it but the layout doesn't feel very intuitive."

"It can be a bit painful to deploy."

"There are some random glitches in the Web UI, but they are usually pretty cosmetic in nature. I don't really seem to use any browser other than Chrome with it. I also get some weird errors from time to time on the hardware NetFlow Collectors, where it doesn't sync data."

"There is room for improvement when it comes to pricing because we pay here in Brazil, and all the costs are based on the dollar."

More vRealize Network Insight cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, I have no information on how much Azure Network Watcher costs."

"The pricing is good. It's not too expensive."

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."

"It's an expensive product because we have a lot of nodes."

"We have spent less time investigating network flows, so it is absolutely cost-effective."

"The solution has helped us to reduce time, increase performance, reduce costs, and even easily manage networks. We are probably seeing 10 to 20 percent labor savings because we are able to be very specific and focused on what we want to do. It ends up saving the customer money and makes us be more efficient on our cost deliveries."

"They should include the product in NSX because it's important to have it for deployment."

"Cost always has room for improvement, you could always make it cheaper. But I think it's a good value for what you pay for it."

"It reduces costs. It takes something that may be challenging and makes it more usable and visual by being able to bring in tools, seeing what their impact is, such as microsegmentation and application rationalization, and seeing it quickly."

"I rate vRealize Network Insight's pricing a seven point five out of ten."

"The solution has reduced the time that we spend on other products. For example, with NSX, we were able to quickly find things that we would normally spend days trying to figure out."

More vRealize Network Insight pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Monitoring Software solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

25%

Construction Company

12%

Media Company

University

Manufacturing Company

11%

Construction Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	43

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Network Watcher?

My experience with Azure Network Watcher regarding pricing, setup cost, and licensing has been positive because it is integrated into the Azure ecosystem and does not require complex licensing. The...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Network Watcher?

From my experience, Azure Network Watcher could be improved with more centralized dashboards, longer-term traffic analytics, and easier correlation between network diagnostics and security events. ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Azure Network Watcher?

Azure Network Watcher is my primary tool for network troubleshooting, connectivity validation, traffic analysis, and monitoring Azure network performance across customer environments. I use it regu...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vRealize Network Insight?

In VMware you have to buy a separate license for it. We have VVF and VCF-type of licenses, and if you want to go with this NSX and sort of higher-end professional services, you need to go with VCF....

See all answers

What needs improvement with vRealize Network Insight?

There is room for improvement as not all cases are getting resolved, and we often do not get L3 support directly, having to go through L1 and L2, resulting in delays that usually are a headache for...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for vRealize Network Insight?

We have Tanzu, and we also work with multiple Kubernetes services such as Nutanix and Google. We are working on these Kubernetes services on the operations side. For Tanzu, we have several componen...

See all answers

Comparisons

Nmap vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 15% of the time

Kentik vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 15% of the time

Ixia Network Taps vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 8% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 7% of the time

Nagios Core vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 4% of the time

More Azure Network Watcher Competitors

Kentik vs vRealize Network Insight

Compared 12% of the time

Nmap vs vRealize Network Insight

Compared 8% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs vRealize Network Insight

Compared 6% of the time

Datadog vs vRealize Network Insight

Compared 5% of the time

Zabbix vs vRealize Network Insight

Compared 4% of the time

More vRealize Network Insight Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher

June 2026

Download Azure Network Watcher product report

Buyer's Guide

vRealize Network Insight

May 2026

Download vRealize Network Insight product report

Also Known As

No data available

Arkin

Overview

Azure Network Watcher provides advanced network monitoring capabilities including packet capture, cloud-native firewall, and traffic diagnosis, aiding in VPN troubleshooting and security enforcement with enhanced visibility and alerting features.

Azure Network Watcher is essential for monitoring, diagnosing, and analyzing network traffic. It efficiently handles VPN connection issues and enhances network security by capturing and analyzing traffic to assess performance or latency problems. The tool facilitates traffic flow control, security rule verification, and bandwidth monitoring. Users benefit from its capabilities in diagnosing service connections, offering insights into network activity, and identifying potential threats, crucial for maintaining compliance and efficient network management.

What are the key features of Azure Network Watcher?

Packet Capture: Enables detailed network traffic inspection to troubleshoot issues.
Cloud-Native Application Firewall: Provides enhanced protection for applications running in the cloud.
Traffic Monitoring: Allows for real-time analysis and troubleshooting of network traffic.
NSG Flow Logs & AI-Based Monitoring: Enhances flow control and threat detection.
Alerting & Threshold Configuration: Offers customizable alerts via Azure Monitor for proactive management.

What benefits can users look for in reviews?

Improved Network Security: Helps in identifying and mitigating threats efficiently.
Enhanced Visibility: Provides clear insights into network operations and potential issues.
Compliance Support: Assists in maintaining regulatory compliance with thorough monitoring capabilities.
Effective Bandwidth Management: Facilitates control and optimization of network bandwidth.

In industries like finance and healthcare, Azure Network Watcher is implemented to ensure robust security and compliance, crucial for safeguarding sensitive data. It aids retail and manufacturing sectors in optimizing network performance and maintaining seamless connectivity, supporting their digital infrastructure needs.

Microsoft

vRealize Network Insight provides deep visibility into network flows, intuitive visualization, and real-time monitoring. It identifies communication patterns and offers insights into east-west traffic within data centers, simplifying complex network analysis and troubleshooting.

This platform enhances efficiency in firewall management and supports microsegmentation with an intuitive interface. Its integration with VMware products and natural language querying adds value. Users use it for optimizing network flows, planning NSX deployments, and visualizing traffic. It assists in applying security policies, tracking data center flows, and building network architecture by providing advanced insights for policy refinement, ensuring network performance and compliance.

What are the key features of vRealize Network Insight?

Deep Network Visibility: Offers detailed insights into network flows and communication patterns.
Intuitive Visualization: Simplifies monitoring with clear, real-time graphics.
User-Friendly Interface: Facilitates easy navigation for complex network analysis.
Integration with VMware: Seamless alignment with existing VMware products.
Natural Language Querying: Offers insights with easy-to-use query capabilities.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Efficiency in Firewall Management: Streamlines and optimizes firewall operations.
Supports Microsegmentation: Enhances security through improved policy enforcement.
Advanced Network Insights: Provides valuable data for performance optimization.
Compliance Assurance: Ensures adherence to security and performance standards.

In specific industries, vRealize Network Insight is implemented to optimize network architecture, manage application dependencies, and enhance security measures. Companies utilize its analytical capabilities to refine policies and ensure robust network performance and security compliance, particularly in complex and hybrid cloud environments.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

NTTi3, VCIX-NV, VMware Networking and Security Business Unit, Illumio, CompuNet

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. vRealize Network Insight

June 2026

Free Report: Azure Network Watcher vs. vRealize Network Insight

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Network Watcher vs. vRealize Network Insight and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Azure Network Watcher vs. vRealize Network Insight report.

See our list of best Network Monitoring Software vendors.

We monitor all Network Monitoring Software reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.