Azure Bastion

Name: Azure Bastion
Brand: Microsoft
Rating: 4.3 (21 reviews)

Azure Bastion is a fully managed PaaS jump host that provides RDP and SSH connectivity to Azure virtual machines without requiring public IP addresses, enabling portal-initiated and selective native-client connections while eliminating inbound RDP/SSH exposure from the internet.

Est 1975|Valuation $2888.5B|Raised $72.9B

LinkedIn 29.0M|Website|Web traffic 1233.4M|FTEs 232,851|HQ Redmond, Washington, US

MarketsPrivileged Access Management (PAM)Security Service Edge (SSE)Privileged Access Management (PAM)Desktop as a Service (DaaS)

01Competitive Landscape

Narrative analysis

- Azure Bastion vs AWS Session Manager - Session Manager is commonly presented as a way to eliminate bastion hosts in AWS patterns, using IAM and audit logs (CloudTrail) and an agent-based model. - Azure Bastion is closer to a managed interactive “jump box as a service” for RDP/SSH into Azure VNets. - Decision tends to align with cloud platform choice (Azure vs AWS) and whether teams prefer agentless interactive access (Bastion) vs agent-based session access integrated into broader operational tooling (Session Manager). - Azure Bastion vs Teleport - Teleport often competes when the buyer’s core problem is privileged access management and identity across many resource types (not just Azure VMs). - Bastion tends to be chosen when the requirement is an Azure-native, minimal-movement solution for RDP/SSH access to private VMs. - Azure Bastion vs self-managed jumpboxes / VPN - Self-managed jumpboxes can be cheaper at low scale but bring patching/hardening/availability burden and can become a security liability. - VPN gateways can be cost-effective for steady admin access patterns; however they add client management and network complexity.

	Azure Bastion	AWS Systems Manager Session Manager	Teleport (Infrastructure Identity Platform)
Starting Price	Published consumption-based hourly pricing plus outbound data charges (vendor-published examples available)	Session Manager capability is part of Systems Manager; overall Systems Manager pricing varies by features/tiers and usage	Subscription pricing (Cloud and/or Self-Hosted). Community Edition exists; paid tiers are typically per user/resource with enterprise options
Appropriate for	Azure-first orgs needing interactive RDP/SSH to Azure VMs without public IPs	AWS orgs wanting IAM-controlled, audited sessions to instances (often without inbound SSH/RDP) and broader ops tooling	Orgs wanting identity-first, cross-environment access (servers/K8s/databases) with stronger “zero trust” patterns
Key Strength	Managed, Azure-native, removes VM public exposure for RDP/SSH; portal-based convenience	Deep integration with IAM/CloudTrail and agent-based access patterns; broader operational management beyond “jump host”	Strong access governance and identity controls across heterogeneous infra; broader scope than VM console access
Key Weakness	Cost can be high for small/idle use; shareable link governance concerns; premium features gated; some portal dependency	Requires agent and AWS ecosystem; different paradigm than RDP; PrivateLink/VPC endpoint costs can apply in isolated networks	Additional product to deploy/govern; pricing and operational overhead may be higher than a simple cloud-native bastion

01Competitive Landscape

Narrative analysis

Azure Bastion vs AWS Session Manager
- Session Manager is commonly presented as a way to eliminate bastion hosts in AWS patterns, using IAM and audit logs (CloudTrail) and an agent-based model.
- Azure Bastion is closer to a managed interactive “jump box as a service” for RDP/SSH into Azure VNets.
- Decision tends to align with cloud platform choice (Azure vs AWS) and whether teams prefer agentless interactive access (Bastion) vs agent-based session access integrated into broader operational tooling (Session Manager).
Azure Bastion vs Teleport
- Teleport often competes when the buyer’s core problem is privileged access management and identity across many resource types (not just Azure VMs).
- Bastion tends to be chosen when the requirement is an Azure-native, minimal-movement solution for RDP/SSH access to private VMs.
Azure Bastion vs self-managed jumpboxes / VPN
- Self-managed jumpboxes can be cheaper at low scale but bring patching/hardening/availability burden and can become a security liability.
- VPN gateways can be cost-effective for steady admin access patterns; however they add client management and network complexity.

	Azure Bastion	AWS Systems Manager Session Manager	Teleport (Infrastructure Identity Platform)
Starting Price	Published consumption-based hourly pricing plus outbound data charges (vendor-published examples available)	Session Manager capability is part of Systems Manager; overall Systems Manager pricing varies by features/tiers and usage	Subscription pricing (Cloud and/or Self-Hosted). Community Edition exists; paid tiers are typically per user/resource with enterprise options
Appropriate for	Azure-first orgs needing interactive RDP/SSH to Azure VMs without public IPs	AWS orgs wanting IAM-controlled, audited sessions to instances (often without inbound SSH/RDP) and broader ops tooling	Orgs wanting identity-first, cross-environment access (servers/K8s/databases) with stronger “zero trust” patterns
Key Strength	Managed, Azure-native, removes VM public exposure for RDP/SSH; portal-based convenience	Deep integration with IAM/CloudTrail and agent-based access patterns; broader operational management beyond “jump host”	Strong access governance and identity controls across heterogeneous infra; broader scope than VM console access
Key Weakness	Cost can be high for small/idle use; shareable link governance concerns; premium features gated; some portal dependency	Requires agent and AWS ecosystem; different paradigm than RDP; PrivateLink/VPC endpoint costs can apply in isolated networks	Additional product to deploy/govern; pricing and operational overhead may be higher than a simple cloud-native bastion