Azure Firewall

Name: Azure Firewall
Brand: Microsoft
Rating: 4.3 (269 reviews)

Azure Firewall is Microsoft’s managed, cloud-native network firewall that controls and inspects Azure Virtual Network traffic, providing centralized DNAT/inbound publishing, outbound (egress) filtering, inter-VNet controls, and SKU-based advanced inspection capabilities (including TLS inspection and IDPS in the Premium SKU).

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

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

MarketsCloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP)Web Application & API Protection (WAAP)Firewalls Security Service Edge (SSE)

01Competitive Landscape

| Aspect | Azure Firewall | Palo Alto Cloud NGFW for Azure | Fortinet FortiGate-VM on Azure | |--------|---------------|-------------------------------|--------------------------------| | Starting Price | Consumption-based; varies by SKU/region and by usage-based processing and logging charges | Credit/consumption model via Azure Marketplace or private pricing (depends on features like Threat Prevention/URL Filtering, etc.) | VM + license (pay-as-you-go or bring-your-own-license) + Azure infrastructure costs (VM size, load balancer, IPs, etc.) | | Best For | Organizations prioritizing Azure-native managed firewall, centralized policy, and native operations | Organizations seeking Palo Alto security stack/controls in Azure with an Azure-integrated model | Organizations standardized on Fortinet wanting the FortiGate feature set in Azure and willing to operate NVAs | | Key Strength | Integration with Azure networking patterns; centralized policy management; managed service model | NGFW depth plus Palo Alto security services; available through marketplace channels | Mature NGFW capabilities; portability; enterprise feature depth (varies by license) | | Key Weakness | Frequently cited cost and feature gap concerns compared with some third-party NGFWs; specific features such as geo-IP filtering may be absent | Pricing complexity; may be more than needed for basic filtering; still requires alignment with Azure routing design | Operational responsibilities (patching, HA design); performance depends on VM sizing | - Narrative analysis - Azure Firewall vs Palo Alto Cloud NGFW for Azure - Palo Alto offers a cloud NGFW integrated for Azure with optional security subscriptions; procurement is typically via marketplace channels or private pricing. - Community sentiment, particularly from Palo Alto users, often indicates Palo Alto provides stronger L7/NGFW capabilities, while Azure Firewall is viewed as less feature-rich for advanced inspection. - Azure Firewall vs FortiGate-VM - FortiGate-VM provides a traditional network virtual appliance model (pay-as-you-go or bring-your-own-license), which is suitable for teams wanting the same policy model across on-premises and cloud. - Tradeoff: the organization assumes operational responsibilities (patching, HA design, VM sizing) that Azure Firewall seeks to abstract. - Adoption/market trend notes - Microsoft continues to expand Azure Firewall's regional availability and feature footprint. - Market perception from review sites and community discussions suggests Azure Firewall is often chosen for its integration with the Azure ecosystem and native operations, while organizations requiring specialized NGFW capabilities still consider Palo Alto, Fortinet, or Check Point.

01Competitive Landscape

Aspect	Azure Firewall	Palo Alto Cloud NGFW for Azure	Fortinet FortiGate-VM on Azure
Starting Price	Consumption-based; varies by SKU/region and by usage-based processing and logging charges	Credit/consumption model via Azure Marketplace or private pricing (depends on features like Threat Prevention/URL Filtering, etc.)	VM + license (pay-as-you-go or bring-your-own-license) + Azure infrastructure costs (VM size, load balancer, IPs, etc.)
Best For	Organizations prioritizing Azure-native managed firewall, centralized policy, and native operations	Organizations seeking Palo Alto security stack/controls in Azure with an Azure-integrated model	Organizations standardized on Fortinet wanting the FortiGate feature set in Azure and willing to operate NVAs
Key Strength	Integration with Azure networking patterns; centralized policy management; managed service model	NGFW depth plus Palo Alto security services; available through marketplace channels	Mature NGFW capabilities; portability; enterprise feature depth (varies by license)
Key Weakness	Frequently cited cost and feature gap concerns compared with some third-party NGFWs; specific features such as geo-IP filtering may be absent	Pricing complexity; may be more than needed for basic filtering; still requires alignment with Azure routing design	Operational responsibilities (patching, HA design); performance depends on VM sizing

Narrative analysis
- Azure Firewall vs Palo Alto Cloud NGFW for Azure
  - Palo Alto offers a cloud NGFW integrated for Azure with optional security subscriptions; procurement is typically via marketplace channels or private pricing.
  - Community sentiment, particularly from Palo Alto users, often indicates Palo Alto provides stronger L7/NGFW capabilities, while Azure Firewall is viewed as less feature-rich for advanced inspection.
- Azure Firewall vs FortiGate-VM
  - FortiGate-VM provides a traditional network virtual appliance model (pay-as-you-go or bring-your-own-license), which is suitable for teams wanting the same policy model across on-premises and cloud.
  - Tradeoff: the organization assumes operational responsibilities (patching, HA design, VM sizing) that Azure Firewall seeks to abstract.
- Adoption/market trend notes
  - Microsoft continues to expand Azure Firewall's regional availability and feature footprint.
  - Market perception from review sites and community discussions suggests Azure Firewall is often chosen for its integration with the Azure ecosystem and native operations, while organizations requiring specialized NGFW capabilities still consider Palo Alto, Fortinet, or Check Point.

Aspect

Azure Firewall

Palo Alto Cloud NGFW for Azure

Fortinet FortiGate-VM on Azure

Starting Price

Consumption-based; varies by SKU/region and by usage-based processing and logging charges

Credit/consumption model via Azure Marketplace or private pricing (depends on features like Threat Prevention/URL Filtering, etc.)

VM + license (pay-as-you-go or bring-your-own-license) + Azure infrastructure costs (VM size, load balancer, IPs, etc.)

Best For

Organizations prioritizing Azure-native managed firewall, centralized policy, and native operations

Organizations seeking Palo Alto security stack/controls in Azure with an Azure-integrated model

Organizations standardized on Fortinet wanting the FortiGate feature set in Azure and willing to operate NVAs

Key Strength

Integration with Azure networking patterns; centralized policy management; managed service model

NGFW depth plus Palo Alto security services; available through marketplace channels

Mature NGFW capabilities; portability; enterprise feature depth (varies by license)

Key Weakness

Frequently cited cost and feature gap concerns compared with some third-party NGFWs; specific features such as geo-IP filtering may be absent

Pricing complexity; may be more than needed for basic filtering; still requires alignment with Azure routing design

Operational responsibilities (patching, HA design); performance depends on VM sizing