Azure Firewall logo

Best Azure Firewall Alternatives ranked by AI · updated Aug 2026

βœ… Update queued β€” the AI is re-ranking this list. The page will refresh shortly.

This page is already up to date.

Azure Firewall is a managed, stateful network security service for controlling traffic across Azure virtual networks, hubs, and connected environments. It provides centralized application and network filtering, threat intelligence, DNAT, and premium inspection capabilities without managing firewall appliances.

Developer: Microsoft Price: Usage-based; from $0.395/hour plus data processing 🎯 learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/overview

Top 6 Azure Firewall alternatives

1

AWS Network Firewall

Amazon Web Services

πŸ’‘ Pick it for a managed firewall with native AWS VPC and Transit Gateway integration.

AWS Network Firewall is a managed stateful firewall service for protecting VPCs and AWS network perimeters. It supports layer 3–7 traffic inspection,...

Pros

  • Closest managed-native counterpart for AWS environments
  • Supports Suricata-compatible intrusion prevention rules
  • Integrates with Transit Gateway and centralized AWS architectures

Cons

  • AWS-specific networking concepts add operational complexity
  • Less broad than appliance products for advanced enterprise controls
  • Traffic inspection architecture can require multiple endpoints

Usage-based; from $0.395/firewall-hour plus processing

2

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series

Palo Alto Networks

πŸ’‘ Pick it when you need deeper application and threat controls across multiple cloud platforms.

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is a virtual next-generation firewall for securing cloud networks, data centers, and hybrid environments. It provides application identification,...

Pros

  • Broader next-generation inspection than native cloud firewalls
  • Strong application visibility and threat-prevention controls
  • Consistent policies across Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and private clouds

Cons

  • Requires more deployment and lifecycle management than Azure Firewall
  • Licensing and sizing are more complex
  • Can require separate Panorama management infrastructure

N/A; license, marketplace, and usage-based options

3

FortiGate-VM

Fortinet

πŸ’‘ Pick it for flexible NGFW, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities in hybrid or multicloud networks.

FortiGate-VM is Fortinet's virtual next-generation firewall for cloud, virtualized, and hybrid networks. It combines stateful firewalling with application control, intrusion prevention, secure...

Pros

  • Broad security functionality beyond basic network filtering
  • Strong VPN, SD-WAN, and hybrid-network integration
  • Available across major public clouds and virtualization platforms

Cons

  • You manage scaling, upgrades, and high availability
  • Throughput depends heavily on VM size and cloud architecture
  • Licensing is harder to compare than Azure Firewall pricing

N/A; BYOL and usage-based marketplace options

4

Cloud NGFW

Google Cloud

πŸ’‘ Pick it for managed firewalling and hierarchical policy control in Google Cloud.

Cloud NGFW is Google Cloud's managed network firewall service for securing VPCs and cloud workloads. It combines hierarchical firewall policies with stateful...

Pros

  • Managed service with strong Google Cloud VPC integration
  • Hierarchical policies support organization-wide governance
  • Advanced tiers add intrusion prevention and threat intelligence

Cons

  • Best suited to Google Cloud rather than Azure deployments
  • Tier structure can complicate feature and cost comparisons
  • Some advanced capabilities require higher service tiers

Usage-based; varies by tier, deployment, and processed traffic

5

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security

Check Point Software Technologies

πŸ’‘ Pick it for centralized, prevention-focused security across multicloud and hybrid environments.

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security provides virtualized next-generation firewall protection for public cloud and hybrid environments. It offers threat prevention, application control,...

Pros

  • Strong threat-prevention and centralized security management
  • Supports consistent controls across major cloud providers
  • Useful identity-aware and application-level policy features

Cons

  • More complex to deploy than Azure Firewall
  • Management infrastructure and licensing add overhead
  • Performance depends on instance sizing and architecture

N/A; subscription and marketplace-based pricing

πŸ’‘ Pick it when Cisco tooling and enterprise-grade inspection matter more than managed Azure simplicity.

Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense Virtual is a virtual next-generation firewall for cloud and data-center deployments. It combines stateful inspection, application visibility,...

Pros

  • Extensive enterprise firewall and intrusion-prevention capabilities
  • Fits organizations already using Cisco security infrastructure
  • Supports hybrid and multicloud deployment models

Cons

  • Higher operational complexity than Azure Firewall
  • Requires careful VM sizing and high-availability design
  • Licensing and feature bundles can be difficult to evaluate

N/A; subscription and marketplace-based pricing

How good are these alternatives?

Your feedback helps us improve the AI rankings.

βœ… Thanks for your feedback!

Know a better alternative? πŸ™Œ

Suggest a product and our AI will verify it's a real alternative to Azure Firewall before adding it to the list.