Azure Firewall Premium is the premium tier of a managed, cloud-based network security service that protects Azure Virtual Network resources and enforces and logs application and network connectivity policies. It filters inbound and outbound traffic, internal spoke-to-spoke connections, and hybrid connections through Azure VPN and ExpressRoute gateways. Premium decrypts outbound and east-west TLS traffic for inspection, then re-encrypts it. Its signature-based intrusion detection and prevention includes over 67,000 rules across more than 50 categories, with up to 10,000 customizable rules. When TLS inspection is enabled, URL filtering can evaluate full HTTP and HTTPS paths; web categories can also match full URLs. Azure Monitor integration is available, and logs can be sent to Log Analytics, Azure Storage, or Event Hubs. Management options include Azure Firewall Manager, with DevOps integration through REST, PowerShell, CLI, templates, and Terraform. Microsoft states that the service is PCI, SOC, and ISO compliant and describes Premium as suitable for sensitive, regulated settings such as payment and healthcare. The cloud service supports up to 100 Gbps. There is no free plan. Billing includes a fixed hourly fee per deployment and an additional data-processing fee; listed rates display as “$-”.
Who it is for
It suits Azure environments with sensitive or regulated workloads, including payment and healthcare settings. It may also suit teams that need TLS inspection, intrusion prevention, and centralized firewall management.
What is good
- Inspects outbound and east-west TLS traffic.
- Includes over 67,000 intrusion detection and prevention rules.
- Allows customization of up to 10,000 rules.
- Supports hybrid connections through Azure VPN and ExpressRoute gateways.
- Logs can be sent to three listed Azure destinations.
What to know first
- No free plan.
- A fixed hourly deployment fee applies.
- Data processing has an additional fee.
- Partial hours are billed as full hours.
Verdict
Azure Firewall Premium combines network filtering with TLS inspection, intrusion prevention, and several management and logging options. Account for both deployment and traffic-based charges when assessing it.
Azure Firewall Premium plans and pricing
All plansCompared on intrusion detection and prevention software
- Free plan
- No
