Azure Application Gateway WAF

Azure Application Gateway WAF delivers the same zero-deployment, native-integration value proposition for Azure workloads that AWS WAF delivers for AWS workloads. For organisations running applications on Azure, the native integration with Azure Sentinel, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Entra ID, and Intune creates a unified application security posture that third-party WAF vendors require significant integration work to approximate. The transparent pay-as-you-go pricing and the FedRAMP High and IRAP certifications inherited from the Azure platform make it well-suited for regulated and government environments.

The scope is Azure-hosted resources only. Multi-cloud and on-premises applications are not protected, and bot management sophistication is less than Cloudflare or Imperva.

The verdict: Azure Application Gateway WAF is right for Azure-hosted organisations wanting native WAF with zero deployment overhead and Microsoft security stack integration. Multi-cloud environments should evaluate Cloudflare or Imperva.

Last reviewed: May 2026

Strongest: Performance & latency

Watch out for: Rule management

Best for

Azure-native organisations wanting WAF integrated into their Azure infrastructure without a separate WAF vendor.

Not suitable for: Multi-cloud or non-Azure environments — Azure WAF only protects Azure-hosted resources.