How to Save Money by Using Jimber SASE as a Replacement for Azure VPN Gateway

Many companies rely on Azure VPN Gateway to connect offices, users, and hybrid cloud environments. But as networks grow, so do the costs — often without delivering the advanced security and flexibility businesses need today.

In this article, we’ll break down what Azure VPN Gateway is, why organizations use it, how workarounds can lower the costs but introduce complexity , and how Jimber SASE provides a smarter, simpler, and more affordable alternative.

What is Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?

Azure VPN Gateway is Microsoft’s managed VPN service designed to provide secure connectivity between your on-premises networks, branch offices, individual devices, and your Azure workloads.

Key use cases include:

• Connecting on-premises data centers to Azure (site-to-site VPN)
• Allowing remote workers secure access (point-to-site VPN)
• Establishing connections between different Azure regions

It’s popular because it integrates natively into the Azure ecosystem and is easy to set up for basic scenarios.

The Problem: High Costs, Limited Flexibility

Azure VPN Gateway pricing starts low, but can escalate quickly:

Azure offers higher tiers (up to 10 Gbps) at much higher prices.

👉 Hidden costs:

• Beyond 10 S2S tunnels: +$0.015/hour per tunnel
• Beyond 128 P2S connections: +$0.01/hour per connection

As businesses scale, they often face surprise charges and limitations that make Azure VPN Gateway a poor fit for modern, agile networks.

How Companies Try to Dodge Azure VPN Gateway Costs

Facing these high prices, many IT teams resort to complex workarounds, such as:

• Manually setting up IPSec tunnels between on-prem infrastructure and Azure VMs.
• Deploying virtual appliances like OPNsense or pfSense inside Azure to act as their own VPN gateways.
• Managing custom routing, NAT rules, and firewall configurations to simulate VPN Gateway functionality at lower cost.

While these tactics can reduce direct Azure VPN Gateway costs, they:

• Add management overhead.
• Increase operational complexity.
• Introduce maintenance risks (patching, monitoring, scaling).
• Still fall short on integrated security features (e.g. segmentation, web filtering).

Jimber SASE: The Simple, Cost-Effective Alternative

Jimber SASE replaces both Azure VPN Gateway and these DIY workarounds with a clean, modern solution that’s:

• Affordable:

  • monthly subscription user based, no hidden fees

  • No hidden fees for tunnels or connections
  • 1 Gbps included (matching Azure’s mid-tier bandwidth at a fraction of the cost)
• Feature-rich:
  • Granular access rules — precise control over who can access what
  • Microsegmentation — isolate workloads and users
  • Web filtering — protect users from malicious sites
  • On-premise and cloud Network Controller support — advanced routing and hybrid compatibility
  • Intuitive management — no more manual configuration nightmares
• Azure-ready:
  Jimber offers a special Azure-optimized Network Controller you can deploy directly in your Azure environment to replace Azure VPN Gateway seamlessly.

Jimber SASE vs Azure VPN Gateway: The Comparison

Final Thoughts: Stop Overpaying for Basic Connectivity

If you’re tired of high costs, hidden fees, and complex workarounds, Jimber SASE offers a modern alternative. You’ll save money, simplify your infrastructure, and get security features that Azure VPN Gateway simply doesn’t offer — all for a predictable, affordable price.

👉 Ready to switch? Contact us today and discover how easy it is to replace Azure VPN Gateway with Jimber SASE.