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Microsoft Azure DevOps vs TFS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Azure DevOps
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
130
Ranking in other categories
Release Automation (1st), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (1st)
TFS
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
98
Ranking in other categories
Test Management Tools (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure DevOps is 20.3%, down from 26.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TFS is 5.1%, down from 9.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
 

Featured Reviews

Akshat Prakash - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows us to deploy code to production without releasing certain features immediately and agile project management capabilities offer resource-leveling
My company has experienced benefits from using it or from recent updates in Azure Pipelines. For instance, we can manage different code versions from the same repository across different environments. We also use feature flags; the code is deployed, but the feature can be made visible to the end user at a later time. Additionally, as part of the deployment, we integrate automated and regression testing, which stops the deployment if testing fails, thus preventing regression bugs. This saves time and increases productivity by reducing the need for manual testing. Lastly, it integrates with the project management aspects, allowing us to link code deployments with project milestones. Azure DevOps supported our shift towards DevOps culture or practices. We shifted to the cloud environment and started migrating from our data centers about eight or nine years back. It has been a long journey. However, we have used Azure DevOps for almost five to six years in every project. We also use automation testing in Azure, so we have an integrated test suite that allows us to perform functional and regression testing effectively via the Azure DevOps system.
Pmurki@Micron.Com Praveen - PeerSpot reviewer
Version control is excellent and good for code review, branching, merging strategies and more
I've worked with TFS for source control and Agile project management. We also used TFS for seamless team collaboration and tracking.  I used TFS for a couple of years. Now, we use Azure DevOps. It's a wonderful tool for source control and CI/CD pipelines It's a really valuable tool for…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It's got something that you won't find in other products."
"One of the main features is the user interface is very good."
"Azure DevOps is highly valued for being an all-in-one solution."
"The nice thing about Visual Studio Code is that it's a modular design. So if you're working on a strange language that has a different syntax, you can just get a plugin that'll format your code for you based on the language it's in."
"The initial setup is very easy."
"The tool's most efficient feature is the integration of its services in one place. It is an easy-to-use product that improves productivity. Microsoft Azure DevOps is also user-friendly. Its documentation is clear and can be found on Google."
"I really like the Microsoft DevOps survey."
"What I like the most about this product is that it's free and it's secure."
"The most valuable feature is simplicity."
"Since it is a robust solution, I face no performance issues. Also, considering how well the implementation process of the solution was carried out, we never faced any issues while using the solution."
"For what I need TFS for, I have never run into any limitation."
"We use TFS for forecast management."
"User alerts are very helpful for knowing when work is required."
"It's user friendly. We haven't had any issues so far. It's flexible. If we need something, we can always contact the owner in our headquarters to make a configuration."
"TFS's best features include user-friendly test management, bug reporting, and ID assignment."
"The most valuable feature is the backlog."
 

Cons

"I would like to see DevOps have the ability to give us something with a compatibility or traceability matrix."
"The administrative capabilities of the tool need a huge improvement. Its Wiki and reporting also need a lot of improvement. Their support can also be better."
"We are facing a lot of issues in the development of containerized solutions. We are facing a lot of challenges in this area. They could make the process simpler."
"When we don't have some permissions, we have to research how to get them."
"I would like to see better integration and collaboration between tools."
"Its testing features are limited and can be improved a little more. They should provide more options from the testing and build perspective. Currently, we have to use a third-party product for testing. It would be great if it has more than one testing tool."
"Project management could be improved."
"A notable improvement would be adding more notifications."
"It has been really dated. When you start to work more in an agile environment, it is not really that flexible. They tried to replicate the look and feel of Jira, but it is not quite there. It was nice to use in the past, but it is not as flexible now with the changing development environments and methodologies."
"One of the areas that could be improved is to have an effective full lifecycle management."
"There are glitches, such as runners getting stuck, deployments generating errors, and it's becoming outdated."
"Currently, we are looking for a solution with which we can incorporate third-party development sites or third-party project teams into the system. Because it is on-premise, it is a bit problematic because we need to have a VPN or something else in the system. A cloud-based solution would be better for us, and that's what we are looking for. Our biggest problem is the external connection, which, of course, is limited by our own IT. It would be good to have some kind of publishing service for this external connection. It might be there, and it might be that our IT is making it impossible for us. Its template editor could be easier to use. Currently, customizing the project templates according to your needs requires some work."
"Integration from Visual Studio could be improved."
"I would like to see the reporting features expanded so that I can see details on the users connected to all of the projects."
"The solution should have better dashboards."
"The dashboard needs more enhancements."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a licensing fee of $6/user per month."
"As a Microsoft Partner, you get a discount on the pricing. Licensing costs are around $80 a month for DevOps, but for Azure, it is about $200 a month."
"It is the least expensive product in this class."
"We have an MPN subscription for Microsoft Azure DevOps, and it's all included."
"Its pricing is reasonable for the number of features that you get and the functionality that you can utilize for the agile delivery, which is what we are using it for. I found it extremely cost-effective."
"It is a subscription model and I only pay for what I use."
"I don't know the pricing of DevOps. It would be much cheaper than ALM because ALM came out as a software product initially. Now they are moving into a cloud and subscription model. In that case, Microsoft is coming from Azure and the cloud and DevOps and software as a service, so it would be much cheaper, but the catch would be that they are trying to get money on all the sides, like an operating system, Microsoft Office, or Microsoft Azure DevOps."
"It's a good tool, quite rich, it has a lot of features, and quite a lot of analytical capabilities which are built on top of it so that you can see how your projects are going and all that stuff. It's a good tool."
"It's just as expensive as HPE ALM, without many of the features, best used for development tool only to avoid higher costs."
"Microsoft products are always expensive. Obviously, they are quality products, but it would be helpful if there was a reduction in price. But compared to other vendors, I think the cost is high."
"You will need to obtain server and account licenses."
"We are using the open-source version."
"There is a yearly licensing fee that needs to be paid."
"We pay for the license yearly."
"The price of the solution is cheaper than other competitors and it is a per-user license."
"The solution is expensive."
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Answers from the Community

NC
Nov 9, 2021
Nov 9, 2021
TFS and Azure DevOps are different in many ways. TFS was designed for admins, and only offers incremental improvements. In addition, TFS seems complicated to use and I don’t think it has a very friendly user interface. I think TFS does have a few valuable features, though, such as its project management, which happens to not only include user stories, but task management as well. It would be go...
2 out of 3 answers
Sameh-Hablas - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 14, 2021
Both, it depends on what you want to do with it and what is your technical environment. 
KM
Oct 18, 2021
Hi @Netanya Carmi,  Both are good and in fact, TFS is now rebranded as Azure DevOps server. Now the point is about your requirement, if your requirement is to work closely with Cloud Services Cloud Application and you are Ok to manage your code and CI/CD plans over the cloud platform then go for Azure DevOps whereas if you can't move the data to cloud use Azure DevOps Server.  But for such tools my first choice is Gitlab. Rest you can call me at 9717996125 or drop me at kulbhushan.mayer@thinknyx.com to discuss further.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Educational Organization
64%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Financial Services Firm
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Jira or Microsoft Azure DevOps?
Jira is a great centralized tool for just about everything, from local team management to keeping track of products and work logs. It is easy to implement and navigate, and it is stable and scalabl...
Which is better - TFS or Azure DevOps?
TFS and Azure DevOps are different in many ways. TFS was designed for admins, and only offers incremental improvements. In addition, TFS seems complicated to use and I don’t think it has a very fri...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure DevOps?
Valuable features for project management and tracking in Azure DevOps include a portal displaying test results, check-in/check-out activity, and developer/tester productivity.
What do you like most about TFS?
Microsoft's technical team is supportive.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TFS?
While I do not know the exact pricing, TFS is likely more expensive than GitLab.
What needs improvement with TFS?
TFS has room for improvement as there have been global security issues that many companies, including ours, have experienced. There are glitches, such as runners getting stuck, deployments generati...
 

Also Known As

Azure DevOps, VSTS, Visual Studio Team Services, MS Azure DevOps
Team Foundation Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Alaska Airlines, Iberia Airlines, Columbia, Skype
Vendex KBB IT Services, Info Support, Fujitsu Consulting, TCSC, Airways New Zealand, HP
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure DevOps vs. TFS and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.