NewCore vs Microsoft
| Criterion | NewCore | Microsoft | NewCore reason | Microsoft reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G1 Identity-bound per-call authorization (25) | 10 | 5 | Every tool call passes through the gateway, which identifies the agent and the person behind it and checks the action against policy, keeping agents within that person's permissions. [nc-secure] | Requests are validated with Entra ID JWTs and RBAC at the adapter level, but per-call checks on whom an agent acts for are not described. [ms-gw][ms-apim] |
| G2 Credential brokering (20) | 10 | 4 | Access is short-lived and task-scoped, and the agent never holds the tool's own credential. [nc-secure] | Managed identity gives the gateway credential-less access to Azure backends, but per-call brokering for agents was not described. [ms-gw] |
| G3 Human approval and escalation (15) | 10 | 2 | Policies return allow, ask or deny; risky calls go to a named approver who confirms with device biometrics, and an agent can never approve its own action. [nc-govern] | No human approval step was found. [ms-gw][ms-apim] |
| G4 Server registry and discovery (10) | 8 | 6 | A connection registry records each MCP server's endpoint, owner and environment, and agents are found through read-only integrations without relying on registration. [nc-secure][nc-discover] | Azure API Center offers a private MCP server registry. [ms-apim] |
| G5 Audit evidence (10) | 9 | 5 | Tool calls, sessions and approvals sit in one audit trail with each call logged against its owner; a SIEM export was not named on the pages read. [nc-govern] | API Management monitoring is documented, but per-call logs tied to a person were not confirmed. [ms-apim] |
| G6 Standards (10) | 5 | 6 | MCP, SAML and OIDC are named; OAuth 2.1 and Enterprise-Managed Authorization are not named on the pages read. [nc-foundation] | JWT validation with Entra ID or other providers and OAuth for backends are documented. [ms-apim] |
| G7 Deployment and buying clarity (10) | 4 | 8 | Delivered as SaaS with no list price; an AWS Marketplace listing exists and no free tier or self-host option was found. [nc-aws] | The MCP Gateway is MIT open source; API Management is a paid Azure service. [ms-gw][ms-apim] |
| Total | 8.60 | 4.85 | Weighted sum divided by 100. | |
In short: NewCore totals 8.60 and Microsoft totals 4.85 on our weighted rubric, a gap of 3.75 points. NewCore is ahead on per-call authorization, credential brokering, human approval, registry and audit. Microsoft is ahead on standards and deployment. Choose by the criteria your agents depend on, then check deployment and pricing below.
Which one should I choose?
NewCore totals 8.60 against 4.85 for Microsoft. The largest weighted difference is on per-call authorization. Microsoft is ahead on standards and deployment.
Pick NewCore if per-call authorization matters most to you.
It scores 10 against 5 there: every tool call passes through the gateway, which identifies the agent and the person behind it and checks the action against policy, keeping agents within that person's permissions.
Pick Microsoft if deployment matters most to you.
It scores 8 against 4 there: the MCP Gateway is MIT open source; API Management is a paid Azure service.
How do deployment and pricing compare?
| Parameter | NewCore | Microsoft |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | SaaS. Works alongside an existing AI gateway, and the current identity platform keeps handling employee sign-in. | Self-hosted on Kubernetes, or managed through Azure API Management. |
| Price as published | No list price published. Listed on AWS Marketplace. | MCP Gateway free under MIT; API Management billed as an Azure service. |
| Identity provider | Yes. NewCore says to start alongside your identity platform, which keeps handling employee sign-in while NewCore governs agent access. | Yes. Entra ID is the documented identity provider, and API Management accepts JWTs from other providers. |
Full datasheets: NewCore and Microsoft MCP Gateway and Azure API Management.
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better, NewCore or Microsoft?
- On our rubric NewCore totals 8.60 against 4.85 for Microsoft. The better choice depends on which criteria matter most to you.
- Do NewCore and Microsoft work with my identity provider?
- NewCore: Yes. NewCore says to start alongside your identity platform, which keeps handling employee sign-in while NewCore governs agent access. Microsoft: Yes. Entra ID is the documented identity provider, and API Management accepts JWTs from other providers.
- How do NewCore and Microsoft differ on price?
- NewCore: No list price published. Listed on AWS Marketplace. Microsoft: MCP Gateway free under MIT; API Management billed as an Azure service.
By The Datasheet desk · Published and reviewed 2026-11-03