Conversion rate between Azure Quantum Credit and other currencies

Question

It seems that there are three different currencies used when running on the different Azure Quantum hardware.

There are the Azure Quantum Credits (AQC), which is the currency the new account bonus is in and are accepted by PASQAL and Rigetti. Then there are the Azure Quantum Tokens (AQT) used by IonQ, and finally the H-System Quantum Credits (HQT) used by Quantinuum. My question is what is the conversion rate between the Azure Quantum Credits and the other two vendor specific currencies?

Much appreciated,

Ben

Reference:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/quantum/pricing?tabs=tabid-AQcredits%2Ctabid-AQcreditsPasqal%2Ctabid-AQcreditsQ%2Ctabid-AQcreditsRigetti

Answer 1

Hello Ben Corbett

I totally understand the confusion. Every quantum provider can be used with Azure Quantum Credits. Now, each provider has its own unit system, and that can make things difficult sometimes.

Azure Quantum Credits aren't a unit system but a free trial. The user has USD 500 to spend on quantum hardware. The cost of a quantum job is the same regardless of using credits or not.

IonQ uses Azure Quantum Tokens (AQT), which are calculated following the formula in Pricing Plans for Azure Quantum Providers Thus, the number of AQT is equivalent to USD. When using credits, the cost is deducted from the remaining balance. 

Quantinuum uses H-System Quantum Credits (HQCs). The cost per HQC differs slightly depending on the subscription plan, which can be seen in the table in https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/quantum/pricing?tabs=tabid-paygo%2Ctabid-AQcreditsPasqal%2Ctabid-H2%2Ctabid-AQcreditsRigetti#quantinuum

In the case of Azure Quantum Credits, USD 500 grants 40 HQCs, then USD0.08 per HQC. 

Hope this helps. If it does please accept it as answer. Let me know if you have further question