Pricing plans for Azure Quantum providers
In Azure Quantum, hardware and software providers define and control the pricing of their offerings. The information below is subject to change by providers and some delays in reflecting latest pricing information may exist. Be sure to verify the latest pricing information from the Azure Quantum workspace you are using.
IonQ
IonQ charges based on a token pricing model which billing unit is the Azure Quantum Token (AQT). This model is specific to Azure Quantum. The number of Azure Quantum Tokens is calculated by the following formula:
$$ AQT = m + 0.000220 · (N_{1q} · C) + 0.000975 ·(N_{2q}· C) $$
where:
- $AQT$ is the number of Azure Quantum Tokens consumed by the program
- $m$ is the minimum price per program execution, which is USD97.50 if error mitigation is on and USD12.4166 if error mitigation is off
- The units $N_{1q} · C$ and $N_{2q} · C$ are called gate-shots, where $N_{1q}$ and $N_{2q}$ are the number of one- and two-qubit gates submitted, respectively, and $C$ is the number of execution shots
Multi-controlled two-qubit gates are billed as $6 * (N - 2)$ two-qubit gates, where $N$ is the number of qubits involved in the gate. For example, a NOT gate with three controls would be billed as $(6 * (4 - 2))$ or 12 two-qubit gates. One-qubit gates are billed as 0.225 of a two-qubit gate (rounded down).
IonQ offers three billing plans: Azure Quantum Credits, Pay As You Go, and Aria plan.
Azure Quantum Credits consumption is based on a resource-usage model. The cost of use is deducted from your Azure Quantum Credits based on the number of Azure Quantum Tokens (AQTs).
Important
You will no longer be able to use Azure Quantum Credits after June 1st, 2025. If you have a remaining balance of Azure Quantum Credits, be sure to redeem them before this date.
| Includes access to | Pricing |
|---|---|
| IonQ simulator | Free of charge |
| IonQ Aria 1 |
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| IonQ Aria 2 |
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| IonQ Forte (Private preview) |
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Note
Once you have consumed all the credits you need to switch to a different plan to continue using IonQ. Azure Quantum won’t charge you when you reach your credit limit.
Important
There are no costs or charges for using your free credits. However, there may be some small storage costs, as the input and output of your credits jobs are stored in a storage account that you pay for. Job data is typically <1MB per job. For more details, see Azure Blob Storage pricing.
PASQAL
PASQAL charges for job execution time on its quantum processor, the 100-qubit Fresnel. There is no added charge per job or per shot. The Emu-TN simulator is free of charge for all users (subject to limit quotas depending on the plan).
PASQAL offers two billing plans: Azure Quantum Credits and Pay As You Go.
Azure Quantum Credits consumption is based on a resource-usage model and cost of use is deducted from your credit balance. To learn more about credits, see Azure Quantum Credits.
Important
You will no longer be able to use Azure Quantum Credits after June 1st, 2025. If you have a remaining balance of Azure Quantum Credits, be sure to redeem them before this date.
| Pricing | Includes access to |
|---|---|
| Use is deducted from the Azure Quantum Credits based on the job execution time only |
|
Note
Once you have consumed all the credits you need to switch to a different plan to continue using PASQAL. Azure Quantum won’t charge you when you reach your credit limit.
Important
There are no costs or charges for using your free credits. However, there may be some small storage costs, as the input and output of your credits jobs are stored in a storage account that you pay for. Job data is typically <1MB per job. For more details, see Azure Blob Storage pricing.
Quantinuum
Quantinuum uses a system that charges each job depending on the number of operations in the job, and the number of shots you run. The usage units defined by Quantinuum areH-System Quantum Credits (HQCs) for jobs submitted to quantum computers and emulator HQCs (eHQCs) for jobs submitted to emulators.
HQCs and eHQCs are used to calculate the cost of running a job, and they are calculated based on the following formula:
$$ HQC = 5 + C(N_{1q} + 10 N_{2q} + 5 N_m)/5000 $$
where:
- $N_{1q}$ is the number of single-qubit operations in a circuit.
- $N_{2q}$ is the number of native two-qubit operations in a circuit. Native gate is equivalent to CNOT up to several single-qubit gates.
- $N_{m}$ is the number of state preparation and measurement (SPAM) operations in a circuit including initial implicit state preparation and any intermediate and final measurements and state resets.
- $C$ is the shot count.
To learn more about Quantinuum, visit the Quantinuum provider page.
Quantinuum provides four subscription plans: Standard, Premium, Standard H1 + H2, and Premium H1 + H2. Also, Quantinuum offers a Pay as You Go and Azure Quantum Credits offering.
Azure Quantum Credits consumption is based on a resource-usage model and cost of use is deducted from your credit balance. To learn more about credits, see Azure Quantum Credits.
Important
You will no longer be able to use Azure Quantum Credits after June 1st, 2025. If you have a remaining balance of Azure Quantum Credits, be sure to redeem them before this date.
| Pricing | Includes access to |
|---|---|
| Use is deducted from the Azure Quantum Credits based on the HQC equation described above |
|
Note
Once you have consumed all the credits you need to explicitly switch to a different plan to continue using Quantinuum. Azure Quantum won’t charge you when you reach your credit limit.
Important
There are no costs or charges for using your free credits. However, there may be some small storage costs, as the input and output of your credits jobs are stored in a storage account that you pay for. Job data is typically <1MB per job. For more details, see Azure Blob Storage pricing.
Rigetti
Rigetti charges for job execution time on their quantum processors. There is no added charge per job, per shot, or per gate. The Quantum Virtual Machine (QVM) simulator is free for all users.
Rigetti offers two billing plans: Azure Quantum Credits and Pay As You Go.
Azure Quantum Credits consumption is based on a resource-usage model and cost of use is deducted from your credit balance. To learn more about credits, see Azure Quantum Credits.
Important
You will no longer be able to use Azure Quantum Credits after June 1st, 2025. If you have a remaining balance of Azure Quantum Credits, be sure to redeem them before this date.
| Pricing | Includes access to |
|---|---|
| Use is deducted from the Azure Quantum Credits based on the job execution time only | Rigetti Ankaa-3 Rigetti Ankaa-9Q-3 |
Note
Once you have consumed all the credits you need to switch to a different plan to continue using Rigetti. Azure Quantum won’t charge you when you reach your credit limit.
Important
There are no costs or charges for using your free credits. However, there may be some small storage costs, as the input and output of your credits jobs are stored in a storage account that you pay for. Job data is typically <1MB per job. For more details, see Azure Blob Storage pricing.
Note
If you have questions or run into any issue using Azure Quantum, you can contact AzureQuantumInfo@microsoft.com.