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.
Tip
When you create an Azure Quantum workspace you automatically get USD500 free Azure Quantum Credits for each quantum hardware provider. You can use the Azure Quantum Credits to submit your first quantum programs to real quantum hardware.
IonQ
IonQ charges based on the number of gates in your program, the complexity of the gates you use, and the number of shots. These units are called gate-shots.
Every quantum program consists of $N$ quantum logical gates of one or more qubits, and is executed for a certain number of shots. The number of gate-shots is calculated by the following formula:
$$ QGS = N · C $$
where:
- $N$ is the number of one- or two-qubit gates submitted
- $C$ is the number of execution shots requested
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). To learn more about IonQ, visit IonQ provider page.
New Azure Quantum customers can benefit from a one-time USD500 free Azure Quantum credit toward the IonQ provider to use on IonQ's Aria QPU and their quantum simulator. Besides the Azure Quantum Credits plan, IonQ offers a pay-as-you-go plan with access to the quantum simulator and a monthly subscription plan which expands the access to the IonQ Aria 1 25-qubit quantum computer.
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 QGSs executed. To learn more about credits, see FAQ: Azure Quantum Credits.
| 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).
All new Azure Quantum customers benefit from USD500 free Azure Quantum credits to use specifically for PASQAL targets. To learn more about credits, see Azure Quantum Credits.
In addition to the Azure Quantum Credits plan, PASQAL offers a pay-as-you-go plan for QPUs, so you pay only for what you use.
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.
| 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 credit system that charges each job depending on the number of operations in the job, and the number of shots you run. The usage units are H-System Quantum Credits (HQCs) for jobs submitted to quantum computers and emulator HQCs (eHQCs) for jobs submitted to emulators.
Note
Do not confuse the Quantinuum HQCs with the Azure Quantum credits. Quantinuum HQCs are a usage unit defined by the provider to track the usage and quotas of their targets.
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.
All new Azure customers benefit from USD500 in free credits towards the Quantinuum provider. Besides Azure Quantum credits, Quantinuum provides four subscription plans: Standard, Premium, Standard H1 + H2, and Premium H1 + H2. Also, Quantinuum offers a Pay as You Go 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.
| 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.
All new Azure Quantum customers benefit from USD500 free Azure Quantum credits to use specifically for Rigetti targets. To learn more about credits, see Azure Quantum Credits.
In addition to the Azure Quantum Credits plan, Rigetti offers a pay-as-you-go plan for live quantum processors, so you pay only for what you use.
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.
| Pricing | Includes access to |
|---|---|
| Use is deducted from the Azure Quantum Credits based on the job execution time only | 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.