Azure Quantum pricing in 2026: four different billing models on one platform
It depends entirely on which device you pick, because Azure runs four billing models at once. The cheapest entry is an IonQ program: a small IonQ Aria run is floored at a $97.50 per-program minimum (error mitigation on, the default) or $12.42 with mitigation off; IonQ Forte's floor is $168.20 / $25.79. Rigetti Cepheus is billed by time at $0.02 per 10-millisecond increment, about $120 per minute. Pasqal Fresnel is EUR 3,000 (about $3,487) per QPU-hour. At the top end, Quantinuum H2 is a monthly subscription, not pay-per-job: $125,000/month Standard (10k HQCs) or $175,000/month Premium (17k HQCs). There is no single Azure Quantum price, only these four; simulators are free.
Azure Quantum is the hardest platform to price because it runs four different billing models at once. IonQ devices use a per-program AQT formula with a per-program minimum ($97.50 on Aria, $168.20 on Forte, error mitigation on). Quantinuum H2 is a monthly subscription ($125,000 Standard, $175,000 Premium) metered in HQCs. Rigetti is billed per 10-ms execution increment ($120/min effective). Pasqal Fresnel is per QPU-hour (EUR 3,000, about $3,487). This page separates them so the minimums and subscription floors are visible.
1.How Azure Quantum bills
IonQ on Azure uses the AQT formula: per-program cost = shots x (one-qubit-gate-shots x $0.000220 + two-qubit-gate-shots x $0.000975), floored at a per-program minimum. The minimum is load-bearing: small circuits pay the floor, not the formula. Quantinuum H2 is a monthly commitment metered in Hardware Quantum Credits (HQC = 5 + C(N_1q + 10*N_2q + 5*N_m)/5000). Rigetti bills $0.02 per 10-ms increment. The cross-device span is enormous: a single IonQ program can cost under $100, while Quantinuum access starts at $125,000/month.
2.Azure Quantum devices and verified rates
Table 1 — Azure Quantum offerings, 2026
| Offering | Tech | Qubits | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Quantum — IonQ Aria 1 (PAYG) | trapped-ion | 25 | $12.42-97.5 per program (minimum) | verified primary |
| Azure Quantum — IonQ Forte (PAYG) | trapped-ion | 36 | $25.79-168.2 per program (minimum) | verified primary |
| Azure Quantum — Quantinuum H2 Standard | trapped-ion | 56 | $125,000 per month | verified primary |
| Azure Quantum — Quantinuum H2 Premium | trapped-ion | 56 | $175,000 per month | verified primary |
| Azure Quantum — Rigetti Cepheus | superconducting | 108 | $0.02 per 10-ms | verified primary |
| Azure Quantum — Pasqal Fresnel | neutral-atom | 100 | $3,487 per QPU hour | verified primary |
Each offering links to its full per-device analysis. Rates last re-verified live 7 September 2026 against the source on each provider page. Estimate a specific job with the cost calculator.
3.What a real Azure Quantum job costs
Unit rates are hard to feel. These are the costs of representative jobs, each either a published rate or our arithmetic over the published rate (the basis column shows the sum, so you can redo it).
Table 2 — worked Azure Quantum job costs, 2026
| Job | Cost | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| One small IonQ Aria program (mitigation on) | $97.50 | per-program minimum floor |
| One small IonQ Forte program (mitigation on) | $168.20 | per-program minimum floor |
| 1 minute on Rigetti Cepheus | $120.00 | $0.02 per 10 ms x 6,000 |
| IonQ monthly subscription (Aria + Forte) | $25,000/mo | published subscription rate |
| Quantinuum H2 Standard subscription | $125,000/mo | published subscription rate |
Figures derived from the verified rates in Table 1. Costs exclude any cloud infrastructure (storage, egress) surcharges. Price your own circuit with the cost calculator.
4.Frequently asked questions
How much does Azure Quantum cost?
It depends on the device. IonQ Aria has a per-program minimum of $97.50 (error mitigation on) or $12.42 (off), plus the AQT formula above the floor. IonQ Forte's minimum is $168.20 / $25.79. Quantinuum H2 is a monthly subscription: $125,000 (Standard, 10k HQCs) or $175,000 (Premium, 17k HQCs). Rigetti Cepheus is $0.02 per 10-ms increment (about $120/minute). Pasqal Fresnel is EUR 3,000 per QPU-hour.
What is the Azure Quantum IonQ minimum charge?
Every IonQ program on Azure is floored at a per-program minimum even if the formula computes less. With error mitigation on (the default) that floor is $97.50 on IonQ Aria and $168.20 on IonQ Forte. Turning mitigation off lowers the floor to $12.42 and $25.79 respectively but removes the error-mitigation post-processing.
Why is Quantinuum on Azure so expensive?
Quantinuum H2 is sold as a monthly subscription ($125,000-$175,000) rather than pay-per-job because it is a high-fidelity 56-qubit QCCD trapped-ion machine with 12 logical qubits, aimed at committed enterprise and research programmes rather than ad-hoc jobs. The subscription includes a monthly HQC allocation plus emulator credits.
See also: cost calculator · IonQ pricing · Rigetti pricing · all-provider price reference · providers index · methodology. Independent reference, no affiliate revenue. Corrections: oliver@digitalsignet.com.