IBM Quantum pricing in 2026: the per-minute model and its four tiers
IBM Quantum bills QPU runtime by the minute, not by the shot, which makes it the odd one out among cloud quantum providers. There are four tiers: the free Open Plan (10 minutes per 28-day window), Pay-As-You-Go at $96/minute, the Flex Plan at $72/minute (with a $30,000 pre-purchase minimum), and Premium at an effective $48/minute against a committed annual contract. This page lays out the tiers and what drives the per-minute bill. IBM's public pricing page returns 403 to automated fetches; rates are sourced from Moor Insights and Strategy and the IBM Flex Plan blog.
1.How IBM Quantum bills
IBM cost = per-minute rate x QPU runtime in minutes (billed per second). Because billing is by time, the cost of a job depends on circuit depth and how long it occupies the QPU, not directly on shot count. The Open Plan is genuinely free for small workloads (10 minutes of QPU runtime per rolling 28-day window, with a one-time researcher promo to 180 minutes/year). Above that, the tier you pick sets the rate: $96/min Pay-As-You-Go with no minimum, $72/min Flex against a $30,000 pre-purchase, $48/min effective on a Premium annual contract.
2.IBM Quantum devices and verified rates
Table 1 — IBM Quantum offerings, 2026
| Offering | Tech | Qubits | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBM Quantum — Open Plan | superconducting | 156 | $0 free | verified primary |
| IBM Quantum — Pay-As-You-Go | superconducting | 156 | $96 per QPU minute | industry reported |
| IBM Quantum — Flex Plan | superconducting | 156 | $72 per QPU minute | industry reported |
| IBM Quantum — Premium | superconducting | 156 | $48 per QPU minute (effective) | industry reported |
Each offering links to its full per-device analysis. Prices verified 2026-06-03 against the source on each provider page. Estimate a specific job with the cost calculator.
3.Frequently asked questions
How much does IBM Quantum cost?
IBM Quantum bills QPU runtime by the minute. The Open Plan is free (10 minutes per 28-day window). Pay-As-You-Go is $96/minute with no minimum. The Flex Plan is $72/minute but requires a $30,000 pre-purchase usable within 12 months. Premium is an effective $48/minute against a committed annual contract. One minute of QPU time on Pay-As-You-Go therefore costs $96.
Is IBM Quantum free?
Yes, for small workloads. The IBM Quantum Open Plan gives 10 minutes of QPU runtime per rolling 28-day window at no charge, with a one-time promotional bump to 180 minutes per year for active researchers (a March 2026 update). Beyond that allowance you move to a paid per-minute tier.
Why does IBM bill per minute instead of per shot?
IBM meters the time your circuits occupy the QPU rather than the number of shots, so a deep circuit that runs longer costs more even at the same shot count. This makes IBM hard to compare directly with shot-metered providers like AWS Braket; you need your circuit's wall-clock runtime on IBM hardware to convert. IBM's public pricing page returns 403 to automated tools, so these rates are sourced from Moor Insights and Strategy and the IBM Flex Plan announcement.
See also: cost calculator · all-provider price reference · providers index · methodology. Independent reference, no affiliate revenue. Corrections: oliver@digitalsignet.com.