Quantum computer price list 2026: what it costs to rent and to buy
If you want to buy one and put it in a room, the entry price is about $8,900 for a SpinQ portable 2-qubit desktop unit, and the cheapest research-grade machine you can actually purchase is a complete Rigetti Novera system at about $2.85 million. If you want to run a real circuit today, the answer is about $4.55, which is what 10,000 shots on Rigetti Cepheus costs through AWS Braket at $0.30 per task plus $0.000425 per shot. Almost nobody buys. The number nearly everyone actually pays is the second one.
Quantum computer price at a glance
- Run a circuit (cloud): free on IBM's Open Plan (up to 10 minutes a month), or about $4.55 for a 10,000-shot job on AWS Braket's Rigetti Cepheus.
- Cheapest to buy: about $8,900 for a SpinQ portable 2-qubit desktop teaching unit (Switch Science list price in Japan, ¥1,408,000).
- Cheapest research-grade system: about $2.85 million for a complete Rigetti Novera system.
- Full commercial system: $20 million for a D-Wave Advantage2 annealer (Florida Atlantic University, 2026).
- Utility-scale IBM system: no public list price; installed on-premise by private contract, priced per configuration.
Those two answers are four orders of magnitude apart because "a quantum computer" means two different products. The ~$8,900 desktop is a room-temperature teaching machine with 2 or 3 qubits. The machines with enough qubits to be interesting need a dilution refrigerator, and you rent time on somebody else's rather than own one. Cloud rates verified 7 September 2026 at aws.amazon.com/braket/pricing; purchase prices are sourced and dated row by row in Table 2 below.
"How much does a quantum computer cost?" has two answers, because there are two ways to get one. You can rent cloud access by the shot, minute or month, or you can buy a physical machine outright. This page lists both. Section 1 is the verified cloud-access price list across every major provider; Section 2 is the physical-purchase price list, from an ~$8,900 desktop unit to a $20 million commercial annealer, marked by whether the price is published, industry-reported, or quote-only. For estimating a specific job on rented hardware, use the cost calculator.
1.Cloud-access price list (rent by the shot, minute or month)
This is the price to run circuits on someone else's hardware over the cloud, the route almost everyone takes. Rates are verified against each provider's primary pricing page, with IBM's four tiers read directly from ibm.com/quantum/pricing and the Braket rates cross-checked against the AWS Price List API.
Table 1 — Cloud-accessible QPU offerings, 2026
| Provider | 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 | verified primary |
| IBM Quantum — Flex Plan | superconducting | 156 | $72 per QPU minute | verified primary |
| IBM Quantum — Premium | superconducting | 156 | $48 per QPU minute | verified primary |
| AWS Braket — IonQ Forte | trapped-ion | 36 | $0.08 per shot | verified primary |
| AWS Braket — IonQ Aria (withdrawn) | trapped-ion | 25 | withdrawn n/a | retired |
| AWS Braket — Rigetti Cepheus-1-108Q | superconducting | 108 | $0.000425 per shot | verified primary |
| AWS Braket — QuEra Aquila | neutral-atom | 256 | $0.01 per shot | verified primary |
| AWS Braket — IQM Garnet | superconducting | 20 | $0.00145 per shot | verified primary |
| AWS Braket — IQM Emerald | superconducting | 54 | $0.0016 per shot | verified primary |
| AWS Braket — AQT IBEX-Q1 | trapped-ion | 12 | $0.0235 per shot | verified primary |
| 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 |
| Google Quantum AI — Willow | superconducting | 105 | quote n/a | quote only |
| D-Wave Leap — Trial | annealer | 4400 | $0 free trial | verified primary |
| D-Wave Leap — Commercial | annealer | 4400 | quote n/a | quote only |
Cloud rates re-verified 2026-09-07 against their primary sources, with the AWS Braket figures cross-checked against the AWS Price List API. For how renting is billed, including hourly whole-machine reservations, see what it costs to rent a quantum computer. Full per-provider breakdowns: AWS Braket · Azure Quantum · IBM Quantum · D-Wave · Google Willow.
2.Physical-purchase price list (buy the machine)
Only a handful of vendors will sell you a quantum computer outright, and the price ladder is steep. A desktop NMR unit for teaching costs about the same as a workstation; a single superconducting QPU module is most of a million dollars before you have cooled it; a full commercial system is eight figures. Where a public or buyer-confirmed price exists it is tagged verified; where only secondary coverage exists it is industry-reported; where the vendor publishes no price it is quote-only.
Table 2 — Physical quantum computers you can buy, 2026
| System | Type | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SpinQ Gemini Mini / Gemini / Triangulum Room-temperature units for education and training. SpinQ quotes on request; its Japanese retailer Switch Science lists the portable 2-qubit Gemini Mini at ¥1,408,000 including tax (about $8,900 at 158.28 yen to the dollar, ECB rate of 8 October 2026; out of stock when checked), and last listed the bench-top Gemini at ¥7,150,000 (about $45,000) and the 3-qubit Triangulum at ¥8,910,000 (about $56,000), both now marked discontinued. | NMR, 2-3 qubits | ~$8,900 to ~$56,000 | verified primary |
| Rigetti Novera (9-qubit system) Turnkey price from Rigetti's announced orders: Rigetti's September 2025 purchase-order announcement covered two full systems totalling about $5.7M, roughly $2.85M each (delivery first half of 2026). The bare QPU module launched in December 2023 at a starting price of $900,000, but that figure is no longer published and needs its own dilution refrigerator and control electronics to run. | Superconducting, 9 qubits | ~$2.85M/system | verified primary |
| D-Wave Advantage2 A complete on-premise annealing system. Florida Atlantic University signed a $20M agreement to purchase and install one in 2026. | Annealer, 4,400+ qubits | $20,000,000 | verified primary |
| IBM Quantum System One / Two IBM installs on-premise systems (System One and System Two) for enterprise and government under direct contract, scoped per site. IBM publishes no list price and no verifiable public purchase figure exists, so any dollar amount quoted elsewhere is a third-party estimate, not IBM's price. Cost is driven by processor count, cryogenic plant, installation and multi-year support. | Superconducting, utility-scale | no public price | quote only |
Purchase prices are point-in-time and change without notice; the D-Wave figure is the $20M price Florida Atlantic University agreed on 27 January 2026, and the Rigetti figure is the ~$2.85M/system turnkey price from its 30 September 2025 purchase-order announcement (two systems, ~$5.7M). IBM installs on-premise systems but publishes no list price. The Rigetti systems include a dilution refrigerator and control systems, and the D-Wave figure covers purchase and installation; none include facilities, power or staff. Rigetti Novera (~$2.85M/system, buyer-confirmed) and the D-Wave FAU agreement ($20M) re-verified against primary sources 2026-08-08; the SpinQ Gemini Mini floor (~$8,900) is Switch Science's ¥1,408,000 tax-inclusive list price converted at 158.28 yen to the dollar (ECB, 8 October 2026), checked 2026-10-08; SpinQ itself quotes on request. For the full breakdown on IBM's on-premise system, see the IBM Quantum System Two price.
3.Buy or rent?
For nearly every workload, renting cloud access is dramatically cheaper than buying. A 10,000-shot circuit on AWS Braket's Rigetti Cepheus costs about $4.55, and IBM's Open Plan is free for up to 10 minutes of QPU time per month. Owning hardware only pays off when you need dedicated, always-on access and can absorb both the six-to-eight-figure purchase and the cryogenic infrastructure and specialist staff to keep it running. That is why the practical "price of a quantum computer" for most teams is a cloud bill, not a capital purchase: see every way to rent a quantum computer, from free to $7,000 an hour.
4.Frequently asked questions
How much is a quantum computer?
Two answers, four orders of magnitude apart, because the phrase covers two different products. To buy one outright the entry price is about $8,900 for a SpinQ portable 2-qubit desktop teaching unit, and the cheapest research-grade machine you can actually purchase is a complete Rigetti Novera system at about $2.85 million. To run a circuit on one today, a 10,000-shot job on Rigetti Cepheus through AWS Braket costs about $4.55: a $0.30 task fee plus $0.000425 per shot, verified at aws.amazon.com/braket/pricing on 7 September 2026. Almost nobody buys hardware, so the number nearly everyone actually pays is the second one.
How much does it cost to buy a quantum computer in 2026?
It spans four orders of magnitude. A SpinQ NMR desktop machine for education starts at about $8,900 (the portable Gemini Mini, listed in Japan at ¥1,408,000). A complete Rigetti Novera system (9 superconducting qubits) runs about $2.85 million (its bare QPU module launched at a starting price of $900,000 in December 2023 but that figure is no longer published), and it needs its own dilution refrigerator. A complete D-Wave Advantage2 annealing system sold for $20 million to Florida Atlantic University in 2026. Utility-scale superconducting systems from IBM are installed on-premise but have no published list price; IBM quotes each deal privately, so no verifiable purchase figure exists. Most organisations rent cloud access instead of buying hardware.
What is the cheapest quantum computer you can buy?
A SpinQ desktop NMR quantum computer, from about $8,900 for the portable Gemini Mini (listed in Japan at ¥1,408,000), is the cheapest machine you can actually purchase and put on a bench. It has 2-3 qubits and runs at room temperature, aimed at teaching and algorithm training rather than research-scale computation. Anything with more qubits and higher fidelity jumps to six or seven figures.
How much does a desktop (personal) quantum computer cost?
A desktop or personal quantum computer means a room-temperature NMR teaching machine, not a research-scale processor. SpinQ's line is the reference point: the portable Gemini Mini (2 qubits) is listed in Japan at ¥1,408,000, about $8,900, and the bench-top Gemini and 3-qubit Triangulum were last listed at about $45,000 and $56,000 (Switch Science yen list prices converted at the ECB rate of 8 October 2026; SpinQ quotes on request). These run a handful of qubits at room temperature for education and algorithm training. There is no desktop machine at research scale: to reach 100-plus qubits you rent cloud access rather than buy a box.
What is the price of a commercial quantum computer?
For a full research-grade or production system, the announced figures are: a complete Rigetti Novera system at about $2.85 million (from Rigetti's September 2025 purchase orders for two systems totalling $5.7 million; the bare QPU module launched at a starting price of $900,000 in December 2023 but is no longer published), and a complete D-Wave Advantage2 annealer at $20 million (the price Florida Atlantic University agreed to pay). IBM's utility-scale superconducting systems are installed on-premise by private contract with no published purchase price. Prices this high are why cloud access dominates: you can run the same hardware from free to a few dollars per job.
Is it cheaper to buy or rent a quantum computer?
For almost everyone, renting cloud access is far cheaper. IBM's Open Plan gives up to 10 minutes of QPU runtime per month for free, and a 10,000-shot circuit on AWS Braket's Rigetti Cepheus costs about $4.55. Buying hardware only makes sense when you need dedicated, always-on access and can absorb both the six-to-eight-figure purchase and the cryogenic infrastructure and staff to run it.
How much does a 100-qubit quantum computer cost?
No vendor sells a standalone 100-qubit gate-model machine off the shelf in 2026, so the practical price of a 100-plus-qubit computer is a cloud bill. Rigetti's Cepheus-1-108Q (108 superconducting qubits) runs on AWS Braket at $0.30 + $0.000425/shot, about $4.55 for a 10,000-shot circuit; IBM's 156-qubit Heron systems bill per minute (free Open Plan, then $96/min Pay-As-You-Go); Pasqal's 100-qubit Fresnel is on Azure at EUR 3,000/QPU-hour, about $3,487. To own hardware at that scale you are into eight figures: a complete D-Wave Advantage2 annealer (4,400-plus qubits) sold for $20 million, and IBM's utility-scale on-premise systems are quoted privately with no published purchase price. A complete 9-qubit Rigetti Novera system you can actually buy is about $2.85 million (its bare QPU module launched at a starting price of $900,000 in December 2023).
See also: desktop quantum computer price · quantum CPU price · cost to build a quantum computer · cost calculator · IonQ pricing · Rigetti pricing · all-provider price reference · providers index · methodology. Independent reference, no affiliate revenue. Corrections: [email protected].