Quantum computer price list 2026: what it costs to rent and to buy
"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 ~$5,000 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 (or, for IBM, independent research notes where the page is bot-blocked).
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 | 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 |
| AWS Braket — IonQ Forte | trapped-ion | 36 | $0.08 per shot | verified primary |
| AWS Braket — IonQ Aria | trapped-ion | 25 | $0.03 per shot | industry reported |
| AWS Braket — Rigetti Cepheus-1-108Q | superconducting | 108 | $0 per shot | verified primary |
| AWS Braket — QuEra Aquila | neutral-atom | 256 | $0.01 per shot | verified primary |
| AWS Braket — IQM Garnet | superconducting | 20 | $0.001 per shot | verified primary |
| AWS Braket — IQM Emerald | superconducting | 54 | $0.002 per shot | verified primary |
| AWS Braket — AQT IBEX-Q1 | trapped-ion | 12 | $0.024 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 | $3,210 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 verified 2026-06-03; AWS Braket and Azure Quantum re-verified live 2026-08-16 (both match their primary pricing pages). 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's own 2026 pricing note puts the portable 2-qubit Gemini Mini at about $5,000; the bench-top Gemini is about $43,000 and the 3-qubit Triangulum about $58,000 (earlier launch reporting). SpinQ itself now quotes on request, so these are reported prices (the Gemini Mini launched at about $8,700 in 2021). | NMR, 2-3 qubits | $5,000 to ~$58,000 | industry reported |
| Rigetti Novera (9-qubit system) Buyer-confirmed turnkey price: 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 2023 at about $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 for enterprise and government but does not publish a list price; industry estimates put a full system above $10M. | 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. These are hardware costs only and exclude cryogenics, facilities and 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 (~$5,000) reflects SpinQ's own 2026 pricing note (SpinQ now 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 10 minutes of QPU time per 28-day window. 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.
4.Frequently asked questions
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 $5,000 (the portable Gemini Mini, per SpinQ's 2026 pricing note). A complete Rigetti Novera system (9 superconducting qubits) runs about $2.85 million (its bare QPU module launched at about $900,000 in 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; industry estimates exceed $10 million. 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 $5,000 for the portable Gemini Mini (SpinQ's own 2026 figure), 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 about $5,000 in SpinQ's 2026 pricing note, the bench-top Gemini is about $43,000, and the 3-qubit Triangulum is about $58,000 (reported prices; SpinQ now 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, buyer-confirmed figures in 2026 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 about $900,000 in 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 quoted privately and industry-estimated above $10 million. 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 10 minutes of QPU runtime per 28-day window 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 about $3,210/QPU-hour. 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 above $10 million. A complete 9-qubit Rigetti Novera system you can actually buy is about $2.85 million (its bare QPU module launched at about $900,000 in 2023).
See also: desktop quantum computer price · quantum CPU price · cost calculator · IonQ pricing · Rigetti pricing · all-provider price reference · providers index · methodology. Independent reference, no affiliate revenue. Corrections: oliver@digitalsignet.com.