Quantum CPU price in 2026: what a quantum processor actually costs
"Quantum CPU price" has an unexpected answer: unlike a classical processor, a quantum processing unit (QPU) is almost never sold as a standalone chip, because it cannot be separated from the cryogenic or vacuum infrastructure that makes it work. This page states what a quantum processor actually costs, names the one you can genuinely buy (Rigetti's Novera QPU, launched at a starting price of $900,000), explains why the larger processors from IBM, IonQ and Google are not sold as chips, and gives the far cheaper cloud-rental route with verified rates. For whole machines and cloud access, see the full quantum computer price list; for a desktop teaching unit, the desktop quantum computer price.
1.What a "quantum CPU" means
The processor at the heart of a quantum computer is called a quantum processing unit, or QPU, the quantum counterpart to a classical CPU. When people search for a "quantum CPU price" they usually want the cost of that processor itself, not a whole desktop machine and not a per-job cloud bill. The short answer is that a quantum processor is not a catalogue component. A classical CPU is a self-contained chip you can buy and slot into a board; a QPU is one part of a large apparatus, and in almost every case the vendor sells the whole system or cloud access rather than the chip.
2.The one quantum processor you can actually buy
There is a single commercial exception. Rigetti sells its 9-qubit Novera QPUas a standalone module, launched in December 2023 at a starting price of $900,000, the only bare quantum processor on the open market. It is an Ankaa-class superconducting chip with tunable couplers, ships within a few weeks of order, and is aimed at national labs and research groups. The catch is that the price buys the chip only: Novera still needs its own dilution refrigerator and control electronics before it will run, so the real cost of a working setup is higher. A complete Rigetti Novera system, cryogenics and control included, runs about $2.85 million per system (from Rigetti's announced September 2025 purchase orders for two systems totalling approximately $5.7 million).
Table 1 — Quantum processors and what they cost, 2026
| Processor | Qubits | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigetti Novera QPU (bare module) The only quantum processor sold as a standalone unit. Ankaa-class superconducting chip with tunable couplers. Launched in December 2023 at a starting price of $900,000, shipping in 4-6 weeks; Rigetti no longer publishes a price. Needs your own dilution refrigerator and control electronics before it will run. | 9 qubits | from $900,000 (2023) | industry reported |
| Rigetti Novera (complete system) The complete system built around the Novera QPU: processor, a compatible dilution refrigerator and Rigetti's control systems. Rigetti announced purchase orders for two systems totalling approximately $5.7M in September 2025, roughly $2.85M each. | 9 qubits | ~$2.85M/system | industry reported |
| IBM Heron r2 (156-qubit) IBM's current utility-scale superconducting processor. Not sold as a standalone chip: it ships only inside an on-premise IBM Quantum System Two under direct contract, or is reached over IBM's cloud. | 156 qubits | not sold standalone | quote only |
| IonQ Forte (36-qubit) Trapped-ion processor. IonQ sells full systems (IonQ Forte Enterprise) and cloud access, not a bare chip; a trapped-ion processor is inseparable from its vacuum chamber and laser control. | 36 qubits | not sold standalone | quote only |
| Google Willow (105-qubit) Google's error-correction research chip. Not for sale in any form; access is via a competitive early-access research programme only, with no published price. | 105 qubits | not for sale | quote only |
Novera bare-module price is the starting price in Rigetti's December 2023 launch release (rigetti.com/novera no longer shows a price, checked 8 October 2026); the ~$2.85M/system figure divides Rigetti's September 2025 purchase-order announcement (two systems, approximately $5.7M). IBM, IonQ and Google processors are not sold as standalone chips; prices are point-in-time; the bare-module price excludes cryogenics, and none include facilities or staff.
3.Why most quantum processors are not for sale as chips
A quantum processor cannot be unplugged from its surroundings the way a CPU can. Superconducting processors (IBM Heron, Google Willow, Rigetti) only function inside a dilution refrigerator held a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero. Trapped-ion processors (IonQ Forte, Quantinuum H2) are inseparable from an ultra-high-vacuum chamber and the laser systems that address each ion. In both cases the chip is meaningless without the machine around it, so IBM installs whole on-premise systems by private contract, IonQ and Quantinuum sell full systems and cloud access, and Google keeps Willow to a research programme with no price at all. That is why the standalone-chip market begins and ends with Rigetti's Novera.
4.The cheaper reality: rent the processor
For all but a handful of national labs and large enterprises, renting a quantum processor over the cloud is cheaper by orders of magnitude than buying one. A 10,000-shot circuit on Rigetti's 108-qubit Cepheus processor via AWS Braket costs about $4.55; IBM's Open Plan gives up to 10 minutes of QPU runtime per month for free, and Pay-As-You-Go is $96 per QPU-minute above that. In other words, running a real processor for a small project costs a few dollars, against at least $900,000 to buy the cheapest bare chip plus the cryogenics to host it. See the full price list, compare cloud providers on the all-provider reference, or estimate a specific job with the cost calculator.
5.Frequently asked questions
How much does a quantum CPU cost?
A quantum CPU, properly a quantum processing unit or QPU, is not priced like an ordinary computer chip. Almost no vendor sells the bare processor. The one exception is Rigetti's 9-qubit Novera QPU, which launched in December 2023 at a starting price of $900,000 as a standalone module, and even that needs its own dilution refrigerator and control electronics before it can run. A complete Rigetti Novera system, cryogenics included, runs about $2.85 million. Larger processors from IBM, IonQ, Google and Quantinuum are not sold as standalone chips at all: you either buy a whole on-premise system by private contract or rent access over the cloud.
Can you buy a quantum processor chip on its own?
In almost every case, no. A quantum processor is not a drop-in part like a classical CPU. Superconducting chips (IBM, Google, Rigetti) only work inside a dilution refrigerator held near absolute zero; trapped-ion processors (IonQ, Quantinuum) are inseparable from their ultra-high-vacuum chambers and laser systems. The single commercial exception is Rigetti's Novera QPU, sold as a bare 9-qubit module launched at a starting price of $900,000, aimed at national labs and research groups that already have the cryogenic infrastructure to host it.
What is the cheapest quantum processor you can buy?
The cheapest true quantum processor sold as hardware is Rigetti's Novera QPU, launched in December 2023 at a starting price of $900,000 for the bare 9-qubit module. If you count room-temperature teaching hardware, a SpinQ NMR desktop unit contains a 2-3 qubit processor and is listed in Japan from ¥1,408,000, about $8,900 (Gemini Mini), but that is an educational device, not a research-scale processor. There is nothing in between: quantum processing jumps from a few-qubit teaching chip to a six- or seven-figure superconducting module, because everything at research scale needs cryogenic or vacuum infrastructure.
Why can't you buy a quantum CPU like a normal CPU?
A classical CPU is a self-contained chip that runs at room temperature on a standard motherboard. A quantum processor is the opposite: it is one component of a large physical apparatus. Superconducting qubits must be cooled to a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero inside a dilution refrigerator; trapped-ion qubits live in a vacuum chamber manipulated by precisely tuned lasers. The processor cannot be separated from that infrastructure and sold as a plug-in part, which is why vendors sell whole systems or cloud access rather than chips. Rigetti's Novera is the rare case of a chip sold on its own, and it still assumes the buyer supplies the cryogenics.
How much does a quantum chip cost to run versus buy?
Running a quantum processor over the cloud is cheaper than buying one by many orders of magnitude. A 10,000-shot circuit on Rigetti's Cepheus-108Q processor via AWS Braket costs about $4.55; IBM's Open Plan gives up to 10 minutes of QPU runtime per month free, and Pay-As-You-Go is $96 per QPU-minute above that. Buying the hardware means at minimum $900,000 for a bare Novera QPU, plus the cryogenic plant and staff to operate it. For all but a handful of national labs and large enterprises, renting the processor is the only economic option.
Is a quantum CPU faster than a normal CPU?
Not in a general sense. A quantum processor is not a faster version of a classical CPU; it is a different kind of device that can, for specific structured problems, explore possibilities in ways a classical chip cannot. For everyday computing, a normal CPU is faster, cheaper and more reliable. Today's quantum processors, from the 9-qubit Novera to IBM's 156-qubit Heron, are research and early-application instruments, which is part of why they are priced and sold as scientific hardware rather than as consumer components.
See also: full quantum computer price list · desktop quantum computer price · cost to build a quantum computer · IBM Quantum System Two price · Rigetti pricing · cost calculator · all-provider price reference. Independent reference, no affiliate revenue. Corrections: [email protected].