Quantum computing systems are available through several commercial cloud platforms and can be accessed through CloudBank. When exploring these offerings, four components are worth keeping in mind:
- Cloud access and pricing for quantum services.
- Quantum hardware options, which vary significantly across providers and use cases.
- Quantum simulators for free or low‑cost algorithm development.
- Programming tools and SDKs used to run jobs and interact with each platform.
Below is a summary of quantum computers that are available from each commercial cloud vendor followed by a short description of the types of quantum computers.
Vendors: Quantum Computer Comparison
The information in this table is current as of June 2026.
| Vendor | Cloud | Hardware Model | Qubit Count | Type of Quantum Computer | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IonQ | AWS Braket | Aria | 25 | Trapped‑ion (gate‑model) | $0.03 per shot (industry‑reported) |
| AWS Braket | Forte | 36 | Trapped‑ion (gate‑model) | $0.080 per shot + $0.300 per task | |
| Azure Quantum | Aria‑1 | 25 | Trapped‑ion (gate‑model) | $97.50 minimum per program (error mitigation on); $12.4166 minimum (off); per‑gate‑shot: $0.000220 (1‑qubit), $0.000975 (2‑qubit) | |
| Azure Quantum | Forte‑1 | 36 | Trapped‑ion (gate‑model) | $168.195 minimum per program (error mitigation on); $25.7899 minimum (off); per‑gate‑shot: $0.0001645 (1‑qubit), $0.001121 (2‑qubit) | |
| Azure Quantum | Forte Enterprise‑1 | 36 | Trapped‑ion (gate‑model) | Same as Forte‑1 pricing above | |
| Rigetti | AWS Braket | Aspen‑M‑3 | 79 | Superconducting (gate‑model) | $0.000425 per shot + $0.300 per task (Rigetti Cepheus pricing; Aspen‑M‑3 not separately priced in results) |
| AWS Braket | Ankaa‑3 | varies | Superconducting (gate‑model) | Not priced separately in results (Rigetti family uses Cepheus pricing) | |
| Azure Quantum | Provider listed; no model surfaced | — | Superconducting (gate‑model) | No pricing surfaced in results | |
| IQM | AWS Braket | Emerald | 54 | Superconducting (gate‑model) | $0.00160 per shot + $0.300 per task |
| AWS Braket | Garnet | 20 | Superconducting (gate‑model) | $0.00145 per shot + $0.300 per task | |
| QuEra | AWS Braket | Aquila | 256 | Neutral‑atom (analog Hamiltonian simulator) | $0.010 per shot + $0.300 per task |
| AQT | AWS Braket | IBEX Q1 | 12 | Trapped‑ion (gate‑model) | $0.02350 per shot + $0.300 per task |
| Pasqal | Azure Quantum | FRESNEL | 100 | Neutral‑atom (gate‑model) | Pricing not surfaced in search results (Azure notes provider‑controlled pricing) |
| Azure Quantum | FRESNEL_CAN1 | 100 | Neutral‑atom (gate‑model) | Same as above (no pricing surfaced) | |
| Quantinuum | Azure Quantum | Provider listed; no model surfaced | — | Trapped‑ion (gate‑model) | No pricing surfaced in results |
| IBM Quantum | IBM Cloud | Heron R1–R10 | 133 each | Superconducting (gate‑model) | Pay‑As‑You‑Go: $96/min; Flex: $72/min; Premium: $48/min |
| D‑Wave | AWS Marketplace | Advantage (Leap) | >5000 qubits | Quantum annealer (not gate‑model) | Pricing not published; Marketplace listing requires private offer / contact sales |
Types: Quantum Computer Comparison
The information in this table is current as of June 2026.
| Type of Quantum Computer | How It Works | Strengths | Limitations | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superconducting (Gate‑Model) IBM, Rigetti, IQM | Superconducting circuits cooled near absolute zero; microwave pulses implement gates. | Fast gate speeds; mature fabrication; strong error‑correction research; widely used in industry. | Shorter coherence times; limited qubit connectivity; scaling requires complex wiring. | General‑purpose algorithms, error‑correction research, fast circuit execution. |
| Trapped‑Ion (Gate‑Model) IonQ, Quantinuum, AQT | Individual ions suspended in electromagnetic traps; lasers manipulate qubits and entanglement. | Highest fidelities; long coherence times; all‑to‑all connectivity simplifies circuits. | Slower gate speeds; scaling to very large systems is challenging. | Algorithms sensitive to connectivity (VQE, QAOA), high‑precision circuits, early fault‑tolerance. |
| Neutral‑Atom (Gate‑Model or Analog) QuEra, Pasqal | Neutral atoms arranged in optical tweezers; Rydberg interactions create entanglement; arrays can be reconfigured. | Highly scalable (hundreds–thousands of qubits); flexible geometries; supports both gate‑model and analog modes. | Gate fidelities still improving; analog mode is powerful but less general‑purpose. | Quantum simulation, many‑body physics, large‑scale optimization, emerging gate‑model workloads. |
| Quantum Annealing D‑Wave | System evolves toward the lowest‑energy state of an Ising model; specialized hardware for optimization. | Thousands of qubits; excellent for certain optimization and sampling problems; mature commercial ecosystem. | Not a universal quantum computer; cannot run gate‑model algorithms (Shor, Grover, VQE, etc.). | Combinatorial optimization, graph problems, routing, scheduling, sampling. |
Learning Resources
- Learn Quantum Computation using Qiskit is a free general-purpose textbook published by IBM’s quantum group that teaches the basics of quantum computation and algorithms using their qiskit domain-specific language
- Microsoft Azure Quantum learning resources
- AWS Braket Getting Started
