specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Microsoft Azure Quantum
providerId: microsoft-quantum
created: '2026-05-25'
modified: '2026-05-25'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
  - Quantum
  - Cost Management
  - Azure
  - Marketplace
description: >-
  FOCUS-aligned FinOps definition for Microsoft Azure Quantum. Quantum workloads
  combine a small Azure first-party charge (workspace + Blob Storage) with
  provider marketplace charges metered in vendor-specific units — AQT (IonQ),
  HQC/eHQC (Quantinuum), QPU-hour (Pasqal), and 10ms execution increments
  (Rigetti).
sources:
  - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/quantum/pricing
  - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/quantum/azure-quantum-job-cost-billing
  - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/
  - https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Microsoft
serviceCategory: Quantum Computing
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Usage-Based
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Usage
    - Purchase
    - Subscription
    - Credit
    - Tax
    - Adjustment
  primaryUnits:
    - AQT
    - HQC
    - eHQC
    - QPU-hour
    - emulator-hour
    - 10ms-execution
    - workspace
    - GB-month
  secondaryUnits:
    - shot
    - gate-shot
    - program
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Azure Quantum
  ServiceCategory: Quantum Computing
  ProviderName: Microsoft
  PublisherName: Microsoft (workspace) / IonQ, Quantinuum, Pasqal, Rigetti (provider charges)
  InvoiceIssuerName: Microsoft Azure
  PricingCategory: Usage-Based
  PricingUnit: see-primaryUnits
  BillingCurrency: USD
meters:
  - name: ionq_aqt
    unit: AQT
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - workspace
      - subscription
      - resource_group
      - target
      - error_mitigation
    note: Azure Quantum Token consumption. AQT = m + 0.000220 * (N1q * C) + 0.000975 * (N2q * C); m is the per-program minimum based on error mitigation.
  - name: quantinuum_hqc
    unit: HQC
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - workspace
      - subscription
      - resource_group
      - target
      - plan
    note: Hardware Quantum Credits. HQC = 5 + C*(N1q + 10*N2q + 5*Nm)/5000.
  - name: quantinuum_ehqc
    unit: eHQC
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - workspace
      - subscription
      - target
      - plan
    note: Emulator HQCs for Quantinuum System Model H2 emulators.
  - name: pasqal_qpu_hour
    unit: hour
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - workspace
      - subscription
      - target
    note: Pasqal QPU wall-clock execution time (FRESNEL, FRESNEL_CAN1).
  - name: pasqal_emulator_hour
    unit: hour
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - workspace
      - target
  - name: rigetti_10ms
    unit: 10ms
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - workspace
      - subscription
      - target
    note: 10-millisecond increments of Rigetti Cepheus-1-108Q execution time.
  - name: azure_blob_storage
    unit: GB-month
    aggregation: max
    dimensions:
      - workspace
      - storage_account
      - region
    note: Underlying Azure Blob Storage charges for job inputs/outputs.
  - name: workspace_provisioning
    unit: workspace
    aggregation: count
    dimensions:
      - subscription
      - resource_group
      - region
costAllocation:
  primaryDimensions:
    - subscription
    - resource_group
    - workspace
    - region
    - target
    - provider_id
  recommendedTags:
    - environment
    - team
    - cost-center
    - project
    - principal-investigator
costReporting:
  costEndpoints:
    - Azure Cost Management REST API
    - Azure Consumption REST API
    - Microsoft Cost Management exports (FOCUS-formatted exports supported)
    - Workspace `quotas` endpoint (current-period utilization)
  recommendations:
    - Use FOCUS exports from Microsoft Cost Management for cross-cloud / cross-provider normalization.
    - Apply Azure Budgets and Action Groups at the subscription or resource-group scope to alert on provider overage.
    - Reconcile per-job costs via the workspace `quotas` and per-job billing telemetry exposed by each provider.
credits:
  - name: Azure Quantum Credits
    amount: USD 500 per provider per workspace
    appliedAs: Credit charge category
    notes: Auto-granted on workspace creation; per-provider, not transferable.
  - name: Azure Free Account for Students
    amount: Azure subscription credit
    notes: Available to verified students for Azure Quantum experimentation.
sustainability:
  notes:
    - Microsoft commits to carbon-negative operations by 2030 across Azure including Azure Quantum data centers.
    - Quantum hardware partners run in select Azure regions; see provider-global-availability for region selection by carbon impact.
deprecated:
  - Microsoft QIO and 1QBit optimization solvers were removed from Azure Quantum after 2023-06-30 and are no longer billed.