AQT PINE vs IBM Heron r2 Specs, Pricing & Performance [2026]
Quick Verdict
AQT PINE uses Trapped Ion while IBM Heron r2 uses Superconducting technology. Both QPUs have comparable 2Q gate fidelity (~99.50%). IBM Heron r2 offers more physical qubits (156 qubits). AQT PINE's all-to-all connectivity eliminates SWAP overhead in circuit compilation.
Specification Comparison
| Metric | AQT PINE | IBM Heron r2 |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Qubits | 24 | 156 ✓ |
| Technology | Trapped Ion | Superconducting |
| 2Q Gate Fidelity | 99.50% | 99.50% |
| 1Q Gate Fidelity | 99.93% | 99.97% ✓ |
| Readout Fidelity | 99.80% | 99.80% |
| Quantum Volume | 128 | 256 ✓ |
| CLOPS | 100 | 5,000 ✓ |
| T1 (Relaxation) | 2000 ms ✓ | 300 µs |
| T2 (Dephasing) | 20 ms ✓ | 200 µs |
| 1Q Gate Time | 20 µs | 60 ns ✓ |
| 2Q Gate Time | 400 µs | 680 ns ✓ |
| Connectivity | All-to-All (deg 23) | Heavy Hex (deg 3) |
| Max Circuit Depth | 300 | 6,000 ✓ |
| Max Shots | 10,000 | 100,000 ✓ |
| Dynamic Circuits | No | Yes |
| Error Mitigation | No | Available |
| Cloud Platforms | 3 platforms | 3 platforms |
Green bold values with a checkmark indicate the better result for each metric.
Pricing Comparison
Example: 10-qubit, 50-depth circuit, 1,000 shots — estimated cost on cheapest platform: AQT PINE: $10.30 vs IBM Heron r2: $8.00
Trapped Ion AQT PINE
| Platform | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Best Amazon Braket | $0.0100/shot | Available |
| Azure Quantum | $0.0120/shot | Available |
| qBraid | $0.0100/shot | Available |
Superconducting IBM Heron r2
| Platform | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Best IBM Quantum | $1.60/sec | Available |
| Strangeworks | $1.60/sec | Available |
| qBraid | $1.60/sec | Available |
Trapped Ion vs Superconducting: Technology Tradeoffs
- Advantage
- Exceptional gate fidelities (99.9%+), long coherence times (seconds to hours), and native all-to-all qubit connectivity eliminate the need for SWAP routing that limits other architectures.
- Challenge
- Gate operations are slow (microseconds to milliseconds), limiting circuit throughput. Scaling to many ions in a single trap is difficult due to spectral crowding; modular trap architectures are being developed to address this.
- Gate Speed
- 1 µs – 1 ms per gate
- Fidelity
- 99.7–99.99% for 2-qubit gates
- Advantage
- Fast gate speeds (tens to hundreds of nanoseconds), mature fabrication technology using standard semiconductor processes, and strong industry investment make this the most commercially advanced platform.
- Challenge
- Requires dilution refrigerators operating near absolute zero (~15 mK), leading to large physical footprints and high infrastructure costs. Qubits are sensitive to noise, limiting coherence times to microseconds-to-milliseconds range.
- Gate Speed
- 10–700 ns per gate
- Fidelity
- 99.5–99.9% for 2-qubit gates
Use Case Recommendations
All-to-all connectivity maps optimization problems directly without SWAP overhead.
Supports dynamic circuits and mid-circuit measurement required for active error correction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between AQT PINE and IBM Heron r2?
AQT PINE uses Trapped Ion while IBM Heron r2 uses Superconducting technology. Both QPUs have comparable 2Q gate fidelity (~99.50%). IBM Heron r2 offers more physical qubits (156 qubits). AQT PINE's all-to-all connectivity eliminates SWAP overhead in circuit compilation. These QPUs use fundamentally different qubit technologies: Trapped Ion vs Superconducting.
Which is better for quantum chemistry, AQT PINE or IBM Heron r2?
For quantum chemistry simulations (VQE, UCCSD), AQT PINE is preferred due to its higher 2Q gate fidelity (99.50% vs 99.50%). Higher gate fidelity directly reduces circuit error rates in chemistry algorithms.
How do the prices compare between AQT PINE and IBM Heron r2?
AQT PINE is available from $0.0100/shot on Amazon Braket. IBM Heron r2 is available from $1.60/sec on IBM Quantum. Note that pricing models differ — per-shot pricing is directly comparable while AQT and HQC models depend on circuit structure.
Which QPU has better connectivity, AQT PINE or IBM Heron r2?
AQT PINE offers all-to-all connectivity, meaning any qubit can directly interact with any other. This eliminates the need for SWAP gates during compilation, which is a significant advantage for algorithms like QAOA. IBM Heron r2 uses Heavy Hex connectivity.
What are the coherence times for AQT PINE vs IBM Heron r2?
AQT PINE: T1=2000 ms, T2=20 ms. IBM Heron r2: T1=300 µs, T2=200 µs. AQT PINE has longer coherence times, which generally allows for deeper circuits before errors accumulate.
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