Microsoft Majorana 1 vs Quantinuum H2-1 Specs, Pricing & Performance [2026]
Quick Verdict
Microsoft Majorana 1 uses Topological while Quantinuum H2-1 uses Trapped Ion technology. Quantinuum H2-1 offers more physical qubits (56 qubits). Quantinuum H2-1's all-to-all connectivity eliminates SWAP overhead in circuit compilation.
Specification Comparison
| Metric | Microsoft Majorana 1 | Quantinuum H2-1 |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Qubits | 8 | 56 ✓ |
| Technology | Topological | Trapped Ion |
| 2Q Gate Fidelity | — | 99.91% ✓ |
| 1Q Gate Fidelity | — | 99.99% ✓ |
| Readout Fidelity | — | 99.97% ✓ |
| Quantum Volume | — | 65,536 ✓ |
| CLOPS | — | 50 ✓ |
| T1 (Relaxation) | — | 5000 ms ✓ |
| T2 (Dephasing) | — | 50 ms ✓ |
| 1Q Gate Time | — | 10 µs ✓ |
| 2Q Gate Time | — | 1000 µs ✓ |
| Connectivity | Linear (deg 2) | All-to-All (deg 55) |
| Max Circuit Depth | — | 1,000 ✓ |
| Max Shots | — | 10,000 ✓ |
| Dynamic Circuits | No | Yes |
| Error Mitigation | No | Available |
| Cloud Platforms | 0 platforms | 4 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: Microsoft Majorana 1: N/A vs Quantinuum H2-1: $368.50
Topological Microsoft Majorana 1
Trapped Ion Quantinuum H2-1
| Platform | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Azure Quantum | $275.00/HQC | Available |
| Strangeworks | $300.00/HQC | Limited |
| Best Azure Quantum | $5.50/HQC | Available |
| qBraid | $275.00/HQC | Limited |
Topological vs Trapped Ion: Technology Tradeoffs
- Advantage
- Topological protection could dramatically reduce the error rate per physical qubit, potentially enabling fault-tolerant quantum computing with far fewer physical qubits than other approaches.
- Challenge
- The technology is still in early experimental stages. Majorana zero modes have only recently been demonstrated in simplified devices. Implementing two-qubit gates between topological qubits and scaling the architecture remain unsolved engineering challenges.
- Gate Speed
- Not yet characterized at scale
- Fidelity
- Not yet characterized at scale
- 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
Use Case Recommendations
Higher 2Q gate fidelity (99.91%) means fewer errors in VQE/UCCSD circuits.
All-to-all connectivity maps optimization problems directly without SWAP overhead.
Higher CLOPS (50) means faster circuit execution for high-repetition workloads.
Supports dynamic circuits and mid-circuit measurement required for active error correction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Microsoft Majorana 1 and Quantinuum H2-1?
Microsoft Majorana 1 uses Topological while Quantinuum H2-1 uses Trapped Ion technology. Quantinuum H2-1 offers more physical qubits (56 qubits). Quantinuum H2-1's all-to-all connectivity eliminates SWAP overhead in circuit compilation. These QPUs use fundamentally different qubit technologies: Topological vs Trapped Ion.
Which is better for quantum chemistry, Microsoft Majorana 1 or Quantinuum H2-1?
For quantum chemistry, gate fidelity is the most critical metric. Compare the 2Q gate fidelity figures in the spec table above to determine which QPU is better suited for your chemistry workload.
How do the prices compare between Microsoft Majorana 1 and Quantinuum H2-1?
Microsoft Majorana 1 is available from no public cloud access. Quantinuum H2-1 is available from $5.50/HQC on Azure 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, Microsoft Majorana 1 or Quantinuum H2-1?
Quantinuum H2-1 offers all-to-all connectivity, meaning any qubit can directly interact with any other. This eliminates the need for SWAP gates during compilation. Microsoft Majorana 1 uses Linear connectivity.
What are the coherence times for Microsoft Majorana 1 vs Quantinuum H2-1?
Quantinuum H2-1: T1=5000 ms, T2=50 ms.
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