Microsoft Majorana 1 vs Xanadu Borealis Specs, Pricing & Performance [2026]
Quick Verdict
Microsoft Majorana 1 uses Topological while Xanadu Borealis uses Photonic technology. Xanadu Borealis offers more physical qubits (216 qubits).
Specification Comparison
| Metric | Microsoft Majorana 1 | Xanadu Borealis |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Qubits | 8 | 216 ✓ |
| Technology | Topological | Photonic |
| 2Q Gate Fidelity | — | — |
| 1Q Gate Fidelity | — | — |
| Readout Fidelity | — | 98.00% ✓ |
| Quantum Volume | — | — |
| CLOPS | — | — |
| T1 (Relaxation) | — | — |
| T2 (Dephasing) | — | — |
| 1Q Gate Time | — | — |
| 2Q Gate Time | — | — |
| Connectivity | Linear (deg 2) | Linear (deg 2) |
| Max Circuit Depth | — | 10 ✓ |
| Max Shots | — | 100,000 ✓ |
| Dynamic Circuits | No | No |
| Error Mitigation | No | No |
| Cloud Platforms | 0 platforms | 2 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 Xanadu Borealis: $0.5000
Topological Microsoft Majorana 1
Photonic Xanadu Borealis
| Platform | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Best Xanadu Cloud | $0.5000/task | Available |
| qBraid | $0.5000/task | Available |
Topological vs Photonic: 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
- Operates at room temperature (no cryogenics required), photons travel at the speed of light with minimal decoherence, and photonic hardware is compatible with existing fiber-optic telecommunications infrastructure for quantum networking.
- Challenge
- Deterministic photon-photon interactions are extremely difficult to engineer, making universal fault-tolerant quantum computation challenging. High photon loss rates and detector inefficiencies limit circuit depth. Current GBS machines are specialized rather than general-purpose.
- Gate Speed
- Picoseconds for passive operations; detector timing ~ns
- Fidelity
- Variable; loss-dominated; ~98% for single-photon detectors
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Microsoft Majorana 1 and Xanadu Borealis?
Microsoft Majorana 1 uses Topological while Xanadu Borealis uses Photonic technology. Xanadu Borealis offers more physical qubits (216 qubits). These QPUs use fundamentally different qubit technologies: Topological vs Photonic.
Which is better for quantum chemistry, Microsoft Majorana 1 or Xanadu Borealis?
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 Xanadu Borealis?
Microsoft Majorana 1 is available from no public cloud access. Xanadu Borealis is available from $0.5000/task on Xanadu Cloud. 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 Xanadu Borealis?
Both Microsoft Majorana 1 and Xanadu Borealis use Linear connectivity. The effective connectivity degree is 2 for Microsoft Majorana 1 and 2 for Xanadu Borealis.
What are the coherence times for Microsoft Majorana 1 vs Xanadu Borealis?
Coherence time data is not publicly available for either Microsoft Majorana 1 or Xanadu Borealis. This is common for quantum annealers and photonic systems where T1/T2 metrics are not directly applicable.
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