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43ced89
Update execution-modes-faq.mdx
abbycross Mar 10, 2026
ed76dde
update definition, remove estimation section
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update bullet points
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872f177
update failed/canceled jobs section
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Merge branch 'main' into ajc/pricing
abbycross Mar 10, 2026
e8c7743
define quantum usage
abbycross Mar 10, 2026
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replace quantum time
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typo
abbycross Mar 10, 2026
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need to verify - replace with max_usage?
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more replacing with max_usage
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Apply suggestions from code review
abbycross Mar 11, 2026
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Merge branch 'main' into ajc/pricing
abbycross Mar 11, 2026
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Restore estimate usage section
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typo
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Update manage-cost.mdx
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Merge branch 'ajc/pricing' of https://github.com/Qiskit/documentation…
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add another "based on"
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Merge branch 'main' into ajc/pricing
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updates per Jessie
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restore max_execution_time
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion docs/guides/allocation-limits.mdx
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -30,6 +30,6 @@ When you set the allocation limit for an instance in IBM Quantum Platform, the s

<Admonition type="tip" title="Recommendations">
- Learn about [instances](/docs/guides/instances).
- Review suggestions to [minimize job quantum time](minimize-time).
- Review suggestions to [minimize job quantum usage](minimize-time).
- Understand the [fair-share scheduler](/docs/guides/fair-share-scheduler).
</Admonition>
14 changes: 7 additions & 7 deletions docs/guides/estimate-job-run-time.ipynb
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -30,11 +30,11 @@
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"<span id=\"usage\"></span>\n",
"Usage is a measurement of the amount of time the QPU is locked for your workload, and it is calculated differently, depending on which execution mode you're using.\n",
"Usage is a measurement of the amount of resource consumption. This resource consumption maps to different cost based on the plan type and resources selected.\n",
"\n",
"* Session usage is the wall-clock time the session is active. See [Session length](/docs/guides/run-jobs-session#session-length) for more information about session status transition.\n",
"* Batch usage is the sum of quantum time (time spent by the QPU complex to process your job) of all jobs in the batch.\n",
"* Single job usage is the quantum time the job uses in processing.\n",
"- Session usage is the wall clock time the session is active. See [Session length](/docs/guides/run-jobs-session#session-length) for more information about session status transition.\n",
"- Batch usage is the sum of quantum usage (quantum resource consumption) for all jobs in the batch.\n",
"- Single job usage is the quantum usage the job consumes in processing.\n",
"\n",
"Note that failed or canceled jobs count toward your usage in certain circumstances - see the [Failed and canceled jobs](#failed-job) section for details.\n",
"\n",
Expand All @@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
"## Usage for failed and canceled jobs\n",
"When a job is failed or canceled, the reported usage is as follows:\n",
"\n",
"* Job or batch mode: The reported usage is the time the QPU was locked for executing your workload until the time it failed or was canceled. Therefore, if the failure or cancellation occurred before the lock, the reported usage is zero. Otherwise, the workload's reported usage is the amount of usage before the workload failed or was canceled. Thus, some failed jobs do not appear in your reported usage and others do.\n",
"* Job or batch mode: If the failure or cancellation occurred before resource consumption began, the reported usage is zero. Otherwise, the workload's reported usage is the usage before the workload failed or was canceled. Thus, some failed jobs do not appear in your reported usage and others do.\n",
"\n",
"* Session mode: The reported usage is the wall-clock time the session is active, regardless of the number of jobs that fail or are canceled.\n",
"\n",
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -86,8 +86,8 @@
"\n",
"<Admonition type=\"tip\" title=\"Recommendations\">\n",
" - Review these tips: [Minimize job run time](minimize-time).\n",
" - Set the [Maximum execution time](max-execution-time).\n",
" - Learn how to transpile locally in the [Transpile](./transpile/) section.\n",
" - Set the [Maximum execution time](/docs/guides/max-execution-time).\n",
" - Learn how to transpile locally in the [Transpile](/docs/guides/transpile/) section.\n",
" - Try the [Compare transpiler settings](/docs/guides/circuit-transpilation-settings) guide.\n",
"</Admonition>"
]
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5 changes: 1 addition & 4 deletions docs/guides/execution-modes-faq.mdx
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Expand Up @@ -102,10 +102,7 @@ The main difference is the time and cost tradeoff:
Batch mode:

- The total run time is less because the classical processing might run in parallel.
- There is a slight overhead for running each job, so you end up paying a little more for batched jobs. This overhead correlates to the size of the job. For example, the total usage of two jobs, each containing 40 100x100 circuits, is six seconds more than a single job containing 80 circuits.
- Because batch mode doesn't give you exclusive access to a backend, jobs inside a batch might run with other users' jobs or calibration jobs.
- If some jobs fail, you still get results from the completed jobs.
- You can take action in the middle of a batch workload based on the results of completed jobs. For example, you can cancel the rest of the jobs if the initial results look incorrect.
- There is a slight overhead for running each job, so you end up consuming a little more for batched jobs.

Job mode:

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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion docs/guides/ibm-circuit-function.ipynb
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Expand Up @@ -269,7 +269,7 @@
"| Option | Sub-option | Sub-sub-option | Description | Choices | Default |\n",
"|-|-|-|-|-|-|\n",
"| default_precision | | | The default precision to use for any PUB or `run()`<br/>call that does not specify one.<br/>Each input PUB can specify its own precision. If the `run()` method is given a precision, then that value is used for all PUBs in the `run()` call that do not specify their own. | float > 0 | 0.015625 |\n",
"| max_execution_time | | | Maximum execution time in seconds, which is based<br/>on QPU usage (not wall clock time). QPU usage is the<br/>amount of time that the QPU is dedicated to processing your job. If a job exceeds this time limit, it is forcibly canceled. | Integer number of seconds in the range [1, 10800] | |\n",
"| max_execution_time | | | Maximum execution time in seconds, which is based<br/>on QPU usage (not wall clock time). QPU usage is the<br/>amount of quantum resource consumption in seconds. If a job exceeds this time limit, it is forcibly canceled. | Integer number of seconds in the range [1, 10800] | |\n",
"| mitigation_level | | | How much error suppression and mitigation to apply. Refer to the [Mitigation level](#mitigation-level) section for more information about the methods used at each level. | 1 / 2 / 3 | 1 |\n",
"| optimization_level | | | How much optimization to perform on the circuits. [Higher levels](/docs/guides/set-optimization) generate more optimized circuits, at the expense of longer transpilation time. | 1 / 2 / 3 | 2 |\n",
"| dynamical_decoupling | enable | | Whether to enable dynamical decoupling. Refer to [Error suppression and mitigation techniques](/docs/guides/error-mitigation-and-suppression-techniques#dynamical-decoupling) for the explanation of the method. | True/False | True |\n",
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4 changes: 2 additions & 2 deletions docs/guides/instances.mdx
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Expand Up @@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ It is important that you understand which instance you are using, because all in
<span id="open-plan"></span>
## Open Plan instance

Open Plan users can run quantum circuits on the world's best QPUs for free (up to 10 minutes quantum time per 28-day rolling window). The QPU usage can be tracked on the [Platform dashboard](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/) and the [Workloads](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/workloads) pages.
Open Plan users can run quantum circuits on the world's best QPUs for free (up to 10 minutes quantum usage per 28-day rolling window). The QPU usage can be tracked on the [Platform dashboard](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/) and the [Workloads](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/workloads) pages.

<span id="standard-plan"></span>
## Pay-As-You-Go Plan instance
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ Follow these steps to create an instance and add it to your account. If you are
1. From the Instances page, click **Create instance**.
* Enter a name and optionally add tags.
* If you have access to more than one resource group in IBM Cloud&reg;, you can choose to change the resource group this instance belongs to. See [Managing resource groups](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/account?topic=account-rgs&interface=ui) and [Giving access to resources in resource groups](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/account?topic=account-rgs_manage_access) for more information.
1. Select the pricing plan this instance is associated with (for example, Pay-As-You-Go). Depending on the pricing plan selected, you can specify other options, such as the cost limit or the number of minutes to allocate to this instance. Note that If this instance is not associated with a free plan, a cost will be incurred when this instance is used to run workloads.
1. Select the pricing plan this instance is associated with (for example, Pay-As-You-Go). Depending on the pricing plan selected, you can specify other options, such as the cost limit or the number of minutes to allocate to this instance. Note that if this instance is not associated with a free plan, a cost will be incurred when this instance is used to run workloads.
1. Click **Next**. A list of the QPUs the instance can access is shown.
- If you want the instance to have access to all the QPUs listed (and all QPUs added to this plan in the future), click **Next**.
- If you are not setting up an open instance, you can customize which QPUs can be accessed with this instance. Click the "Customize allocated compute resources" toggle. Select specific QPUs that this instance can access, then click **Next**.
Expand Down
28 changes: 7 additions & 21 deletions docs/guides/manage-cost.mdx
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Expand Up @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ description: How to manage costs of running jobs on QPUs when using the Pay-As-Y

# Manage cost

This guide describes how to set a cost limit on your Pay-As-You-Go Plan instance. You can also manage cost by [minimizing a workload's quantum time](/docs/guides/minimize-time), and setting a [maximum execution time](/docs/guides/max-execution-time) on your workloads.
This guide describes how to set a cost limit on your Pay-As-You-Go Plan instance. You can also manage cost by [minimizing a workload's quantum usage](/docs/guides/minimize-time), and setting a [maximum execution time](/docs/guides/max-execution-time) on your workloads.

The _cost limit_ refers to the total cost of all workloads run with this instance since it was created, and it will always be greater than or equal to the total cost. After the instance reaches the specified number of total seconds, no further workloads can be run and no more cost is incurred.

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -89,33 +89,19 @@ No further jobs can be submitted by using this instance until the cost limit is

You will receive a monthly invoice that provides details about your resource charges. You can check how much has been spent at any time on the [IBM Cloud Billing and usage](https://cloud.ibm.com/billing) page.

Additionally, you can determine cost per instance or per job at any time.
The [Analytics](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/analytics) page displays usage according to the filters you set. Additionally, you can determine cost per instance or per job at any time from the [Instances](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/instances) page, as detailed below.

### View usage
### View instance usage

View the instance's usage on the [Analytics](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/analytics) page.

### View instance cost

To determine how much has been billed to an instance during the current billing cycle, from the [Instances](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/instances) page, click the instance to open its details page.

These are the fields relevant to cost:

- **Billing cycle usage**: The amount of _quantum time_ used by this instance during the current billing cycle. Quantum time is the duration a QPU is committed to fulfilling a user request.
- **Billing cycle cost**: The total cost of running jobs during the current billing cycle.
- **Total usage**: The amount of quantum time used by this instance since it was created.
- **Total cost**: The total cost of running jobs on this instance since it was created. Only administrators can set this value.
To determine how much has been billed to an instance during the current billing cycle, from the [Instances](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/instances) page, click the instance to open its details page. The **Total usage** field displays the total amount of this instance's quantum usage since it was created.

You can view your billing cycle on the [Billing and usage page](https://cloud.ibm.com/billing).

### View job cost
### View job usage

To determine how much has been billed to each job associated with an instance, from the [Instances](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/instances) page, click the instance to open its details page. Next, on the left side, click Jobs.

These are the columns relevant to cost:

- **Usage**: The amount of quantum time used by this job. Quantum time is the duration a QPU is committed to fulfilling a user request.
- **Cost**: The total cost of running this job.
The **Usage** field displays the amount of capacity used by this job. Quantum usage is the duration a QPU is committed to fulfilling a user request.

## Set up spending notifications

Expand All @@ -129,6 +115,6 @@ You can set up spending notifications to get notified when your account or a par

<Admonition type="tip" title="Recommendations">
- Review the [plans](/docs/guides/plans-overview) available to IBM Quantum users.
- Review suggestions to [minimize job quantum time](/docs/guides/minimize-time).
- Review suggestions to [minimize job quantum usage](/docs/guides/minimize-time).
- Learn how to set a [maximum execution time](/docs/guides/max-execution-time) on jobs.
</Admonition>
14 changes: 7 additions & 7 deletions docs/guides/max-execution-time.ipynb
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
"- The value set for `max_execution_time`\n",
"- The service-determined job timeout value\n",
"\n",
"The `max_execution_time` value is based on _quantum time_, not wall clock time. Quantum time is the amount of time that the QPU is dedicated to processing your job.\n",
"The `max_execution_time` value is based on *quantum usage*, not wall clock time. Quantum usage is based on the amount of quantum resource consumption in seconds.\n",
"\n",
"Set the maximum execution time (in seconds) on the job options, as shown in the following example. See [Specify options](/docs/guides/specify-runtime-options) for information about setting options.\n",
"\n",
Expand All @@ -60,11 +60,11 @@
"estimator.options.max_execution_time = 2500\n",
"```\n",
"\n",
"You can also find how much quantum time completed jobs have used by returning the job metrics as follows:\n",
"You can also find how much quantum usage completed jobs have consumed by returning the job metrics as follows:\n",
"\n",
"```python\n",
"# Find quantum time used by the job\n",
"print(f\"Quantum time used by job {job.job_id()} was {job.metrics()['usage']['quantum_seconds']} seconds\")\n",
"# Find quantum usage of specific job\n",
"print(f\"Quantum usage of job {job.job_id()} was {job.metrics()['usage']['quantum_seconds']} seconds\")\n",
"```\n",
"\n",
"<span id=\"max-QPU\"></span>\n",
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -96,13 +96,13 @@
"\n",
"\n",
"* Inputs to jobs cannot exceed 50MB in size.\n",
"* Open Plan users can use up to 10 minutes of quantum time per 28-day rolling window. Quantum time is the amount of time that the QPU is dedicated to processing your job. You can view an instance's usage on the [Instances](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/instances) page.\n",
"* Open Plan users can use up to 10 minutes of quantum usage per 28-day rolling window. Quantum usage is based on the amount of quantum resource consumption in seconds. You can view an instance's usage on the [Instances](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/instances) page.\n",
"\n",
"## Next steps\n",
"\n",
"<Admonition type=\"tip\" title=\"Recommendations\">\n",
" - [Workload usage](estimate-job-run-time).\n",
" - Review these tips: [Minimize job run time](minimize-time).\n",
" - [Workload usage](/docs/guides/estimate-job-run-time).\n",
" - Review these tips: [Minimize job run time](/docs/guides/minimize-time).\n",
"</Admonition>"
]
}
Expand Down
4 changes: 2 additions & 2 deletions docs/guides/minimize-time.mdx
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
---
title: Minimize job run time
description: How to minimize the amount of quantum time spent processing and running a job.
description: How to minimize the amount of quantum usage spent processing and running a job.

---

# Minimize job run time

There are several ways you can limit the amount of time spent processing and running a job:

- Run only as many shots as you need: The quantum time a job takes (and therefore, its cost) scales with the number of shots. Therefore, you can manage your cost by running only as many shots as you need. For Estimator jobs, lower precision typically requires more shots and therefore longer execution time.
- Run only as many shots as you need: The resource consumption a job uses (and therefore, its cost) scales with the number of shots. Therefore, you can manage your cost by running only as many shots as you need. For Estimator jobs, lower precision typically requires more shots and therefore a longer execution time.

- Set limits on execution time: You can limit how long each job, batch, or session runs. For details, see [Maximum execution time for Qiskit Runtime workloads](max-execution-time).

Expand Down
6 changes: 3 additions & 3 deletions docs/guides/plans-overview.mdx
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ If you want access to multiple plans, you can create multiple instances and assi

## Open Plan

Run your quantum circuits on the world's best QPUs for free (up to 10 minutes quantum time per 28-day rolling window). You can track your usage on the [Platform dashboard](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/) and the [Workloads](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/workloads) pages. The Open Plan is only available in the us-east region.
Run your quantum circuits on the world's best QPUs for free (up to 10 minutes quantum usage per 28-day rolling window). You can track your usage on the [Platform dashboard](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/) and the [Workloads](https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/workloads) pages. The Open Plan is only available in the us-east region.

This plan is recommended for those who are learning quantum computing and exploring IBM quantum technology.

Expand All @@ -44,13 +44,13 @@ If you need more than 10,000 minutes, you should consider a Premium Plan subscri

## Pay-As-You-Go Plan

Run quantum circuits on the world's best QPUs and pay only for the quantum time you use.
Run quantum circuits on the world's best QPUs and pay only for the quantum resource consumption you use.

This plan is recommended for those who are performing quantum utility research projects and testing business models with flexible access. If you will be using at least 400 minutes in the next year, it is recommended that you use the Flex Plan instead.

## Premium Plan

Run quantum circuits on the world's best QPUs using an enterprise quantum time subscription. Additionally, some functionality, such as [Qiskit Functions](functions) and [Qiskit Transpiler as a Service](qiskit-transpiler-service), is available to Premium Plan users.
Run quantum circuits on the world's best QPUs using an enterprise subscription. Additionally, some functionality, such as [Qiskit Functions](functions) and [Qiskit Transpiler as a Service](qiskit-transpiler-service), is available to Premium Plan users.

This plan is recommended for those who want to execute a strategic quantum roadmap and develop quantum algorithms and applications at scale. [Contact IBM](https://www.ibm.com/account/reg/us-en/signup?formid=MAIL-quantum) to learn more.

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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion docs/guides/qiskit-runtime-circuit-timing.ipynb
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
"<Admonition type=\"note\" title=\"Notes\">\n",
"- This is an experimental function. It is in preview release status and is therefore subject to change.\n",
"- This function only applies to Qiskit Runtime Sampler jobs.\n",
"- Although the total circuit time is returned in the \"compilation\" metadata, this is NOT the time used for billing (quantum time).\n",
"- Although the total circuit time is returned in the \"compilation\" metadata, this is NOT the time used for billing (quantum usage).\n",
"</Admonition>"
]
},
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